5 Tips to Airbnb Hosting in Paradise aka Grand Cayman

With international travel more popular than ever, travellers are distancing themselves from the traditional hotel stays of the past and veering more towards the adventure of renting a property all to themselves. Short term vacation rentals have seen a massive boom in popularity with the inception of sites like Airbnb. These rental sites bring ease to the planning and booking of international travel to both the consumer and the property hosts.

For the traveller a vacation rental allows for a more unique stay, a larger space for families/groups, residential style amenities like laundry and kitchens, and in some cases long term stay discounts. Particularly in Grand Cayman the expansion of Airbnb assists in the growth of tourism, allowing locals to benefit monetarily by opening up their homes to visitors, while in turn giving the visitors an opportunity to have pleasant and organic interactions with locals.

Many individuals in Grand Cayman who own rental properties have made the switch from long term rentals to short, and while it can be lucrative there are some things to consider. With that, your team at Momentum Realty has put together a list of five tips to consider when airbnbing your home in paradise!

1. Tourism Accommodation License
In accordance with The Cayman Islands Tourism Act, any individual renting out their property on a short term rental basis to visitors must obtain a Tourism Accommodation License. The process of obtaining this particular license from the government is very straight forward and all details as well as the application are easily accessible on the Visit Cayman Islands website. Once your application is submitted and you have paid the fee, your property will need to be inspected and approved by the Department of Tourism, the Department of Environmental Health, as well as the Cayman Islands Fire Service. These inspections are to ensure that your accommodations available to visitors meet the Department of Tourism’s standards for safety and cleanliness. Additionally, the fee for a one to ten bedroom property is KY $250, and the fee for a property over ten bedrooms is KY $250 plus KY $25 for every bedroom over ten bedrooms. The license must be renewed each calendar year, and as a property accommodation owner you are required by law to charge a 13% Tourist Accommodation Tax 1 and report each transaction to the Department of Tourism within 28 days in which the accommodation was provided.

This fee is not payable for renters who are ordinarily resident in Cayman for 6 months or more.

2. Photos! Photos! Photos!
A main factor in creating a high ranking listing on Airbnb is having a substantial number of high quality photos. Photos are key in a vacation rental listing because the number of clicks a listing gets once appearing on a search results page will influence the ranking of it on a website’s algorithm. The first photo on your listing should be eye catching, grabbing the potential customer’s attention within seconds.

The photo should be well lit with bright coloring; highlighting the most welcoming aspects of your property that you know set it apart from other listings (i.e. the living area, view, pool etc.). As a host you want your property to be showcased in the best light, and our tip is to include photos of every room and bathroom facility as well as property photos that display external views and any available common areas and amenities that will be accessible to the guests during their stay.

3. Automation is key
When organizing the logistics of your Airbnb vacation rental property removing yourself from the transaction process as much as possible as the host can improve efficiency exponentially. One of the essential elements of a seamless stay for your guests is the check in and checkout process. Installing smart locks in your property allows the guests to self check in/checkout, freeing up your time as a host to not be required to be present during the process. Additionally, a smart lock will optimize the security of your property and safety of your guests. Another essential to level up your Airbnb hosting is the automation of messages to guests. Having specific message templates in place to reply to common queries will reduce your reply time to guests, which in turn will increase your visibility and bookings. Lastly outsourcing tasks; such as a cleaning crew upon guest checkout, a laundry and grocery delivery services during a guests stay will ensure their comfort and your peace of mind as a host.

4. Alluring Amenities
In today’s vacation rental market it is important to differentiate your listing from the hundreds of others available. One of the premier ways to do this is through amenities. While there are some necessary amenities (i.e. washer/dryer, air conditioning, and free wifi) that all short term rentals have, there are extras that can elevate your property in this highly competitive market. Some high end amenities that can set your property apart, especially on an island like Grand Cayman, are luxurious furnishing, quality bedding & pillows, premium toiletries, black out curtains, swimming pool, outdoor sporting equipment (snorkelling masks, paddle boards, bikes etc.), and a custom stocked fridge to name a few.

5. Pricing
In order to remain competitive in today’s vacation rental market it is very important to price your listing correctly. Naturally as a host you want to make as much revenue as possible on your property, however your price cannot be exponentially higher than your competitors. Not too high and not too low, you want the price of your rental to be a perfect sweet spot in the market. The best way to find perspective on where you land in the vacation rental market, is to role play yourself as a potential guest and take to Airbnb for a little market research. Search the site and place filters similar to your listing (i.e. number of bedrooms/bathrooms, amenities, or location) to find your competitors listings, and from there you will be able to deduce how your property listing fits into the vast supply of the market. Another process that may be useful to you in the quest for the perfect price is a tool that Airbnb offers called a property value calculator, which will assist you in finding the appropriate price for your rental based on its specifications, amenities, and location.

If you are looking to purchase an investment property in Grand Cayman, now is the perfect time to do so, and renting it out as a vacation rental is a great way to make a return on your investment in a short period of time. The tourism market on island is seeing rapid growth with an influx of visitors looking for short term vacation rentals to accommodate their larger parties and families, which to our eye doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. And now that you have five tips to Airbnb hosting in Grand Cayman what are you waiting for? Let’s find the perfect investment property for you; we’re just a phone call away. Let our team at Momentum Realty help you unlock your paradise!

This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.