How to Find a Good Villa Management Company in Bali

You are going to buy a villa or you already have a villa in Bali but you only stay there ie  maximum 3 months in a year, the question : what are you going to do about the remaining  9 months?

Even if the villa is left empty, it requires regular  maintenance and you still have to pay bills ie electricity, taxes etc. In the meantime you are miles away from Bali, making it difficult to organize things unless you have someone you trust in Bali to take care the villa for you like a resort and Spa or even like your hotel destination.

How to Find a Good Villa Management Company in Bali how to find a good villa management in Bali

The most logical thing to do is to use a villa management service. A villa management in Bali will help you with villa maintenance and at the same time turn it as ‘a money machine’ so your villa can finance itself and give you another source of income.

Before discussing more about a villa management company and its services, let’s look into villa categories to help you identify your needs as the property owner so that you can find the right villa management company for you.

1. Premium & luxury private villa

    Let’s agree that this category commonly posses the following:

­   Top location ie beachfront, on the cliff top facing the ocean, etc

­   Premium building material with great architecture work

­   5 star facilities and amenities sometimes with additional feature ie gym, spa room, helipad

­   Stylish interior with finest interior ornaments, linen, artwork

­   Spacious. Generous in size

2. Great value private villa

     A villa can be categorize as great value villa if it posses the following:

­   Strategic location, ie in the heart of Seminyak, Canggu, Sanur with easy access to the main action

­   Good quality building material & nice architecture work

­   Hotel standard  facilities and amenities

­   Tasty interior with functional furniture

­   Sufficient in size

3. Budget  accommodation

­   Simple accommodation with the basic essential ie bed, bathroom

­   Basic facilities & amenities

­   Shared swimming pool or no pool at all

Based on the above explanation – now you have a clear idea about  the type of your property  (luxury, good value or budget accommodation). Having said that you will be able to screen & choose  the most suitable villa management company to meet your needs.

The next question arises – how to find a good villa management in Bali that suits your property type? A management that is capable to do a very good property maintenance & at the same is also an excellent good marketer who can turn your property into a profitable asset.

To start with you can do any or all of the following:

1.    Do a little research over the internet – most reputable villa management companies have a website. See their portfolio (type of property they have been managing, total of villa under their management). Check also  their marketing collateral including photos, brochures (if any). 

2.    Pick 1 or 2 villas listed in their website and then search them in google, bing, etc – you can see how many times those 2 villas pop up in the search result and you can count how many OTA (online travel agent) & booking agents who represent them.

3.    Villa management companies today commonly have online booking calendar. This is a simple way to check if a management company does its marketing activity effectively or not. If you see villas are mostly booked (normally indicated with red color – meaning that villa is sold out) even for months ahead of time,  this is a sign you should consider their service.

4.    Call several  villa management companies and pretend as a guest who is looking for a villa.  The way they treat you & your inquiry shows you how they will treat your future guests J

5.    Still pretend as a potential guest, do a site inspection.  Seeing is believing. You can see if the maintenance is excellent or poor.

Once you have done the above little research – to find a good villa management company is not difficult to do.

Below are roles of a villa management company in general. These are not  intended to be a comprehensive list of villa  management services, however you can use this as a guidance:

Evaluate the property & determine an accurate & marketable rental rate

­   Perform detailed documentation of the interior and exterior including photos

­   Offer recommendations on repairs and make over  that maximize monthly rent while providing good ROI.

­   Compile  data on rental rates in the area and work with owners to determine the marketable rental rate. ( This is to ensure that you will not rent your villa below the market price or too high that prospective guests turn to other villas - remember potential guests do compare prices)

­   The pros and cons of different policies such as accepting pets, allowing private function ie wedding, birthday etc.

Market the property for rent

­   Prepare villa for rent

o   Clean villa and optimize interior appeal

o   Manicure landscaping to increase the whole villa appeal

­   Do a proper photo shooting for marketing collateral purposes (website, brochure etc)

­   Actively market the villa through different advertising/marketing medium. Some of the mediums commonly used are:

o   Paid and free rental listing websites

o   Print publications

o   Signs

o   OTA (online travel agents ie Agoda, AsiaRoom, etc)

o   Fliers/brochure

­   Work with other travel agents & booking agents to maximize villa occupancy

­   Provide a fast & efficient reservation assistance where the prospective guests can book villa and get confirmation immediately.

­   Meet the prospective guests or booking agents for showings throughout the week and weekend.

Guest Check In

­    Confirm  check in date with guest

­    Prepare the villa for guest check in (cleaning & staffing)

­    Handling guest check in ( organizing airport transfer &  meet the guest on arrival at the villa)

­    Collect balance payment & security deposit (if applicable)

Guest  Check Out

­   Inspect unit and fill out a report on the property's condition when the guest checks out

­   Provide guest  with a copy as well as estimated damages (if any)

­   Return the balance of the security deposit to the guest (commonly applicable when a function/event involves)

­   Clean the villa &  do repairs if needed

­   Put the villa back on the market for rent

Rental payment collection

­   Receiving rent

­   Follow up late payments

­   Enforcing late fees

Financial

­    Provide accounting property management services

­    Make payments on behalf of owner

­    Detailed documentation of expenses via invoices and receipts

­    Maintain all historical records (paid invoices, leases, inspection reports, warranties, etc.)

­    Provide annual reporting, structured for tax purposes as well as required tax documents

­    Provide easy to read monthly cash-flow statements which offer a detailed breakdown of income and itemized expenses

Maintenance and Repairs

­   Provide and oversee villa staff

­   Perform regular  inspections (Inside and outside)

­   Send owner regular  reports on the condition of the villa

­   Establish a preventative maintenance policy to identify and deal with repair needs

­   Assign jobs to different parties ( handyman and professional contractors) based on who will do the best job for the best price.

­   Maintain outdoor areas (cleaning & landscaping)

­   Larger renovation projects

o   Provide recommendations on how the project can maximize rental income.

o   Prepare preliminary cost estimates

o   Get multiple independent bids for the work

o   Act as general contractor overseeing the work

Staffing

­   Recruit & screen villa staff

­   Oversee villa staff performance

­   Organize staff regular training to meet a specific standard

Choosing the right  villa management company to provide services for your villa in Bali is  the best and easiest ways to save your money and start a holiday retirement income.