1. Inform yourself about the holiday rental laws that apply in your Region
Ever since 2011 the regulation on holiday rentals is the responsibility of each of the 17 regions in Spain, so your rights and obligations when renting your house will vary depending on where your property is situated.
In this same section you will find an update of the holiday rental licences in Spain, region by region. It’s very important that you are informed of what happens in your area and Region and comply with everything that’s required.
In those cases in which your Area has not drafted or approved a specific law for holiday rentals, the applicable law is the LAU (Urban Rentals Law).
2. Be a member of your regional holiday rental association
In this same newsletter we give you some reasons to become a member of your regional holiday rental association.
It is simply the best way of staying informed about what is happening in your region regarding industry regulations. You’ll also get to know other homeowners and exchange experiences. Finally, to add more strength and efforts to avoid any negative situations that may arise with legislation updates.
3. If you advertise your property on online platforms, comply with the requisites and follow recommendations
Online holiday rental platforms like Spain-Holiday.com are the intermediaries between your property and holiday makers searching for a holiday home, so if you want to advertise your house you have to comply with the requisites established by the platforms (documents, information verification, taking care of your advert, be informed of what is the regulation in your Region, etc.). As you have already noticed, our Sales and Support departments work hard every day to give you the best service and make you get the maximum visibility and rentability with your holiday rental.
IMPORTANT: for any doubts referring to Hacienda and/or taxes, please contact a fiscal advisor.
4. Protect your email account/s
We’ll never stop reminding you to PROTECT the email account you use to manage your holiday rentals. You should use a password containing letters, numbers, and capital letters, but it’s also VERY IMPORTANT to link your email account with your mobile number in order to receive verification codes.
All email servers, be it Hotmail, Outlook, Gmail or Yahoo offer you the possibility of protecting your accounts against phishing or ID theft. We recommend you to read again our article on two step verification.
In addition, NEVER give your password to anybody, make sure you use them ONLY in secured websites (those that begin with “https://” or that have the security icon), and never give them by email to suspicious emails coming from corporations, banks or public organisms… They are normally fraudulent.
Taking these simple precautionary steps you will avoid making guests, and subsequently yourself, lose money. Consider this figure: in 2014, more than 14 million euros were lost in Spain due to phishing attacks.
5. Establish reasonable and clear prices
Fix a reasonable price to attract holiday makers and to make it profitable for you. To set up a price, consider low and high seasons, the location of your property and the facilities you give to your renter. It will always be better if you specify a price per night, per week and consider setting up promotional prices to fill up the dates you have not yet got a reservation for. Find some recommendations here to set your holiday rental prices.
6. Write and clearly transmit, the terms and conditions, the rules of the house or neighbourhood, and the general holiday rental rules of the town.
To guarantee a positive experience with your holiday rental, have some documentation ready with information on terms and conditions of the rental such as cancellation policy, usage rules, etc.
You can also inform about the rules of the house when giving the keys to the renters.
In any case, it will always be handy to have some general information ready, clearly visible and including: rules of the building or neighbourhood, the holiday rental regulations in the Region and, almost mandatory, your specific contact details with both email address and phone number, as well as the Wifi password and practical information for household appliances (how to put the washing machine on, dryer, TV, etc.)
7. Try and make your property an important part of the holiday makers experience
Choose to go beyond just offering a holiday rental to offering a true holiday experience. Remember how you felt when you were treated in a personal and helpful way at any place… Those feelings stay with you for long time and you will remember it. The same happens to your renters! If they feel, they remember. If they remember, they recommend.
Take care of the details in the house, provide your guests with practical and touristic information of the city and interesting areas, give them local recipes to prepare at home, also bars or restaurants nearby, and tips to enjoy more and make better use of the house. Any kind gesture will contribute to improve holidaymakers experience and the evaluation of their stay at your place.
8. Take care of the details.
Having some basic food and drinks for the first day of your guests, really makes a difference. It’s even better if you have some maps of the city, leisure and events plans, or guides for specific dates. Depending on the type of property you are renting and the profile of your guests, you can provide them with candles and aromatic elements, if they are mainly couples, or else some toys and family games if they happen to be families, for example.
Needless to say that you have to make sure the house is completely neat, clean and working. Don’t hesitate in these details because these are precisely the ones that make the difference.
9. Have a good attitude towards the holidaymaker and be reachable to attend any incident.
Try to be comprehensive, patient and to remember that many of your renters are not from Spain and will probably not know how life goes in this country, work processes and holiday routines. Do be available at any time in case an incident has to be solved and do not doubt in asking and expecting the same courtesy and sympathy from your renters.
IMPORTANT: Please do answer ALL enquiries, even if you don’t have availability. It is a very simple but very appreciated gesture from you to those who are planning their holidays in Spain. By doing this they will probably keep you in mind for their next holidays.
10. Take care of the homeowner-holidaymaker relationship, remember that word of mouth and positive comments can make you very succesful.
There is nothing more valuable and trustworthy than a recommendation from family or friends, so make sure your guests not only have a great stay in your holiday home but ensure they have a good experience before and after their stay.
Answer their emails, give tips about public transport, be grateful to them for their stay and remind them to write a comment about their experience in your house and that you are reachable at any moment in the future. As mentioned previously, simple gestures can make your house be recommended and be booked over and over again.