Managing a short-term rental isn't just about handing over the keys to travellers when they arrive; it's an accumulation of small tasks that you know better than we do! You have to send arrival information, be available to hand over the keys, get the inventory signed, collect the deposit, and then return it. If you consider these actions separately, you might think it's only 2 minutes lost, but when they're put together, they end up taking up a good part of your days.
Have you ever wondered how much time you actually spend on these repetitive and time-consuming tasks? Most managers have never done the calculation, because this time is lost within the time they dedicate to their day-to-day management.
The good news is that today, thanks to numerous tools, the majority of these tasks can be dematerialised. In this article, we will review four processes that you can digitise right now with the aim of offering a seamless experience for your travellers while lightening your workload.
1/ Seamless check-in and check-out: photographic inventory and electronic signature
Check-in is the first moment you meet your travellers, and it's proven that opinions are formed within the first few minutes of your encounter. It's crucial to make travellers feel comfortable and confident, especially as they've often travelled for hours to finally arrive on holiday. However, from your perspective, it can quickly become an administrative chore: between filling out a paper inventory, photos scattered across your phone, and a contract to get signed on the spot, it becomes a headache.
To reduce the time you spend on this aspect, we advise you to opt for dematerialised solutions designed to meet your needs. Among these, we find electronic signatures and digital inventory reports. Your documents are signed remotely, before the travellers arrive. The inventory report is done via time-stamped photos, directly from the traveller's mobile, and you benefit from a centralisation of all the information.
These solutions allow you to welcome your travellers with peace of mind, freeing up more time to give them high-value information.
2/ Key management for short-term rentals: secure and traceable 24/7 access
How many times have you rearranged your evening for a traveller delayed by a train or flight? Key handover is one of the most stressful moments of your business. You need to be available at the right time, juggle schedules, not to mention not picking the wrong keys for the handover. It's also one of the areas where, thanks to automation, you can be more at ease and save time.
How does a smart key box work
Solutions such as Keycafe They offer connected key boxes, which are accessible 24/7. The principle is simple: your travellers collect their key using a unique code received by SMS or email, without you needing to be present on site.
The second advantage is that the system supports you as you grow. Whether you manage one property or several hundred, its capacity adjusts to your portfolio. Furthermore, Keycafe connects to your existing tools, your PMS or your channel manager, thanks to an API. In practical terms, the access code can be sent automatically with each booking, without you having to copy and paste anything.
Real-time tracking of every key
Where this type of dematerialised solution will make a difference in your daily life is from a traceability perspective. Every key exchange with your travellers is recorded. You know in real time who holds which key, with a notification for every collection and every return. This solution can be particularly useful for streamlining the movements of your cleaning teams.
Automated notifications and refunds: a seamless traveller experience
Between the follow-up emails to send and travellers waiting for information to prepare a trip, communication ends up taking up a huge amount of your time. To resolve this problem, we advise you to implement automated notifications. At each key stage, booking confirmed, access code sent, deposit refunded, your traveller is informed in real time, without you having to worry about it.
To implement this, you simply need to use a property management tool that automatically triggers messages at each stage of the stay. This tool connects to your other solutions so that the entire journey is seamless and requires no manual intervention. On your end, you receive far fewer requests to deal with, as a well-informed client is a client who won't chase you.
4/ From paper deposit to online deposit: secure from booking
Even today, the security deposit remains the most anachronistic process in your business. Cheques to keep, bank pre-authorisations taken manually, sums to cash and then refund. It is also one of the most sensitive topics, which can lead to disputes or tensions with your travellers.
Bank footprint, how does it work?
With Swikly, the principle is simple, for both you and your travellers. From the moment of booking, the traveller deposits in a few clicks an online bank footprintFor him, there's no sum blocked in his account that would impact his banking limit during his holiday, and no surprises upon arrival after hours of driving.
What digital bail changes for the manager
As a property owner, you have the guarantee that your property is secure even before tenants arrive. You no longer have cheques to keep, or manual payments or refunds to manage. At the end of the stay, if there are no incidents, the security deposit is released automatically and the traveller is notified, without you having to intervene. And in the event of damage, you are covered and Swikly's teams will handle the dispute process.
As a result, where a paper guarantee would take you long minutes, Swikly saves you an average of 5 to 8 minutes per file. Let's take the example of a Saturday in July with 50 arrivals to manage; that's over 4 hours you no longer spend managing cheques and impressions.
Conclusion: Digitising your processes, the real lever for peace of mind
Digitising your processes isn't just for large concierge services; it's within reach of any manager who decides to dedicate a little time and method to it. This is what will enable you to offer a seamless stay to your travellers, while finally catching your breath operationally. Every task you automate is time you free up to focus on the quality of your properties and your relationship with your clients.
Book an appointment in 30 minutes with our expert short-term rental team. Together, you'll set up an online deposit solution tailored to your business. It's free, no-obligation, and could well free up your weekends!
