 Good evening and welcome to episode 366 of the Private Property Podcast. I'm your host, Uzaman Dunwan Kumailo. It's the Wednesday edition of the Private Property Podcast. If you're joining us for the first time, welcome to the family you're tuned into the early daily property show in South Africa, catering to your property needs. And to all our regular viewers on Facebook, on Instagram, as well as on YouTube, welcome to it. You know how you every single weekday, you and I have an appointment at 7pm when we're almost in conversation with the property expert who helps us navigate our property journey. And it doesn't matter where you are on your property journey, whether you're looking to buy, sell, to build, or even a tenant, this is where you're able to get really great insight that can help you make better property decisions. And talking about making better property decisions, you know, of course, we've also got a whole host of other shows that you can look forward to right here across Private Property's social media pages every single weekday at 8pm. As it's a Wednesday, you can join Esther Klassen on the first time homebuyers show, where she always comes to your screens, reflecting with people who've walked that first time homebuying journey and sharing some of the lessons and nuggets that they've picked up along the way. And every Tuesdays and Thursdays, you can catch them by on the farming podcast tackling all things agriculture, and you're able to really get a good insight on, you know, different aspects of your agricultural journey, regardless of where you want to go in the value chain. And on Mondays and Fridays, you can catch Chad on the Home Shoppers show, where he always takes us through exquisite properties that you can find on www.privateproperty.co.za. Well, those are the great programs that you can look forward to every single weekday at 8pm. Do make sure that you tune in later on as the team takes you through those shows. And of course, we also have another incredible show offering rather that you can look forward to later on this month. That's the real estate industry summit that you can really look forward to, especially if you want to deepen your knowledge on all things relating to property. You'll be able to hear from industry experts, and of course, participate in that particular virtual event that's taking place later on this month. And it's for a half day from 9 o'clock until 1pm, and you're able to get really great insights. We've shared the link that you can visit down here below if you want to get more details on it. And of course, to book your seat as you deepen your property knowledge. And of course, we also have that incredible, incredible competition that we're running on our Facebook page that you can look forward to. We give away 500 rands in cash every single day right here live on the private property podcast. And all you have to do is to comment on the pinned post on our Facebook page and share with us some of the things that you've learned as you've been watching the show. So really great advice that you give other people when it comes to property. And if we call out your name, then you stand a chance of walking away with that 500 rands in cash. And all you have to do is to make sure that you're watching us live and drop us a text to claim your price. It's that simple to walk away with cash, and of course, to continue deepening your property knowledge with private property. But this evening, we're going to be looking at something I know is a hot topic right now, not only because of what we've seen on social media, but because we are on a level one, and of course, are able to travel and making quite a huge use of this particular service. We're looking at short-term and holiday rentals. And to help us get a good sense of, you know, all things short-term rentals, I'm joined this evening by Siska, the first who's a specialist in holiday and short-term rentals. Siska, good evening, and thank you so much for joining us. Good evening, Zama. Thank you for having me. Very excited to be here. It's only a pleasure to have you with us, Siska. I think let's get into it. When we look at holiday and short-term rentals, can you perhaps give us a sense of what the figures look like? Just at a high level when you talk holiday rentals in South Africa, what kind of numbers are we typically looking at? Okay. Well, numbers at the moment are looking fantastic after COVID had had us in a massive slump. In some regions, and in particular in the coastal regions, we have seen some homes having quadrupled in their bookings. Guests and travelers are eager to get out there, allowed to travel, get away for a weekend, relax, and even longer stays, not just weekend stays, have improved because we've had that downtime with schools that had been not operating. So parents didn't want to be stuck at home. They came for a week. They came for two weeks. The figures are looking fantastic. I'm very positive. And I think it's actually just so incredible to hear that we're seeing the change in figures because we know that last year, one of the big cries, of course, from short-term landlords was that they're not able to have any bookings when we looked at where we were, even with the different alert levels at some point, as how dangerous we couldn't leave the province for leisurely purposes. And so really, those have been some of the things that have affected, of course, people who have sufficient properties that fall within that realm in their portfolio. And when we look at what it looks like from an investment perspective, for those at home who may want to add a short-term property in their portfolio, can you just give us an oversight of what they can expect in that particular market? Absolutely. Investing in a property for either long or short stays is always a good idea. There is a little bit more that goes on in the background for short-stay that owners do need to be aware of. For instance, you have to secure your property, then you've