The cornerstone of being a SkyRun Vacation Rental Destination Owner is, of course, having vacation rental properties in your inventory. No properties to rent, no money coming in. It’s the basis of the business.
So, we’re not going to let you flounder when it comes to accumulating inventory for your business.
In other words, our partnership with you runs deep, so getting vacation homes in your network is part of our training. When you attend SkyRun’s training, we’ll walk you through the process step by step.
How it Works
The key is finding absentee homeowners. These are people who own a home in your destination market but don’t live in the home full time. In fact, they probably only visit occasionally, or maybe not at all. They may have bought the property with the intention of renting it out full time. The point is, the home is available as a short-term vacation rental.
There are a number of owner acquisition strategies to employ. Keep in mind that SkyRun has resources for finding out the names and contact information mentioned in all these strategies, so rest assured, we are here to help.
An Overview of Homeowner Acquisition Strategies
Targeted direct mail to absentee homeowners — You’ll mail a hard copy letter in local and national markets to absentee homeowners explaining the benefits and potential income for renting their property. It will include a call-to-action to ask if they’d like to know more about your program.
Targeted email campaign to absentee homeowners — Works the same as the direct mail strategy, however, it’s done through email. There are a few different strategies to earn opted-in email addresses through your website and digital advertising that we will help you execute.
Targeted outreach through Mergers & Acquisitions — Mergers & Acquisitions is a list of qualified business owners who want to either exit or enter any particular business. In this case, they would have already expressed an interest in buying or selling a vacation rental business. We will help you navigate the listings in the M&A marketplace.
Incentive Programs — As you build your business, you’ll find you get a fair share of your vacation rental inventory through referrals [see below]. These valuable business tips should not go unrewarded. We’ll help you develop an incentive program that rewards your referral sources. When the reward is worth their effort, you’ll motivate people to stay on the lookout for potential new properties to add to your inventory.
Incentives can be in the form of a flat fee, a percentage of the rental income, or a discount on fees or advertising. There are many ways to set up your incentive program and we’re here to help you find the one that works best for you.
Realtor Referrals — Realtors have a front-row seat to who’s buying and who’s selling in your destination market. When you establish a good working relationship with a real estate agency or independent realtor, you strike a mutual agreement where you help them promote their business if they send you referrals. It’s important to note that since SkyRun doesn’t sell real estate, working with realtors doesn’t pose a threat of your “stealing” their business from them. A good relationship benefits everyone.
Here are some ways to sweeten the pot of realtor relationships:
- Marketing materials for their real estate business placed in vacation rental homes
- Links from their website to yours and vice-versa
- Potential buyers will be referred to them
- Complimentary analysis for investor clients and listings
- Referral incentives
- Mutual high regard and exceptional care for each other’s clients
Owner Referrals — Your current owner base is an excellent way to garner referrals. Once you have a few satisfied homeowners in your network, you’ll set up a strategy for asking them for referrals. We’ll help you develop a referral program to help you find other interested vacation rental homeowners.
In fact, you might be in the vacation rental business because you own a vacation property yourself. Think about how you came to your decision to buy, then rent your property. Your ability to relate to a potential client could be a determining factor in their decision. You might even have neighbors who would be more than happy to entrust their property to you.
Vendor Referrals — Your housekeeping company, the pool cleaning company, and your landscaping company are all potential referring partners. They typically have a circuit of houses they service that could be prospective clients. A good relationship with your vendors could lead to helpful inside information. This is where your incentive program will come in extra handy.
The value of building relationships with local business owners cannot be underestimated. Having a good relationship with local business owners can help your business succeed on more than one level. Read our blog that covers how to make money as a SkyRun Owner for more info.
Local Market — While it’s not essential to live in the destination market where you own your business, it helps in the process of accumulating inventory. Even if you only live in the market part-time or temporarily while you’re building the business, the relationships you build in the community can prove to be invaluable.
Don’t be shy about telling everyone you know you’re starting a new vacation rental business. The restaurant you frequent, your dry-cleaner, the grocer, the person who cuts your hair are all potential sources. You’re looking for homeowners who would like to have their investment property start to make money and pay them back. Who wouldn’t be interested in that?
Support
Acquiring homes in your network is potentially the biggest and most important step in the process of building your SkyRun vacation rental business. Because it’s such an important step, we have devoted a significant amount of our resources to staffing our support team.
As part of the license agreement, you are assigned an Owner Advocate on our Internal Marketing Team. This specialist will work with you to launch your campaign to acquire inventory. He or she will help you develop marketing materials in the form of:
- Templates
- Direct mail and email content creation
- Social media campaigns
- Customizable website development
- Help with SEO, blog posts, etc.
- Various letters for different purposes
- All other forms of collateral we have available for your use
The Possibilities for Success
When approaching people in the local market, keep in mind there are no restrictions on the types of properties you can add to your inventory. Single-family homes, condos, villas, cabins, country cottages, lavish estates, and castles are all possibilities. Look at any type of property where people might be interested in vacationing and where absentee homeowners might be interested in extra income. Thinking outside the box could lead to your next best vacation rental property prospect.
Stepping out of your comfort zone to acquire inventory for your SkyRun business may be the scariest and most challenging part of building your business. But once you get over the hurdle of adding your first vacation property, you’ll find it just keeps getting easier and easier. You’re helping people. And once you realize you’re helping homeowners and vacationers alike, it’s a smooth sailing adventure going forward.
Let's Talk
If becoming a SkyRun Vacation Rental Destination Owner sounds like it could be for you and you’d like to know more, contact Lukas Krause, CEO, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
SkyRun is a full-service Vacation Rental Property Management company that licenses its business to individual entrepreneurs, who become Destination Owners. In 2021, RentalsUnited.com lists SkyRun as one of the top 50 global companies leading the way in Vacation Rental Property Management.