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Harold Lubberdink

CEO and Founder at Happy.Rentals

Harold Lubberdink is the CEO and Founder of Happy.Rentals (formerly known as Happy Holiday Homes), a property management and holiday rental company.12 Here are some key details about Harold Lubberdink:

Professional Background

Harold Lubberdink has extensive experience in the real estate and holiday rental industry:

  • He founded Happy Holiday Homes (now Happy.Rentals) in 2006, starting with a single office on Lake Como, Italy.24
  • Under his leadership, the company has grown to become one of the Top 50 Property Management and Rental Companies in the World.2
  • Happy.Rentals now has over 15 local offices across Europe.2

Company Vision

Lubberdink's vision for Happy.Rentals stems from his own experience as a holiday homeowner. He recognized the need for a service that could:

  • Manage properties for owners who live far away or don't have time to do it themselves
  • Ensure properties are well-maintained and ready for both owners and guests
  • Maximize occupancy by renting out properties when owners are absent2

Education and Early Career

  • Studied at De Haagse Hogeschool / The Hague University of Applied Sciences from 1985 to 19901
  • Worked as a product manager from 1988 to 1996
  • Served as a sales manager from 1997 to 20061

Current Roles

In addition to his position at Happy.Rentals, Lubberdink holds several other roles:

  • CEO and Founder of Swiss Property Solutions (since March 2014)
  • CEO and Founder of Italian.Properties (since May 2017)
  • Proud member of FCN (since January 2014)1

Harold Lubberdink's LinkedIn profile can be found under the username harold-lubberdink-b9a67113.3

Highlights

Jun 21 · linkedin

Your reviews are crucial.

But many hosts on Booking, Airbnb, etc. aren’t getting the reviews their home deserves.

Especially if it’s your first time, you’ll be surprised how much work goes into a good review.

→ Good reviews have a positive effect → Bad reviews have an even stronger negative effect

Imagine: you’re looking for a holiday home for the summer.

Will you pick:

  • A home rated 6.9 with bad reviews?
  • A home rated 7.3, with both good and bad reviews.
  • Or... a home rated 9.2?

Of course, you'll choose the best-rated.

Low reviews lead to

→ Lost revenue → Guests booking other places → Downturn in reputation of your business

So, what can you do?

Here are 3 easy ways you can improve the reviews of your property.

  1. 𝗠𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰𝘀.

Most bad reviews surround a few key topics.

  • Cleaning
  • Lack of amenities
  • Hidden costs

Fix your basics.

Make sure all your apartments are cleaned to a professional standard, there’s WiFi, you communicate all costs, amenities are clearly indicated, and your services is good.

  1. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆

What is better than a personal welcome from your host?

This is not possible for many homeowners, but the personal touch is essential. There’s many other ways to create this touch.

  • A list of things to do in the area
  • A phone call to do the check-in
  • Thank you note after departure
  • Personalised welcome notes
  • Clear email communication
  1. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁

Like everywhere in life, learning is most important.

Getting a bad review is not the end of the world, and it won’t kill your business. Learn from every single guest.

The good and the bad.

What is most difficult for you in renting out your holiday home?

__

Follow Harold Lubberdink to learn how to optimally manage your second home abroad. #vacationrental #propertymanagement #realestate #reviews

Jun 12 · linkedin

Keeping brand identity intact while scaling in the holiday rental market is challenging.

In 15 years, we went from local to international.

Opened 41 offices. Started operations in 12 countries.

Without losing sight of who we are: A property management company with local expertise!

How did we do it?

  1. Made automation the basis of our business

We automated all our processes, including bookings, cleanings, owner management, and listing of properties on over 3000 online portals.

2. Created a unique franchise model with local experts

We opened offices with professionals in the regional real estate industry who brought in local expertise, knowledge and trust for the owners: the most unique part of our system.

3. Maintained uniform training standards

Every time we opened up a new office with new property managers, we prioritised training by the head office team to provide the same satisfaction to homeowners and guests alike.

We strongly believe that to successfully scale, it's crucial to keep your brand identity intact.

Which aspect do you agree with?

#HolidayRental #VacationRental #PropertyManagement #LocalExpertise #RealEstate

Related Questions

What inspired Harold Lubberdink to start Happy.Rentals?
How has Happy.Rentals evolved since its founding?
What are some key achievements of Harold Lubberdink in the real estate industry?
How does Happy.Rentals manage properties across different locations?
What challenges has Harold Lubberdink faced in his career?
Harold Lubberdink
Harold Lubberdink, photo 1
Harold Lubberdink, photo 2
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Location

Ticino, Switzerland