got to furnish your property, it's got to have cutlery, it's got to have crockery. Linen is going to have amenities like Wi-Fi and DSTV. All those aspects within a short-stay rental with the end of the day will impact your seasonal or your monthly rate that you can offer your guests. So it is always a good idea. And if it's done properly by the right agent, then you will see your returns. And I think as we even look at the extras, as you say that when you do short-term, it looks relatively different from when you're doing sort of long-term rentals. Perhaps take us through some of the management fees and what the manager, so for those who don't DIY it, but actually get the services of a managing agent, what kind of fees are we looking at and what exactly does the managing agent effectively do? Okay, so in that regard, every agency will have their own scope that they work within, but the standard that you would look at would be anything from 10% to 30%. 30% would be a little bit more for on the higher end being a luxury villas that could reach from 700,000 to 25,000 per day. But the average in the standard would be between a 10% and a 20% that the owner can expect from the income that would have been generated from a booking. That is what an agent would expect the owner for them to give. I am this evening in conversation with Siska De Fries, who is a specialist in holiday and short-term rentals. And we're looking at short-term and holiday rentals right here on the private property park cost with myself. I want to find out from you at home, when you go on holiday, do you usually make use of short-term rentals or do you just hook yourself into a hotel as opposed to perhaps working with different service providers who even secure short-term rentals on your behalf? Or perhaps are you even booking via Airbnb? I know a lot of people find that to be slightly more convenient for them. It's cutting out the middle person and dealing with the owner directly. And that's a really great marketplace where you're able to interact with the owner. Do let us know how you go about using short-term rentals. And if you do, actually experience with it. I've heard a lot of horror stories when it comes to short-term rentals. And I want to hear some of your horror stories because I think this is also one of those things where pictures can be amazing and beautiful. And you think this is how the place looks like. And then you and your family arrive at a particular place. And it looks absolutely nothing like what you saw online. So do share with us down here below and taking some of your questions and comments on our social media pages. We've got so much on it. Victoria and Nelda Everton saying, I'm looking gorgeous. Thank you very much. The ladies are here too. Maieke Esau is also tuned in and watching what Gossos from those green hearts. And it seems it's actually Gossos and your follower anniversary. See, the team has actually been asking, did you know that it's your follower anniversary? So today was a year ago, because I think it's one year. Yes, it's exactly one year. Gossos has been following the private property page for a whole year. So I guess happy anniversary. Yeah, we should say happy anniversary. And I can see that Sandy's image is also tuned in and watching. I'm going to be taking more of your questions and comments at home. I want to find out from you your experience with short-term holiday letting. Whether the good or the bad, I know that a lot of the horror stories are there. I think one of, and I'll share mine I once, and this one was actually a large, I could have actually done a slightly better job at looking at looking it up, but found it online, pictures were beautiful, drove all the way, it was out of the province. And when I got there, realized that they only have a bath. They don't have a bath and a shower. And I literally stayed one night and I left the following day because I couldn't for the life of me do a bath. I was just like, Nope, we're not doing that. Absolutely not doing it. I drove back to Joberg the following day like it was a short stay. And I was actually able to do that. So sometimes these errors are on our behalves because I think I just needed to do a better job of reading through about the place. Now, when we then also look at processes when it comes to short-term rentals, are there any processes that people should be aware of in the event that they want to go into investing in short-term rentals? Absolutely. The process starts with your first day from meeting an owner, explaining to them what short stay is, what it involves and manage the expectations of what the generating of income will bring to them. So, and then the most important you have to explain to your owner as part of the process is that there is an absolute real risk in allowing strangers into your private space. That is one of the topics that I always discuss with my owners. They do have to understand that this is part of the process that when you start with the owner, that is where we go. From there, you go to your photos and your listings and description to be accurate so that the guest will know there is no shower, there is no Wi-Fi, there is no garage to parking because those are the most common mistakes that are made is that your description and your photos doesn't portray the property in the true face that it really is. And that's when you get unpleasant guests. Further process is getting booking agreements signed, collecting information from guests, getting payments in place, breakage deposits in place, cleaning services beforehand and after hand, maintenance on the house, you can't have a bathroom with green moldy things. That's all part of a process and within the finer details that everyone doesn't understand that there's a lot happening and this is all part of the process from meeting an owner, explaining to him what it is, meeting and greeting your guest, making sure that your guest get what it is that they've actually booked and then the big