Dallas is the leading business center in the Southwest, but it's also a tourist hotspot, attracting 22 million visitors a year. Tourism brings in $4.4 billion every year from business and leisure travelers.
Owning a short-term rental property is an excellent choice for investors wanting to earn their share of tourism income. It also involves a lot of hard work.
Some homeowners opt to manage their short-term rental properties themselves. Others choose to hire a short-term rental management company to do the work for them.
Keep reading to discover the best solutions for maximizing your Dallas investment property.
Comply With Dallas Short-Term Rental Laws
You must register your short-term rental property with the City of Dallas before you can accept any guests. There are also strict municipal ordinances concerning short-term rentals in the city.
Short-term rental owners must collect hotel occupancy taxes from their guests.
You must pay HOT to the city every month and submit a HOT report, whether you've collected any fees or not. Currently, the HOT amounts to 7% of the cost of the room. It applies to accommodations only.
You must pay federal income tax on your income from short-term rentals, too.
Marketing Your Short-Term Rental Property
The first step in marketing your vacation property is setting up attractive short-term rental pricing. You can do this by comparing your rental home to others in the area.
Next, you need to set up a long-term, multi-faceted marketing plan to attract bookings. Many online travel agents specialize in short-term rental advertising.
These include Airbnb, VRBO, Booking.com, and TripAdvisor. You can also expand your efforts to include other methods like social media posts, travel websites, or paid online advertising.
For online advertising, you need a few things. Professional photographs and videos help highlight the home's appeal. You should also compose a detailed description of the property that entices vacationers to make a booking right away.
Maintaining Your Investment Property's Appeal
Pristine, well-maintained homes with desirable amenities attract more bookings. Be sure to upgrade your home with modern conveniences and hire a cleaning service to ensure it stays immaculate.
Ongoing maintenance is a must. It helps prevent unnecessary repairs and replacements and helps you avoid guest complaints.
You must also set up an efficient system for managing guest services, such as:
- Inquiries, bookings, arrivals, and check-out
- Restocking necessary consumables
- Assisting guests with requests 24/7
- Emergency repairs
Additionally, you'll need an effective bookkeeping system to manage your income and expenses.
Hire a Short-Term Rental Management Company
The steps involved in setting up your short-term rental and earning passive income from it are the same whether you do it yourself or hire a professional. The difference is that there's a lot more time-consuming work involved in the DIY option.
We can help you enjoy short-term rental benefits without all the hard work and potential stress. Our short-term rental management company offers marketing, maintenance, accounting, reporting, and guest services.
Get in touch, and we'll help you make the most of your short-term rental property in Dallas, Texas.
