Maximizing your asset visibility in a saturated market, such as Myrtle Beach, SC
If you know, you know! If you own an investment property in a market such as Myrtle Beach, you know and understand the level of competition present. There is no denying, nor getting around it; you are surrounded by a sea of competition, at every turn. The Horry county market continues to explode, and savvy owners and property managers are constantly searching for the best methods and mediums to increase traction and visibility for their marketing dollars. Long gone are the days where you could simply spend $300.00 per year on VRBO or Airbnb, throw up a few photos, five star ratings, and sit back and wait on the weeks to fill. While technology has increased visibility and viability of the rental assets in Myrtle Beach, maximizing return on investment, and keeping your calendar full takes a well thought out plan, highly executed, with daily tweaking, and optimization.
Knowing these, we offer simple and effective strategies to maximize the visibility of the asset you are attempting to lease, consistently increase your revenue, while also protecting your asset from the wear and tear, which will certainly happen with a property which is continuously occupies. For our purposes, we will focus on the two most prevalent types of real estate assets in Myrtle Beach, vacation rentals, and long-term rentals.
Vacation Rental Marketing. Whether you self-manage the asset or have it managed by a property manager, your marketing plan must contain a multi-pronged approach in ensuring the asset receives the highest levels of visibility and rental opportunities. As stated above, simply listing the property on a single property management website, and expecting them to blast it out to all corners of the United States for rental income is a notion of many years past. An effective, comprehensive marketing strategy for any vacation rental unit will consist of all of the following:
1 Inclusion on one main platform, such as a base website. Many self-managed owners maintain an individual property website, generally for one to about four properties, owned within a confined area of Myrtle Beach. While this is a great beginning strategy, there are many pieces missing in maximizing visibility. The number one challenge of this method is Google (or other search engine) algortihms and behaviors. It is impossible to receive page one listing status on Google for one to several vacation rentals units. And we all know, a page one Google listing should be the marketing goal of any and every business entity. Again, this is a great starting point, but there are other steps and avenues of visibility missing.
2 Inclusion of either a VRBO or Airbnb listing, to compliment your base website. If you ask 100 owners, you will receive varying responses on which is a better platform for marketing your vacation rental. While we are long-time fans of VRBO, Airbnb maintains a huge presence in the rental market. This is a personal preference call, but the bottom line is that, in order to maximize your visibility, you need to maintain a landing page with one of these two giants, in addition to your base website.
3 Creation of a dedicated Facebook page for your property. It literally takes 30 minutes to create a great Facebook page, solely dedicated to the listing of your vacation rental asset. Because we know that in many cases, marketing your unit to friends and colleagues is a single great strategy for filling your calendar, now you have access to create your page, and ask your Facebook friends (whom you already have) to like your page. From here, you can offer them specials, repeat weeks year to year, and customize your rental efforts to those you know and trust the most.
4 Create "The Story" of your unit, and why it is better than the hundreds and thousands like it. Let's say, for the purposes of this article, there are 8500 two bedroom condos located in the city limits of Myrtle Beach. Think about that for a minute, from a competition perspective. Where does your unit rank among this literal score of infinite possibilities? You already have the information above to create a fantastic, complete marketing platform, but why is your unit, say, at Admiral's Quarters superior to the same unit at Atlantica?
a. Begin by creating "The Story" of your unit. They are all distinct, and have their own, living, breathing personalities. Families, for example, enjoy reading website bios of properties, where the owner has created a personal touch for the unit, beginning with a great name, and a beautiful story of the history and significance of the unit to the person or family who owns it. Include this detail in all of your marketing efforts. Allow your prospects to "feel" what it will be like staying in your unit, looking out over the balcony, and seeing the beautiful Atlantic, etc.
b. Interior & Exterior Curb Appeal. If your property is a house, exterior curb appeal is of vital importance. All of your property services, such as landscaping must be in order. Paint should be fresh, and exterior furniture should be clean and well maintained. Grills, and swimming pools must be upkept and maintained, as if these amenities are present, your guests will demand they be in complete working order, clean, and ready for them to begin their vacation.