part of it is at the administration that happens completely at the back and to ensure that we give our owner's quality case to have a booking agreement signed which will ensure that if something goes wrong, that process is in place to be able to take steps in order to fix whatever has happened and gone wrong. Your, like I've mentioned, your photos and your description needs to be accurate. Yes, that's the bullet point of it, but there's a lot of methodical thinking that goes into actually getting the entire process in place. And again, if you're not an experienced person working with it, you surely are in desperate need of good quality training that will allow you to follow the process and know what will be traps. There is not to step in them for both owners and guests and yourself as an agent that needs to be protected, which is all part of this process. And you know, talking of some of those will be traps. So after the break, I want just to look at, you know, what kind of insights and advice would you give to people at home who are considering putting their property for short term rentals during the festive season? Because I think everybody's trying to see and find different ways to make an extra buck here and there, especially as we've seen the rise in costs, whether it's utilities or course universities and so for people who are looking at their current home for holiday rentals, because they know that they're going to be out of town with family and it's just going to be things. So instead, I just want to put it out and make that a little bit of extra cash. We're going to find out what you need to know if you want to do that. So what some of the do's and don'ts. But we're going to go for a quick break and see who that lucky winner is of the 500 round cash prize. And the lucky winner this evening is Queen Tarko. Queen Tarko, you are the lucky winner of that 500 round in cash. So do drop us a tick name with Sysca de Frist, who's a specialist in holiday and short term rentals. And we're looking at short term and holiday rentals. And of course, taking your questions and comments on our Facebook page, those on YouTube and Instagram. We've got Susan McCarthy saying, Sysca de Frist, our very own short stay holiday rental rocket. Very proud of your achievements, so much care and time you put into providing exceptional experience to your clients going the extra mile. And we know that it is never a crowded place. You go girl, absolutely love that. Susan, thank you so much for sharing the love. So if you want to book somebody, then you know where to go. Christine, the child that's saying these 1.5 bedrooms are also said to be two bedrooms. Yet the other happens to be so small. Absolutely hate those. And with some of them, you'd find that it was a balcony that they then turn into, you know, the second bedroom, which is the half bedroom. But it really is so small where sometimes it's even a sleeper couch as opposed to an actual bed that you're able to use. I think that's certainly some of the experience from me at home. I want to find out more from me at home. What has been your experience when it comes to holiday letting? You can share both the good and the bad. We already know that Sysca's absolutely incredible at what she does. And some of the clients are already coming up saying that they are very happy with the exceptional service that she has provided for them. Now, Sysca, before the break, I did say I want us to then look at for people at home who know that they've got a fairly great property that is in the place where people might want to stay during the holiday season. And are now contemplating to just put it on rental for this short period. And we already know it's generally not long. Now, what advice and science can you give them? Because I think it's one of those things where you might think it's going to be easy to just make a few extra thousands. But actually, you need to have a full picture of what it is you're about to get yourself into. Yes, absolutely. So the opportunity is there for owner to generate income. But again, there's more that goes into it that they generally would expect. So my advice to any permanent resident looking to rent out their private home to guests is your first and most important priority would be is to pack away any sentimental items. You don't want things to be using your grandmother's tea set and chipping a tea cup. That is and it's happened. It's happened to me before they didn't pack it away. So that is important thing is pack away any sentimental things that you don't want your guests to have access to as well as any other items you're not comfortable for them to use. That is your starting point. Your second most important would be is to be market related with your price. If you overpriced yourself, you're going to get a short booking rather go down on your price a little bit, be market competitive and get your 14 and your 21 day booking. That is the solid advice that I can give to owners coming down into the property itself. You want a clear photo record of the state of your property that you give them so that if they punch a hole in your couch with a fork because someone tipped over a bow of lasagna, you can tell them, hey, my leather couch didn't have a hole in it. You will be responsible for the repairs. So pack away what you don't want them to use, be market related with your price and have a clear record of what is going on in your home so that if something does go wrong, you have that backup so that you can address that issue and having it replaced or repaired. As you're even talking about that, Siska, a thing that came to mind was then what the rental agreement would typically look like. Things that have to be included in that rental agreement because I think sometimes people just think, it's just a short stay. Just going to be there for a few days, maybe max a week. We don't have to have anything in writing, especially people who DIY it. Whereas when you're working with an agent, they know