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A new digital platform is touting its ability to manage Airbnb properties on an owner’s behalf.
The Brisbane-based short-term rental property management organisation Alice’s Home has just launched an online platform, with the aim of making property management services more affordable for owners.
With short-term rentals like Airbnb on the rise, the Alice’s Home team believes that the Australian property management landscape is ripe for change.
The new digital platform is called MyVirtualCohost.com, and Queensland-based property manager Seiko Ma is at the helm.
According to Ms Ma: “MyVirtualCohost.com is the first platform in Australia, and even the world, where Airbnb and short-term rental investors have an expert team of virtual co-hosts to manage their property.”
Ms Ma observed that Airbnb management can be a full-time job, especially if owners are keen to maintain the coveted “super host” badge. In a competitive short-term rental market with lots of accommodation alternatives on offer, having the “super host” status may be the difference between a guest booking a property or searching elsewhere.
“Now an owner who doesn’t have the time, or the financial resources for a property manager, is able to maintain their ‘super host’ status and message reply speed,” explained Ms Ma.
“Our team of virtual co-hosts work remotely and according to official Airbnb standards, marketing it, taking bookings and assisting with enquiries, as well as housekeeping and maintenance, and platform disputes.
“In addition, no bots or auto replies are used; all of our replies are personalised and genuine,” she added.
The new digital platform comes less than a year after Alice’s Home launched in February 2023, in a bid to free investors of the arduous task of managing their short-term rentals.
Nevertheless, the climate may be turning against initiatives like MyVirtualCohost, with councils around the nation tightening restrictions on short-term lets.
Byron Shire Council recently decided to halve their STRA cap to just 60 days in an attempt to curb the region’s out-of-control housing crisis, only days after Victoria announced a new short-stay levy.
Up in the platform’s home state of Queensland, last year saw both Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast crack down on Airbnb operators with rate hikes and planning obstacles designed to put off would-be short-term letters.
Ms Ma previously refuted the suggestion that Airbnbs are contributing to Australia’s rental crisis, arguing that Airbnbs serve a different market sector.
“Whilst normal rental properties are focused on population housing, STRs and Airbnb properties are serving families and individuals holidaying and looking for a different and more tailored experience than holiday accommodation,” Ms Ma told REB.
She concluded that “STRs and Airbnb properties should remain exactly that, and be for the purpose they were intended, rather than a stopgap for a much larger economical issue.”
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