The foundations of scaling an STR business: Topics you ‘WANT’ to master
Scaling your STR business is not the same as growing it. Scaling means you’re already in a position to manage a higher volume property portfolio and an increase in guest bookings.
You have a team in place who can handle more work and are prepared to invest in tools and software to alleviate some of the pain points that your current operation deals with on a daily basis.
Scaling your STR business also means that you are at a point where you can manage growth without suffering in areas, such as employee turnover due to heavy workloads or not being able to take on properties fast enough to meet demand.
When you make the decision to scale your STR business, you will probably start to research the topics that are pertinent to a successful scaling strategy.
- What skills will help you scale successfully?
- What questions do you need answered?
- What topics should you educate yourself on?
The questions every STR entrepreneur needs to ask before scaling
What are some of the components and factors you need to consider before you embark on your STR scaling strategy?
Below are some of the questions you need to ask and answer before you get started. They are not exhaustive as your STR brand and market situation are unique.
- Do you have a strong enough product-market fit to warrant scaling your business?
- Have you identified the milestones in your scaling journey and put KPIs in place to make sure you reach each milestone?
- Do you have a strong team in place who are prepared and eager to scale with you? And do you have the right people in the right positions to support the process?
- Are you transparent with your team about the journey you are embarking on and where you need their support?
- Have you identified your USPs?
- Have you done a competitive analysis comparing your brand to others in your market?
- Do you have a deep understanding of your finances? Will you need investment to scale? What investment options are out there for you?
- Are you scaling outwards or upwards? There is a difference! Read our interview with Daniela Derin from Skol Apartments Marbella.
If you are a property manager who has scaled their operation, we would love you to share some of the actions you implemented during the planning and decision-making process of how to scale your STR business. Comment below please!
Scaling your STR business? The things you WANT to master
Moving on to education. What are the skill sets and management and operational knowledge you will need as you embark on your scaling journey?
Here the SCALE team can help you!
SCALE Show is the premium educational and networking event for professional short-term rental managers and we’re back in Barcelona on 14-16 May for the 2024 global event.
There are 10 SCALE events in total with annual country-specific events for Spain, France, Italy, UK, Dubai, smf South Africa; with Germany and the Balkans dropping in 2025; all running in tandem with the global event, as well as the inaugural SCALE Green event taking place in London on 23 April 2024.
SCALE attendees are professional short-term rental operators with ambitions to scale their business and part of our commitment to attendees is to deliver the content around the topics you want to learn.
These topics always feature in the SCALE schedule and are delivered by highly successful property managers who have scaled their operation and industry leaders who work with STR companies to achieve their scaling ambitions.
Top 10 STR topics SCALE attendees asked for
Want to know the Top 10 STR topics that SCALE attendees asked us to feature in our conferences around the globe? Here they are in order of preference:
- Direct Booking Strategies
- Review/Reputation Management
- Branding
- Case Studies From Large PMCs
- Innovation
- Professionalism and Standards
- AI
- Environmental Sustainability
- Exit Strategies
- Future Trends
And the infinite list of topics we have been asked to cover in the last 12 months. Which topics would you like to add to the list? Share below!
Will you join us for SCALE Global – Barcelona 14-15 May 2024 as we dive into these and other pertinent topics which will empower you to embark on your STR scaling journey?
Grab your tickets here and gain from a lifetime of experience from our growing list of industry speakers (announcements coming soon!)
