Short-term rentals5 min read
How to run a guest house: bookings, staff and cleaning
A guest house or a group of cottages is different from a city apartment: more guests, longer stays, stronger seasonality, and extras such as a sauna, a barbecue or parking. There is more work too: cleaning a large house, laundry, the grounds and communicating with groups of guests. Here is how to organise bookings, staff and cleaning so your guest house runs predictably.
Rooms or houses: how to set up properties
First, decide how your property is sold.
- A guest house with rooms. Each room is sold separately and needs its own row in the calendar. That way you can take bookings for different rooms on the same dates.
- A group of houses or cottages. Each house is sold as a whole and also takes its own row.
- A mix of both. Rooms in the main house and separate cottages are easiest to manage in one calendar, grouped by type.
Bookings and seasonality
Occupancy at countryside properties depends heavily on the season, weekends and holidays. A few rules help even it out.
- A minimum stay at weekends and on holidays protects you from one-night bookings that leave the house empty for the rest of the week.
- Different prices by day of the week and season help fill weekdays and the low season.
- Several sales channels together with your own website increase the number of bookings. Occupancy must then sync automatically, or the risk of double bookings grows.
- Direct bookings from families, groups and returning guests bring more revenue and repeat stays.
Extras
A sauna, a barbecue, parking, bicycles and equipment hire raise the average booking value and make the stay more comfortable. They need to be tracked as carefully as the stay itself.
- Each extra has its own price and a limited quantity: one sauna, two bicycles, three parking spaces.
- An extra’s availability is tracked separately from the stay, so the sauna is never promised to two groups for the same time.
- The cost of extras appears as a separate line in the booking, so the guest sees what they are paying for.
Deposit, rules and the condition of the house
A countryside house carries a higher risk of damage: groups, parties, the barbecue and the sauna. These help protect the property:
- a deposit that is returned after the house is checked;
- house rules the guest knows before arrival: quiet hours, number of guests, smoking and pets;
- checking the guest before confirming the booking;
- a photo report on the condition of the house after every check-out.
More on this in the articles “Prepayments and deposits in vacation rentals” and“How to check a guest before check-in”.
Staff and roles
A guest house usually has several people working: a manager handles bookings and welcomes guests, housekeepers clean the houses, and sometimes someone looks after the grounds. So everyone knows their tasks:
- the manager works with the bookings and guests of their assigned properties;
- the housekeeper sees only their own cleaning tasks with the address, time and property rules;
- the owner is notified about new bookings, cancellations and properties being ready;
- a departing employee’s access is revoked immediately.
Cleaning a large house
Cleaning a house with several bedrooms takes longer than an apartment, so leave a margin when setting check-out and check-in times. These help:
- a cleaning schedule built from check-outs, with urgent cleans before same-day check-ins;
- an assigned housekeeper for each house;
- a single checklist with items for the sauna, the barbecue area and the grounds;
- a photo report and a check before the next arrival.
More in the article “Cleaning after check-out”.
Tracking revenue and expenses
A countryside property has more expenses than an apartment: electricity and heating, firewood, rubbish collection, pool or sauna upkeep and grounds work. Track them for each house and compare them with monthly revenue and occupancy to see which houses and seasons are profitable. More on the metrics in the article “Revenue and expenses in vacation rentals”.
How it works in Glavbook
- Houses, cottages and hotels with rooms are managed in one calendar, with each house or room on its own row.
- Property extras: parking, bicycles, sports and other equipment, and other services. Their availability is tracked separately from the stay, and their cost appears as a separate line in the booking.
- Price, prepayment and deposit in the booking card; house rules and check-in instructions in the property card.
- A cleaning schedule based on check-outs, a mobile workspace for housekeepers and a photo report on the house’s condition that feeds into the guest rating.
- Manager and housekeeper roles with access only to their own properties, plus team notifications.
- The website booking engine shows guests available houses with prices for their dates.
- Expenses for every property and revenue and occupancy analytics.
More on the page “Guest houses and holiday parks”.
FAQ
How do I manage a guest house with rooms and separate cottages together?
Each room and each cottage has its own row in the shared calendar, grouped by type. That way you see occupancy for the whole site.
How do I track the sauna and other extras?
Each service is set up as a property extra with its own price and quantity. It is added to the booking as a separate line, and its availability does not block the stay dates.
What deposit should I take for a countryside house?
The deposit depends on the standard of the house and the number of guests. Tell the guest the amount in advance and return it after checking the house with a photo report.