Tips for letting

The quality and the image should be carefully considered when having to convince a potential guest to book your property. A good photo requires a digital camera and sunshine since both indoor and outdoor shots will look better when the weather is nice. Detail shots such as a set table are nice subjects/images, but will not give an impression of the room, which is of more importance to the guest. To get a feel about the room in its full size it is recommended to take the shot from one corner of the room.

The rental price is dependent on many different factors. To set the ideal price, ask yourself the following questions:

- Do I let all year round?
- How many nights should a guest stay for it to be profitable?
- Should I set a price per person or for the whole property?
- What additional services do I offer?

When letting all year round the price per night should vary according to season. Dividing the year into seasons will help you to adapt the price during low and high season. With a minimum stay you can decide how many nights are the minimum before your property is available for a booking. Additionally, decide whether the price per night is valid for the entire property or only accounts for a certain amount of guests. If you are offering additional services these can be added as extras. This could for example be final clean, bed linen or towels and you can choose if these should be included, mandatory or optional for the rental.

Yes, you can set a mandatory charge for a final clean. It is however important to enter the price in your listing. It is important to not only enter the price per night but also all additional mandatory charges so that the guest can calculate the correct rental price. If the cost for the final clean is included in the rental price, then please write a short but clear remark about this in your listing. This will leave the guest well informed.

Some landlords charge a deposit as a security for any potential damages during the rental period. This is legally acceptable. If you decide to charge a deposit, guests should be informed accordingly upon a booking. It is not permitted to charge a deposit after a rental contract has been concluded if the guest has not prior been notified.
Whether it is custom or not to charge a deposit is dependent on the holiday destination. In Spain and France most landlords charge a deposit, but only a few does that in Germany.

A booking request can seem suspicious when the guest wishes to pay with a cheque. Cheques can be cancelled until several weeks after it has been issued, and they are therefore used frequently by cheque fraudsters. You should instead require that the guest transfers the rental price, since a money transfer cannot be cancelled. If you are in doubt then please reject the suspicious booking request.

During or after a booking contract has been concluded you can arrange the handover of keys with the guest. On the day of arrival the guest should be welcomed by either you or a trusted colleague and together you should make a tour through the holiday property. We also recommend that you exchange telephone numbers in case of for example a delayed arrival.

If the guest finds your holiday property in the same condition as described it will leave no reason for dissatisfaction. You should therefore make sure that prices, special offers and additional services are up to date. Furthermore, a proper handover of keys as well as a perfectly clean property should be guaranteed. It is also important that the guest can come in contact you. If the property is moreover in good condition you will leave satisfied guests.

You should in a booking agreement protect yourself against all eventualities and speak with the guest about everything that may happen in advance. Then you will know what to do in an emergency and also get a good impression of your guest. This is also a good protection against fraudsters. The agreement should at best be signed by the guest some time before the arrival date.

The agreement should include payment deadlines and a cancellation policy. If your guest for example transfers a deposit before the arrival you will already have secured a part of the rental price. The rest of the amount can then be paid upon arrival or departure. Remember to ask for all contact details of your guest so you will always have an opportunity to contact him or her. Here you can download an example of a booking agreement, which you can use as inspiration.

The SEPA is a European initiative and a method for making cashless payments in euro. This means that you will no longer need the account number and sort code when transferring money, but instead an IBAN number. The IBAN number is an international banking account number and consists of a country code, a check digit, the sort code and the account number. When transferring money internationally you will also need a BIC number, which is an international standardised banking code comparable with the sort code and will be required for transfers until 01.02.2016.

The IBAN and BIC numbers can for example be found in your bank account statement. You can make a transfer as usual. You can for example find the account identification codes of your contractual partner on their invoice. With direct debit you will find the information through the direct debit submitter. Here you must check and confirm the IBAN and BIC numbers.

The SEPA agreement is per 01.02.2014 valid in the 28 EU countries as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Monaco and Switzerland.

%%allg_site is one of Travanto’s more than 150 regional web portals. The following idea is behind the concept: Every holiday destination is described in more details than is possible on a large cross-regional web portal. You will not only find private holiday accommodation but also information about the specific destination such as sights, activities, restaurants and events. The landlords will too benefit from this concept: because of the regional orientation of the portals, only guests interested in doing holiday in this particular region will visit the portal. (So werden Streuverluste vermieden. – I would delete this short sentence.)

The company Travanto was founded in 2005 and is one of the largest providers of holiday apartments and houses online. Besides being advertised on the regional portals all holiday homes will also be advertised on the main portal Travanto.de

On www.travanto-travel.de you will find more information about the company and our portals.