that that is not the case. Even if somebody is coming for a short stay, they still put something in place. What are some of the key things that need to be included in that rental agreement to best protect you as the landlord who's letting out your property for short term purposes? For owners doing it themselves, it is a very risky business. I would always advise you rather go to a proper agency, a reputable agency that's got everything already in place. You get agencies with one pages that you sign, they collect your details, they give you a bit of information and the do's and the don'ts. Then you get C if setting page booking agreement, which fully includes clauses such as cancellation, guest obligations, what are they meant to do in the house, what are they meant not to do in the house, maximum guest, what happens to the breakage deposit, what is the clause for how we deal with damages. There is a clause for owners, what the expectation of owners would be to prepare the property. What is your agent's duties? It really depends on each and every agency what paperwork they put in place, but the more that you can have in there would be the best. The most important is to have a cancellation policy. Accidents do happen, people can't come, but then you are stuck without a booking that you've been preparing for for the last week and two days beforehand you're out of pocket because they can't come. Your second would be to have the correct information of your tenants arriving, be sure to have a copy of the ID, ask them for proof of residence so that you can see where they are from. Things like that needs to be included in your rental agreement. It needs to be thorough and it needs to have a wide scope of who is exactly responsible for what during what process of this day. We are taking your questions and comments this evening as we look at short-term and holiday rentals. I want to find out from you some of your experience when it comes to using holiday rentals or holiday purposes and if you're a landlord who's got some short-term rentals in your portfolio, do share with us some of the tricks of the trade that you've picked up along the way because that's one of the things that we absolutely love doing here, sharing the knowledge that we have so that other people don't need to pay the price for the school fees that we know we've already paid for. I'm in conversation with Cisca, the first is a specialist in holiday and short-term rentals. Cisca, I want us to look at and you've already started touching on it, but some of the mistakes that and I'll make it twofold. First, let's look at the mistakes that landlords make, landlords who decide to go into short-term rentals and then on the flip side, mistakes that people who use short-term rentals make, so the tenants themselves, like what are some of the mistakes that they actually make because one of the things that we know is not every issue is a landlord issue, sometimes it's the tenant that is at fault. So what are some of the mistakes that you commonly see when it comes to short-term and holiday rentals? Okay, from landlords in my experience is they think it's a quick thing. I'm going to advertise it and I'm going to call them and say I've got guests for you and this is the income that you're going to generate. The owners don't necessarily understand the impact that it will have on them in preparation for the else all about preparation because quality control inspections will be done by the right agent to ensure that if I'm going to get you a guest with that amount of booking, the property needs to meet certain standards. If those standards aren't met, what do you do then? Then it's a cancellation for the guests because the property wasn't up to par. So that is what owners need to understand is there's some preparation for them to go in their proper sprinkling to make sure that things are in order. And from the guest end, the best advice I can give to anyone is I understand that sometimes the agent or the owner themselves, their description in the photo can't be accurate, but read absolutely everything on that description. Read the fine print, read the house rules on Airbnb especially. There is a section that says house rules, what is allowed and what isn't allowed. What line of internet is the four meg line, is it the 10 meg line so that they don't arrive there and expect to do a Zoom meeting because you're there to work and you can't because it's a four meg line. The guests need to take that responsibility to read the description properly. If you are unsure, what stops you from asking the host? You can contact any host either via email on Airbnb, you can pop a message, you can WhatsApp, you can Facebook. There are so many communication methods out there, if you're not sure, just ask. You will get an answer. However, when you have booked and you arrive at a property that doesn't meet your expectations of what you've read in the description and have seen on the photos, there is measures for a guest also to get either a refund or tell the owner this isn't what we agreed upon, this isn't what we expected on. You're either giving me a refund or I'm leaving now and I will return these dates and expect what you have promised me in your description and photos will be available to me. So again, if you go with the proper agency that will eliminate so many headaches for both owners and guests is if your description and photos and amenities of the home is properly put out. And that's such an important one, I think. And even the error that I made earlier on owning up that look, I probably didn't read the text properly. And I can't remember now whether it was really a I didn't read properly or it wasn't overt that the bathroom doesn't have a shower. But I remember thinking this doesn't quite look like what I saw on the website and just didn't want to spend any more time there. I wonder if it's the first time you use that term on. I don't hear guys using it a lot. My friends and I used to use that phrase