Short-Term Rental Management

“STR” is an abbreviation for short-term rental, which is a property that accommodates overnight renters for a period of 30 days or less. Short-term rentals are also referred to as vacation rentals.

Nowadays, the renters for short-term rentals are just about everyone you can think of, but it wasn’t always like that.

The vacation rental industry has blown up in the last few years and, especially after the pandemic, has been recognized as a class of its own that competes with legacy hotels for traveler accommodations. 

Here are a few types of renters that book short-term rental properties:

• Working professionals visiting for a temporary job assignment (traveling nurses, executives, consultants, etc.).
• Overseas travellers.
• Families looking for a weekend getaway (or an extended vacation).
• Couples who are celebrating a special occasion (anniversary).
• Transplants who have recently moved to the city (or are thinking about it) and need temporary accommodation while they look for a new home.
• Friend groups (think: girls weekend, bachelor parties, annual golf trips, etc.).

Each short-term rental property attracts a certain type of renter. And if you set yourself up for success from the start, you can design for profit and make sure that the vacation rental experience is uniquely tailored to these travellers.

Your only job as a homeowner is to pay the mortgage and make sure the lights stay on. We handle everything else. From marketing and advertising your vacation rental to communicating with guests to cleaning and regular maintenance—we do it all. That means no late-night calls from guests, no dealing with contractors, and no waiting on hold for an hour to get help from technical support when software fails.

To sum it up, we’re very hands-on so you can be very hands-off.

If you’re comparing property management companies and the different services they offer, be sure to ask for a full list of what they provide because they don’t all define “full-service management” the same way. 

The first step would be to contact us. After an initial meeting, we’ll know if (and how) we can help manage your short-term rental property.  

If everything looks, sounds, and feels good, we send you a management agreement and put dates on the calendar to start the onboarding process. Our main priority is to get your vacation rental up and running as quickly as possible. 

With iForest by your side… 

• You save 
• You earn more money
• Owning a short-term rental property becomes 

We believe that you shouldn’t have to pay for a vacation home. Instead, your vacation home should pay you. And our full-service property management solution makes it possible, without you ever having to lift a finger. 

As often as you’d like. 

If the calendar is open and there are no guest reservations, you can book your vacation home for yourself, your family, and your friends whenever you wish. 

At iForest, we aim for long-term relationships but we don’t need a long-term contract to achieve that. Our terms are simple: give us 90 days to show you what we can do, then cancel any time after that with 30 days written notice.

If there are any guests arriving in the next 90 days, we’ll do our best to relocate them but also ask that you honour their reservation if we aren’t able to accommodate them elsewhere. If you prefer, we can also limit how far out your short-term rental property can be booked (i.e., 60 days).

Yes, we certainly do, and more! We outperform market occupancy and command a higher rate than similar listings in the area. 

We list your short -term rental property on all the major vacation rental booking sites including Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, Expedia, TripAdvisor, and more. 

Effective advertising is just as much about the guest experience as it is about digital marketing. If you want to maximize your earning potential, you not only have to ensure your vacation rental is found online but you also have to create a story so good that guests can’t wait to book it!

Pricing your home isn’t just about getting the highest nightly rate you can get. Revenue management, as it’s called in the industry, is about garnering the most rental revenue possible. 

Occupancy and Nightly Rates are great indicators of performance, but they aren’t the end-all-be-all of your vacation rental’s success. You could have the highest rates but not get booked. Or you could be at 100% occupancy but not be making any money. 

So, our pricing strategy revolves around finding that balance. It’s the art and science of juggling ranking algorithms, traveler demand, and competitive analysis, among many other factors. There’s a lot that plays into pricing (i.e., weather, local events, historical trends, etc.) but one thing we can tell you is that we’re very good it. 

Ultimately, that’s your decision and we’ll respect it; however, we can’t guarantee that all the guests staying at your short-term rental property will do the same.

Here’s one thing to consider: if guests can bring their pets without your permission anyways, why not turn it into your competitive advantage?

Pet-friendly homes typically attract higher-value bookings, repeat guests, and higher occupancy during low-demand periods which all contribute to a bigger bottom line for you.  

When you partner with iForest, your property—and the things inside of it—are covered by damage protection insurance. When accidents happen, each booking is insured for up to $2,500 to help cover costs of repair or replacement. 

Most of the guests we host are responsible and very reasonable, often asking us to simply send them a bill so they can cover it. 

But, in the case they don’t offer to pay for the damage, we can file a claim in about 90 seconds and get paid a few days later.

We also recommend that you upgrade your homeowner’s insurance to a commercial policy to add another layer of protection.

So far, iForest offers short-term rental property management services only in the Greater Vancouver area. 

And, if we’re not currently operating in your market, it doesn’t mean we won’t be forever.

iForest is a design-build-management, one-stop home solution firm. We are known for our personal, professional, profitable, and comprehensive property management services.

If you’re looking for a full-service management company that will help ease the burden of owning a vacation home, call us today!