‘Do not treat homestay as house-for-rent business’
SHAH ALAM: Real estate investors can potentially generate high income from the homestay business, given the increase in domestic tourism.
MyCribBooking.com founder and chief executive officer Akmal Nizam Abd Halim said the business could help them pay their bank loans.
“Real estate investors can leverage their property units through the homestay business, but most of them do not have the right strategies to carry out the business,” he said at a discussion on “Homestay Strategy” at the MyRumah property exhibition here yesterday.
Akmal said property investors needed to identify their goals to carry out the homestay business, and not treat it as a house-for-rent business, to ensure they obtained good returns.
He said they should conduct a study and assess the potential of the area to maximise the occupancy rate of their homestay property.
“They must know how to offer attractive prices depending on the season, and not just give fixed prices, to attract customers.”
He said investors could promote their units by using high-quality pictures on websites.
“They need to be more committed to the management aspect by being more efficient in operating the units and offering high-quality hospitality services, just like in hotels.”
Akmal said new investors should start homestay businesses in areas that had a concentration of commerce, education and tourism activities to ensure the properties offered good returns.