5 Short-term Rental Courses for Hosts and Property Managers

Discover top short-term rental courses tailored for property managers. Enhance your skills and boost your vacation rental success with expert strategies.

Unlike traditional 9-5s, you don't have to have an official education to break into the vacation rental industry. No guests will ask you for your credentials, and no employer will want to check on your degree. However, continuous learning is the key to success in the rapidly changing vacation rental scene.

Whether you're a novice short-term rental owner or a seasoned pro, gaining industry expertise and learning the best hospitality practices will give you a competitive edge. After all, there's no need to reinvent the wheel. Take advantage of other people's experience to shortcut your way to a successful vacation rental business.

There are hundreds of online courses related to vacation rentals, and it can get overwhelming where to start. In this guide, we'll share our top five recommendations for short-term rental courses to speed up your process. Let's dive in!

What is a Short-term Rental Course?

Short-term rental courses are educational masterclasses aiming to help owners, hosts, and property managers make the most of their vacation rental business. Hosted by experts in the field, they guide new and experienced vacation rental professionals to work on their strategies for managing their brands.

Why Should You Take a Short-term Rental Masterclass?

1. Build a Profitable Vacation Rental Business

Remove the guesswork of managing a short-term rental business and learn the exact steps to monetize your rentals. Skip the trial and error phase and scale faster with the help of experts who've been there and done that.

2. Be One Step Ahead of the Competition

The vacation rental industry is projected to grow by 3.14% in 2024-2028, translating into a market volume of $113.50 billion. To stand out from fierce competition, you must develop efficient systems, processes, and digital marketing tactics to set you apart. Short-term rental courses can help you do that.

Short-term rental management courses

3. Stay Up-to-date

The vacation rental landscape keeps changing. Property managers must stay updated with post-pandemic habits, new technologies, economic conditions, and ever-evolving customer expectations. An online course can introduce them to traveling trends and the industry's future.

4. Develop New Skills

Vacation rental managers juggle multiple hats. From hosting to marketing and cleaning to accounting, they must be fully skilled to handle multiple vacation rental properties. Vacation rental courses can help them automate these procedures and grow their skills.

5. Complete Courses on Your Own Time

An online course offers complete flexibility, allowing you to complete it at your own pace. Especially if you have a busy schedule, it saves you time from commutes and allows you to attend classes when you want for as long as you want.

Short-term rental investing courses

Top 5 Short-term Rental Courses

1. Vacation Rental University (VRU)

All property managers who respect their business must take this course. The "Vacation Rental University" provides owners with the tools, templates, and proven systems to succeed in the short-term rental industry. And the best part? It's free!

It offers four levels: Basic, Masters, Enterprise, and Consulting 1:1. The Basic Plan is free and offers over 340 video lessons renewing over time. You can additionally purchase the Masters level with a one-off payment of $495 or $49 monthly for an all-inclusive package. The "Vacation Rental University" is designed for all levels, from newbies to experienced hosts.

2. Udemy

As one of the most prominent online education platforms, Udemy has more than 54 million students and 204,000 courses. If you're interested in breaking into vacation rental revenue management, Mastering Airbnb is one of the top courses. It teaches everything from turning your spare room into a BnB to listing and pricing it through 117 lectures.

Another excellent course is Airbnb Entrepreneur: Become the Best Listing in Town! In 31 lectures, you'll learn everything you need to know about optimizing your Airbnb business, automating processes, and generating passive income. This course has more than 7,712 students and 1,442 five-star ratings.

Vacation Rental Management Certification by the Vacation Rental Management Association

3. Vacation Rental Management Association (VRMA)

The Vacation Rental Management Certification is an accredited online program introducing hosts to valuable industry knowledge. The curriculum is divided into five sections:

• Business operations
• Business planning and organization
• Marketing and promotion
• Guest relationships
• Owner relationships

At the end of the program, students pass exams to earn their certificate. Prices for non-VRMA members start at $750 and for VRMA members at $450.

4. Vacation Rental Secrets

Created by the Vacation Rental World Summit founder, Antonio Bortolotti, Vacation Rental Secrets is another leader in online resources for short-term rentals. Specifically, his course "Fully Booked Formula" provides cheat sheets, tutorials, and guides on navigating vacation rental growth.

It's divided into three modules: increasing bookings, building your brand, and creating your book-direct website. You can sign up for the first module with a free 30-day trial. Afterward, you can optionally proceed to the next ones for $197.

Certification course for property owners

5. Short-Term Rental University

Last but not least, the Short-Term Rental University (STRU) is a top vacation rental education resource. Founded by an Aribnb super host, Richard Fertig, it guides vacation rental owners on how to find and buy short-term rental properties. His course is packed with toolkits on:

• How to get started on Airbnb
• How to set dynamic pricing
• Basic short-term rental accounting
• Website design tips

Fertig also offers much-anticipated live sessions in cities like Miami and Nashville. His course is valued at $1,995, saving owners years of trial and error.

Courses on renting real estate properties

Ready to Skyrocket Your Short-term Rental?

Short-term rental hosts must start investing in their education to juggle the multiple hats this industry requires. Save yourself time and resources by choosing one of these tried and tested online courses to improve your skills and secure a superhost status.

If you're ready to take your short-term rental businesses to the next level, Houfy allows you to create a book-direct website and market it to guests. Secure direct bookings with no additional fees, and be the boss of your own business. Import your Airbnb property and gain a competitive advantage today!