It’s no surprise that so many visitors visit Paris center. The Eiffel Tower views, the Champs Élysées, Moulin Rouge, the place de la bastille and place de la république, St Germain des Pres, the steps to Sacre Coeur, the Louvre museum with its art galleries, a spectacular view of Notre Dame, beautiful views of Canal Saint Martin via Gare du Nord that is 15 minute walk from Le Marais, its opera, cuisine, culture and its people—Paris isn’t like anywhere else on Earth. It receives over 3 million more visitors than London each year, and it’s the busiest tourist attraction in Europe. If you’ve got a second home with air conditioning and a lovely studio or an investment property in France’s capital city that you are renting out as a tourist accommodation, then you couldn’t have chosen wiser.
With so many guests flocking to this cultural haven to sample the art, the food, the sights, its people, and romance, how should investors be making the most of their properties and their resources?
Stunning sights, romance, culture—and excellent yields—Paris has it all
Paris is not only one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, but also the one with the most Paris holiday rentals. Would you believe there are around 70k listings for the French capital, with over half of them actively looking for guests at any one time?
There are plenty of opportunities for Paris property owners to let their apartments. Explore Paris when deciding to start, because an apartment with a private room offers high demand for both short and mid-term holiday rentals, as the city is a favourite with tourists and business travelers alike. With unprecedented demand across all seasons, especially in the popular Parisian neighborhood Le Marais, it’s no surprise that rents and occupancy rates and revenue generated are high.
Do you have time to run a vacation rentals business in Paris?
That’s the big question. The comprehensive management of Paris holiday rentals is time consuming. Have you got the time to find a regular stream of tenants and make sure your typical parisian apartment in Paris is always fit for purpose with the help of audience insights? Can you be consistently available to check in guests into your two bedroom apartment in Paris, île de france, and one bathroom? Clean it thoroughly between shorter term stays? Sort out the laundry, linens, and resolve any issues and damages, as well as organizing the general maintenance and routine upkeep?
What about the Airbnb laws in Paris?
Then, there are the legal ramifications. There are all kinds of specialist Paris tenancy laws, taxes, planning and property regulations where you’ll need to become an expert almost overnight. It’s a lot to think about. The good news is, is that there are teams of highly efficient professionals, happy to carry out all of the hard work for you, ready and waiting to get started.
Making Paris Airbnb Management Work for You
If you own a property in Paris, whether it’s a nicely decorated cosy flat or somewhere fully furnished to stay during working or pleasure visits to the city, then there’s a good chance you don’t live close enough to manage it as tourist accommodation.That’s the first checkbox ticked for choosing the best Airbnbs in Paris or vacation rental management service. Without one, it would be impossible to get your holiday rental up and running at all.
But what else does an Airbnb property management service (in Paris or anywhere else for that matter) do that you can’t?
Included in Airbnb Management Paris:
Mix your lets between shorter bookings and medium term stays to satisfy the heart of Paris City Hall regulations.
Provide a full Airbnb concierge for Paris
List and promote properties with professional photography and descriptions.
Optimize rental prices to maximize income.
Organize check-ins and departures.
Vet guests to guarantee suitability.
Provide clean linen and relevant toiletries.
Carry out laundry services, housekeeping and maintenance.
Provide insurance.
Take care of all guest communications.
From the above list, you’ll be wondering what they don’t do. Well, not much, really. A reputable and reliable service will carry out just about everything you need them to, often without you even knowing they’re doing it. All that’s left for you to do is to check your occupancy rates and see how much you’ve earned each month.
The Implementation of the Paris 120-day Rule for Airbnb Rentals
With short letting becoming easier than ever—due to the introduction of platforms like Airbnb Paris, the rental market in Paris changed radically. Being able to achieve far better rates while suffering little downtime, landlords with longer rentals were happily changing the terms of their lets, to charge higher rates and boost their revenue, while putting their tourist accommodation in good hands and earning extra income.
This created a problem for the city—and not only Paris but for many European capitals. The problem was that with fewer long-term residential rentals and more vacation lets, the major European cities and capitals were becoming predominantly tourist occupied. With residential properties being replaced with primarily tourist properties, the culture of those cities began to look somewhat different.
Paris's Response to Airbnb
To turn the situation around in France, Paris City Hall put new laws in place, allowing residents to let their property using short-term lets for no more than 120 days each year. They weren’t against anyone making a little extra money when they weren’t living in their homes; they just wanted to protect an essential part of the property market and its effect on the culture of the city.For owners utilizing a second property, rentals have to adhere to strict regulations, with an application for change of use from residential to commercial.
With that, typically, additional costs are involved. There are methods to navigate the new rulings; the main one is to mix short-term lets with medium-length and longer-term stays of over 90 days.
Accessing local experts in Paris with local knowledge
There’s a good chance you couldn’t manage a vacation property by yourself, so using a management service is a must. Not only are they local experts, able to answer every question your guests might throw at them—from important and charming flat details to typical transport and entertainment queries—but also, they know the legal aspects of letting short-term accommodations in the Paris marketplace and can take care of any administrative details related to your rental property.
What could be better? Well, how does guaranteed rent sound?
The Paris property management services we’ve talked about, typically operate on a percentage of your booking fees. These property management service fees range from high to low, depending on the level of service and which elements are included in their service. For mid term bookings, the fees may be lower as less intervention is required. Aholiday rental may incur higher fees but will also generate more rental income.
Owners should take a great deal of care choosing the right service when searching for management in Paris, as there are often hidden fees and charges, or recurring services that boost monthly expenses, without adding to the monthly income.
How does UpperKey's Guaranteed Rent System Work?
That’s where UpperKey’s guaranteed rent system is head and shoulders above the competition. UpperKey is not a wholly owned subsidiary of Airbnb in Paris but offers the ultimate service for landlords, with no hidden fees or charges anywhere for their holiday rental management in Paris.
Their guaranteed monthly rent figure includes everything—so, there’s no budgeting, no unaccounted for surprises—in fact, there’s nothing at all left to consider. With vast experience in the Paris market, UpperKey has short, mid and long-term tenants ready and waiting—but why should you care? Your rent is paid with or without a tenant, regardless of the occupancy rate. And, unlike some management services, there will never be a surcharge for a low occupancy rate, empty apartments, or minimum tenancy terms.
How to get started with Airbnb Property Management Paris
The next steps to getting started with a management service in Paris is to contact UpperKey to discuss how to turn your holiday rentals into their top priority through their comprehensive property management services. Property owners can enjoy their increased rental income while knowing their vacation rental property is in good hands with UpperKey's support team.
UpperKey also offers Airbnb concierge services in other European hot spots such as Rome, Geneva, London, Valletta and beyond.