FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How do the seasons work?  
Plettenberg Bay is very dependent on school holiday periods for most of the tourism trade. Therefore this is one of the main, but not the only factor, that we take into account when deciding on our season dates.  The dates below are a good guide to our pricing seasons.

High season:  December - January school holiday period

Mid-season:   Approx. Mid-January to end April school holiday period

Low season:   Any other time of year not mentioned above

How many weeks can I expect to have rentals in a year?    
Plettenberg Bay is still a very seasonal holiday market, with the majority of business originating from the year end Christmas holiday period.  These rentals tend to be for longer periods and higher values.  The low and mid seasons are characterised by shorter, lower value bookings.  In order for a property to be successful, certain conditions must exist:

• Available for the full high season (minimum stay 7 nights)

• Out of season minimum stay not more than 2 nights

• Reasonable pricing for all seasons

• Listed on all marketing channels incl Airbnb, Booking.com etc

• Overall high quality property

We have some properties that are able to achieve +50% occupancy year round.  These are mostly investment properties that are equipped and designed specifically for holiday rentals.

However most holiday properties can expect the following in a healthy economic climate:

• High season:  2-4 weeks

• Mid-season:   2-3 weeks

• Low season:   5-10 days (location dependant)

Can I expect to make a ‘profit’ from holiday rentals?
The longer your property is in the market, the greater the chance of building up a strong returning tenant base.  As with any venture, the more you put in, the more you will get out.  Your objective from holiday letting should be to cover the running costs of your property.  To increase exposure and rentals, we highly recommend that you allow us to list your property on selected online platforms i.e. Airbnb, Booking.com & TravelGround with a minimum stay of 1 night.  By listing on these platforms you will need to agree to instant bookings without prior notification, and sign up on a full management exclusive mandate.

Should I sign an exclusive mandate or not?
The main reason to share a mandate with more than one agent is to attempt to increase rentals.  However, in our experience this outcome is very rarely achieved.  The reason for this is twofold.

Firstly we have found that shared mandate houses end up with shorter, lower value bookings over the high season because competing agents try to secure their bookings before other agents.

Secondly, agents give priority to their sole mandate properties out of the high season in order to ensure that these properties renew their sole mandates with them.  Signing an exclusive mandate therefore ensures that you receive the best possible service from your agent.

What happens if you need to perform more cleans than the contracted number of monthly cleans?
We endeavour to schedule contracted cleans around confirmed rentals and when owner’s (and/or their guests’) are in residency.  If it is necessary to perform extra cleans, then these are billed separately.

How do we source guests?
Marketing your property is the primary function of your rental agent.  This function encompasses everything from pricing correctly, to the daily activities of our social media marketer. Please see our section on marketing activities here.

Plett Getaways (formerly Accommodation Bureau) has been doing business in the self catering holiday accommodation market since 1989.  Over the years we have built an excellent reputation for being a reliable agent for good quality holiday accommodation in Plettenberg Bay.  As a result we also benefit from an excellent referral network, and an extensive guest database.