When we started Waikoloa Vacation Rentals over 20 years ago the primary vacation rental companies on the islands were locally owned businesses. There were the few exceptions such as Outrigger Condominium Collection. Now with the increased popularity in vacation rentals, there are many companies that manage vacation rentals nationwide that now manage here in Hawaii. Here is a look at some of main factors that differentiate these two types of companies.
Advertising
The national companies have a significantly larger advertising budget and thus have a larger reach, but that does not always equate to more reservations for a property owner. Most vacations search specific keywords such as “Waikoloa vacation rental”. When searching these terms you are equally as likely to find a location vacation rental company as you would a national one.
National companies has staff that is employed specifically to send out solicitation letters to owners. Most local property managers do not spend much time on soliciting owners and spend more time managing the properties and relying on word of mount to pick up more vacation rentals.
Presence on Property
This is probably the largest differentiating factor in favor of local vacation rental companies. Typically with local companies the owners of the companies live on island. This means they are more aware of what is going on with their business as well as your property. Most of the national companies just have a manager on island and the quality of service they offer vary from location to location depending on the employee.
While we are in the digital age, there is something to be said about face to face interaction. Local companies you can typically meet face to face with the owner of the company. The owners of the national companies are barely even known.
Local Knowledge
If you are a vacation rental homeowner and you call to sign your property up, with the larger companies you will typically speak to someone on the mainland that has minimal knowledge of your property. In most instances they will even mispronounce your property name. Most local property management companies are very familiar with the location of your property and in some instances are even familiar with your vacation rental itself.
While quality of service and these factors can vary from company to company regardless of being a local or national company, we have find this information to be true in most instances and that in Hawaii you are typically better off going with a local vacation rental company. This is validated by many of the national vacation rental companies stocks dropping significantly.
If you own a vacation rental on the Big Island of Hawaii, Waikoloa Vacation Rentals has been managing vacation rentals on the Kohala Coast for over 20 years.