quite often. It's very refreshing to hear a guy or certainly to see a guy using that phrase. Now, as we wrap up, any final tips for our viewers at home when it comes to short term and holiday rentals, especially as we're gearing up for the festive season, many of us are making bookings, even tips on how to spot a scam because we also know that a lot of those happen. We actually cannot leave in this show without especially because we're just five to November already. But how do we spot a scam? We see a lot of those people pay a deposit and next thing you know, they arrive at a place and the person is pretty much run over with their money. So what are some key things that we need to be careful of when it comes to potentially spotting a holiday rental scam? Your absolute first red light is for them not to ask you for any paperwork to be signed or a copy of an ID or anything. They just give you banking details and ask you to pay. And then if you're uncertain, if the home has or the villa has a name, may it be let's say night villa, Google it, see if it pops up anyway. So that is the one that I found the most is if it is a scam, they just send you a bank and the price will be ridiculous. For instance, if you take a six bedroom villa that should be going for six and a half thousand rent per night, it's got a beautiful outdoor pool, it's got an indoor bar, it's got an outdoor bar, it's got a pizza oven, it's got sea and mountain views. And you get a six bedroom villa of that nature. And it's being told that you can have it for three, five because booking has canceled. Those are absolute warning signs is to be careful. Don't just make payment. If you're not sure, just Google it a bit. Villas and homes usually already have some sort of track record and Google reviews and business reviews on Airbnb, even you can find some of these properties. So it's a very difficult one because these scammers are very clever sometimes, absolutely very clever. But those are the red lights. If you're getting a fan, if it deals too good, the deal is too good. Point like there isn't any other way to pay. I would rather pause on an opportunity like that and be safe and pay the extra money that should be paid rather than pay seven thousand rent for a weekend that's meant to be three and a half per night. And it's gone. You're not going to see it again. And I think the one place that people can also look at that I'd like to add, Siska, is also just do a search inside Twitter of the name of the place because you tend to find people do post that we had this kind of experience. And I already do this with any kind of place to just get a sense of whether other people have had bad experiences. So even legit establishments or hotels or lodges, you'll find that some places are notorious for treating people a certain way. We're only seeing, for instance, examples of many establishments that are essentially racist and treat their black, black, Indian or colored patrons very differently to their white patrons. And so doing that quick search helps you because people share their experiences with certain places. I mean, I saw something even trending on Twitter the other day where with some places they actually target you based on who you are. So if, for instance, you came in and it's two goals and you and your friend have kind of come in, they essentially target you. They know that the establishment, it's a lodge, it's relatively secluded. And even the various chalets are nicely spaced. And so they essentially set out to even rob the patrons. And it's essentially a syndicate. So I think going that extra mile, even with some of the established places to get a sense of what people have recently said about their stay there. And if there are any red flags that you wouldn't typically find, for example, on their website, because getting a sense from people's experience and the more recent, the better. With COVID, so many things have kept happening that you also want to get a sense of, is the place still at a good standard? I mean, the unfortunate thing with COVID is that with certain places, the standard has dropped even though the prices are still the same. So are you still going to be able to get that kind of service for the money that you're paying? So those are some of the things that you always just have to be mindful of when you are booking. So you can enjoy your holiday, right? Because I think many people want to be just like one of your clients, Susan, who's just spoke about the great experience they've got from you. Because ultimately, we want to be able to make sure that we enjoy our holiday wherever it is we're going. Absolutely. You want it to be a stress-free experience. That is why you've decided to get away is to have that relaxing moments, making fantastic memories with your family. So again, be careful with who you book, with who you use as an agent. Just take a little bit of time. Take a breather and do your research. Ask questions. If you don't ask questions, you're not going to get answers. And that's a great note to leave it at this evening. Siska, thank you so much for joining us on the show. Thank you very much for having me, Zama. It was lovely being here. And that is Siska Defriza's Aspicionist in Holiday and Short-term Rentals, wrapping up the Wednesday edition of the Private Property Podcast with myself, Uzama Donwa Kumalo. This evening's winner, Queen Taco, has come forward and claimed her price. So that 1,000 Rens is coming your way. Congratulations to you, Queen. I hope you do enjoy it. That means we're back at 500 Rens in the money back for tomorrow evening. Remember, all you have to do to stand a chance of walking away with that cash price is comment on the pinned post on our Facebook page. Well, that's it from myself, Uzama Donwa Kumalo. I'll be back on your screens tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. Do stay tuned to the first time home buyers show with SD Class and at 8 p.m. Until then, hoping you're staying home and staying safe.