c. Interior Curb Appeal. We all know that photos and 360 tours can be completely misleading. Have you ever walked into a vacation spot, and said to yourself, "This is NOT what the photos on the website look like? To this end, the eye test must be in compliance with that which the photos or video show. There are a laundry list of items which fall under this category. However, suffice it to say that all small and large kitchen appliances must remain fully functional, furniture must be clean, and functional. Bed comforters, blankets, sheets and towels must be of high quality, regularly cleaned, and replaced as needed. Carpets, LVP and LVT flooring must be maintained, cleaned regularly and be in its best condition. Always remember, it is an exercise in futility to have an amazing marketing program and a subpar unit. Your guests will destroy your online reputation quickly, and the notion of repeat renters will be impossible. Remember, one of your number one goals is to have the same couple, or family lease your unit (while they are present, if possible) for the same dates of the next year.
Long-Term Rental Marketing. The marketing practices for a long-term rental are completely different than that of a vacation rental. Generally speaking, you are seeking visibility to an already existing market of residents in the Myrtle Beach area. Sure, there are situations where people are relocating to the Myrtle Beach area (about 56 persons per day), and they need long-term housing. Some of these folks are purchasing, and need a six month lease while their existing home sells. Others are relocating, and building, so they will need even more extended periods of long-term housing. In most cases, simply placing the long-term unit on a property website and marketing in on Facebook which generally generate a tenant fairly quickly. As such, the notion of marketing is not as much of a process, and the process of what to do after the initial tenant is placed in much more paramount. Below is a simple list of things to do after you have placed your long-term tenant.
1 Stay in constant contact with the lessee. We own long-term rental properties outside of those managed for our clients. Our longstanding practice is at least a monthly communication with the tenant, in the form of a simple text or email. No one wants a landlord who we only hear from when something breaks. Simply checking in and saying hello goes a long way with a long-term tenant.
2 Actively seek referrals from your current tenants. Common sense tells us that if we have an amazing tenant in place, they might be able to refer other amazing people to you, upon the completion of their lease. If you own multiple properties in the Myrtle Beach area, as quickly as you place a great tenant, who pays on time, and cares for the property, begin soliciting contacts in their sphere for possible future placement. Offer referrals fees as incentives for them to refer tenants to you. Remember, identically to vacation rental units, competition among homes is very high in Myrtle Beach, with hundreds upon thousands of rental units in the area.
3 Have a front end exit strategy, well in advance. This is the absolute key to long-term rental management. There should be few surprises, although they will happen from time to time. For example, we had a long-term tenant who was arrested in January. Although these types of situations are not overly common, they do happen. Situations like this can cause major scrambling, if you do not have the proper systems in place.
Under a normal flow, you know, in advance when your long-term tenant is vacating, you begin in advance advertising for a replacement, have the new tenant waiting in the wing, and have your property services, such as carpet cleaning, housekeeping cleaning, etc. lined up weeks out, so you can end one contract, and begin another within a matter of days.
4 Know the costs up front. Like any leased asset, you already know you are going to have to spend money for the maintenance and upkeep of the unit. For long-term units, as stated above, and at a minimum, you already know that carpets will have to be cleaned, any vinyl, LVP, or LVT flooring will need to be cleaned, the unit will be need to be professionally cleaned, and a thorough maintenance inspection needs to take place, for all appliances, HVAC, electrical, and plumbing. These are not areas in which you need to attempt to save money. Pay for these services, and present your incoming tenant with the most pristine property available.
That's It! You are now armed with all the pertinent information needed to excellently position your asset. However, if this sounds too daunting, professional property managers, such as Integrity Management Systems, LLC do exist to take this heavy lifting off of you. We are experts in the above, and can completely take these headaches away from you. If we can be of assistance to you in the future, please give us a shout. Thanks for reading, and we hope you were able to take a nugget of information with you.
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