What a regional mid-term rental operations team actually does
Short version: a mid-term rental operations team removes owner firefighting and enforces SOPs across units.
Core responsibilities
- Onboard units: checklists, photos, publish listing, connect calendar.
- Oversee turnovers & QA: confirm photo evidence, validate cleaner work.
- Vendor management: hire, contract, set SLAs, run scorecards.
- Procurement & inventory: bulk buys, stock levels, replacement schedule.
- Local troubleshooting: emergency fixes, guest escalations, incident reporting.
- Reporting: weekly KPIs, vendor scorecards, exception logs.
When you’ve got this team working, owners stop doing 80% of the daily noise.
Hiring roadmap — roles by scale
Build the team only as your unit count justifies each role.
1–3 units
- Owner + reliable cleaner.
2–6 units - Part-time VA (bookings & messaging).
- Trusted cleaner(s).
6–15 units - Regional ops coordinator (PT/FT) — manages vendors and QA.
- Bookkeeper or part-time accountant.
15+ units - Ops lead / regional manager.
- Dedicated procurement coordinator.
- Full-time QA specialist (photos, turnovers, audits).
Hiring notes: hire contractors first for cleaners and handypersons; hire ops staff only once SOPs exist.
Job descriptions (copy-paste ready)
Regional Ops Coordinator (PT/FT)
- Oversee 6–15 units in a city.
- Responsibilities: vet vendors, approve invoices, audit first 5 turnovers for new units, manage emergency response.
- KPIs: Photo-complete turnover ≥98%, on-time turnovers ≥95%, average time-to-repair (urgent) <24 hrs.
Procurement Coordinator (PT)
- Own consumables, bulk purchasing, and asset replacement.
- KPIs: cost-per-turnover, stockouts per month = 0, capex lead time.
Cleaner Lead (contract)
- Execute turnovers per SOP and upload 10 photos within 2 hours.
- KPIs: photo-complete %, checklist pass rate.
Procurement playbook — rules, approvals, and cadence
Treat procurement as a cash-flow and quality control process — not impulse buying.
Procurement rules (must-have)
- Always use approved vendors list for major categories.
- Set reorder points for consumables (e.g., soap < 10 units triggers reorder).
- Approvals: purchases <$200 — Ops Coordinator; $200–$2,000 — Ops Lead; >$2,000 — Owner + Ops Lead.
- Prefer vendor credit terms (Net-30) for recurring supplies.
- Standardize SKUs (same mattress, same lightbulb) across portfolio to reduce parts sprawl.
Monthly cadence
- Weekly: review consumable levels, place replenishment orders.
- Monthly: review procurement spend vs budget.
- Quarterly: supplier performance review + renegotiation.
Procurement checklist (for each order)
- SKU & qty required.
- Unit(s) assigned.
- Supplier & lead time.
- Cost center & approval.
- Delivery/inspection checklist.
- Invoice matched to PO and booking ID (if chargeable).
Vendor scorecards — objective, fast, actionable
Use a simple 0–5 scoring system across core dimensions. Score monthly, surface problems fast.
Vendor scorecard fields (example)
- On-time % (target ≥95%) — weight 25%
- Photo compliance (turnover photos within SLA) — weight 25%
- Quality / checklist pass rate — weight 20%
- Cost competitiveness (vs market) — weight 15%
- Responsiveness (avg response time) — weight 15%
Score = weighted average. Thresholds
- ≥4.2 = Preferred (keep, consider expansion)
- 3.0–4.2 = Monitor (coaching + conditional tasks)
- <3.0 = Replace (start RFP)
Use the scorecard to determine bonus vs penalty, continuation of contracts, and vendor audits.
Vendor contracts & SLAs (practical clauses)
Include these short, enforceable clauses in contractor agreements:
- Photo proof clause: payment for turnover requires 10 photos uploaded within 2 hours.
- On-time clause: X% on-time arrival; penalties or reduced pay for repeated misses.
- Replacement clause: vendor must maintain backup personnel to avoid single-point failure.
- Insurance requirement: vendor must carry general liability of $X and provide COI annually.
- Trial period: 30–60 day paid pilot before long-term work.
Keep contracts simple and operationally focused — vendors don’t read legalese; they follow SLAs.
Ops tech & integrations that keep teams synchronized
Starter stack (regional playbook)
- Communication: WhatsApp / Slack for urgent escalation.
- Tasking: Trello / Asana with SOP links.
- Bookings: PMS or single Google Calendar feed.
- Automations: Zapier/Make for Booking→Cleaner task creation.
- Inventory: Google Sheet or Airtable for stock levels.
Integration tips
- Link SOPs directly in task cards so cleaners see procedures where they work.
- Use tags (unit, channel, vendor) so reports can be filtered by market.
KPIs the regional ops team must track (weekly)
- Photo-complete turnover % (goal ≥98%)
- On-time turnover rate (goal ≥95%)
- Mean time to repair (urgent) — target <24 hrs
- Turnover cost per booking — trend only (watch spikes)
- Extension conversion rate — signals guest satisfaction
Publish a one-page ops dashboard every Monday for the owner and monthly vendor scorecards.
Onboarding & QA for new vendors (30/60/90)
30 days — Pilot & proof
- Paid trial turnovers (first 5 turnovers audited).
- Scorecard feedback after 5 jobs.
60 days — Stabilize
- Weekly QA checks for 4 weeks.
- Address gaps via coaching & SOP updates.
90 days — Review & contract
- Final scorecard; decide Preferred / Monitor / Replace.
- Move to long-term terms if preferred.
Regional rollout checklist — first 90 days
Week 1–2
- Hire Ops Coordinator (contract or FT).
- Publish master SOP folder and link to tasking tool.
Week 3–6 - Run vendor pilots (cleaner + handyman).
- Implement procurement SKUs and reorder points.
Week 7–12 - Automate Booking→Cleaner flows.
- Start weekly ops dashboard and vendor scorecards.
- Run first quarterly vendor review.
Cost model & staffing for the mid-term rental operations team
Example city budget (6–12 units) — monthly (illustrative)
- Ops Coordinator (PT): $1,000–$1,800
- Cleaners (contract): $30–$70 per turnover (variable)
- Procurement reserve (consumables): $150–$300
- Contingency / emergency repairs: $200–$500
Adjust for local wages and turnover frequency.
Common mistakes the mid-term rental operations team must avoid
- No pilot hiring: pilot every vendor; don’t assume past referrals equal fit.
- No scorecard: subjective vendor management fails fast.
- Too many SKUs: standardize furnishings and consumables to cut capex and simplify procurement.
- No backup vendors: always have a second cleaner / handyman contracted.
Tieback — the mid-term rental operations team in your Growth Toolkit
Run your regional operations using the same structure you use for listings and finance. Save every vendor scorecard, procurement sheet, and SOP in your Mid-Term Rentals Growth Toolkit — Ops, Finance & Portfolio folder so market launches are repeatable and auditable. That documentation turns a one-off market into a scalable system.
Final note — test ops with MiniStays and your mid-term rental operations team
If you want a channel that delivers month-plus demand while you build this regional ops engine, run your micro-tests on MiniStays — it’s designed for 30+ day stays and helps validate both bookings and vendor workflows quickly.
Start testing and listing on MiniStays → https://ministays.com
