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A Focus on Design, Backed by Kigo Efficiency, Doubles Luxury Vacation Rental Business in 12 Months

This article is #1 of a 6 part series . For additional suggestions checkout the rest of the Unique Interiors series.

Anna Navarro was born into a family of Spanish entrepreneurs, and it certainly shows in what she’s accomplished in a short time with her Luxury Vacation Rental business, Lux Houses Experience.

Beginning with 15 properties at the worst possible time – just two months before Spain’s Covid-19 lockdown – she managed to surpass her goal of 30 properties in 12 months. And she did this, she tells us, by taking a unique approach to her listings.

 With these high-end vacation rentals, I have found that a key is interior design, which happens to be a vocation of mine,” she says. “The preparation, presentation, and photography of these special properties is everything because you are not just renting a property, you are creating a luxury experience imbued with warmth and caring, very different from a sterile hotel experience.

Anna is extremely selective about the properties she takes on, choosing only those with unique and stunning design, particularly in the interiors. Her goal is to keep her portfolio at the highest level, rather than dilute it with lesser properties in search of volume.

She had been impressed with Kigo software while working for another company, so it was the logical choice for building her new business.

Sales lessons

Navarro’s background in real estate has been vital in helping grow Lux Houses Experience.

Luxury Vacation Rental - vacation - castle

I'm also a real estate agent, and I tell everyone that to sell a house, you have to be able to capture the experience in the photos,” she says. “People want to feel from the photo what they're going to feel when they're at the property. For example, I will add a bottle of champagne so that the client can imagine being there with their partner during a beautiful sunset … Or playing in the pool with the family. You have to be able to bring the spaces to life, so people can imagine themselves actually enjoying them. I think that's my secret and that's what my approach is all about.

Anna adds that the extra time and expense required to fit out interiors in the best possible way to attract clients more than pays for itself. “I can assure you the return is a lot more than the initial investment,” she confides. “There are properties I managed for a prior company that I manage now through Lux Houses, and after giving them my special touch they are transformed – and the results are obvious in the higher rental and occupancy rates.”

Opportunity calls

Villa Eleonora - Luxury Vacation Rental property

If there is such a thing as a silver lining to a pandemic, Anna says it is in the new attention being given to getaway properties such as those she represents.

People are looking for privacy, comfort, and family enjoyment in a unique and intimate environment,” she explains.  “This can be our moment if we do it right, but we must make the most of these spaces. We cannot simply acquire properties, take four photos with our cell phones, and expect the properties to perform.

When it comes to the downsides of Covid on business, Navarro says hygiene and germ fears haven’t been much of an issue for rentals. The houses are pristine and carefully cleaned, and it shows in the photographs, she puts special attention to the fresh clean smell upon entering the homes and other details.

 

The Kigo edge

Working with Kigo’s Channel Manager helps me keep my focus on attracting new properties, managing them, and providing personalized service to travelers,” Navarro concludes. “The confidence of having a partner working day-to-day with the complex reservation system gives you enormous peace of mind. It is great having an account manager supporting me and knowing that she is always there for me."

Villa Tibidabo - luxury vacation rental

“I have found in Kigo and its new Channel Manager a way to continue to grow and expand both my catalog of luxury vacation rentals and my territory, backed by a great Kigo team that is an important part of the success of Lux Houses Experience.”

Click the link to learn more about building a profitable vacation rental business around Kigo software.

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