How to Hire and Train Virtual Assistants
Summary
This article discusses the benefits of hiring and training virtual assistants (VAs) for short-term rental businesses. It provides insights into how VAs can handle 95% of tasks, freeing up hosts to focus on business growth. Hosts should consider creating training videos and building a strong team of VAs to streamline operations.
Key Insights
- •Rebecca Slivka's remote team of 6 VAs performs 95% of the tasks in her STR business.
- •Outsourcing work to a VA helps hosts transition from being employees to business owners, enabling them to focus on growth.
Action Items
- ✓Train VAs in bite-sized pieces and provide regular retraining and check-ins.Effort: mediumImpact: high
- ✓Make training videos for anything you do more than once.Effort: mediumImpact: high
- ✓Create clear job descriptions when hiring VAs.Effort: lowImpact: medium
Tools & Resources
- →The E Myth: The E Myth: Why Most Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber
- →Loom: Loom is mentioned as a tool.
- →Virtual Staff Finder: Virtual Staff Finder, Upwork, TaskRabbit, and Online Jobs|ph are mentioned as resources.
Watch Out For
- ⚠Failing to take responsibility for VA performance can lead to inefficiencies.
Related News
User Profile: Mountainside Treasures
This article shares the experiences of an STR host who has grown their business from a single condo to nearly 30 properties, highlighting the importance of guest service and the use of OwnerRez. The host emphasizes that delivering a good guest experience is a key factor for success, and struggles with the power of OTAs and challenging guests. Consider OwnerRez as a key tool for managing your properties.
Owner Statements 2.0: Faster, Clearer and Built for Growing Portfolios
Lodgify has released Owner Statements 2.0, promising faster and clearer reporting for property managers. This update aims to cut down manual work and improve the quality of reports shared with owners.
Financial firms face rising cyber risks, data challenges
This article discusses rising cyber risks and data challenges in the financial services industry, including fraud prevention using AI. While not directly about STRs, it highlights the importance of data quality, which directly impacts the effective use of AI for risk management and decision-making for STRs.

Booking.com Refunds Policy: Process and Ts & Cs Explained
This article from iGMS explains Booking.com's refund policies and cancellation options for hosts. It highlights the importance of choosing a cancellation policy that balances flexibility to attract bookings with financial considerations, and encourages hosts to experiment with different policies and rates to find the ideal balance.