The short-term rental sector in South Africa is seeing a significant uptick in bookings from digital nomads. With a remote working visa policy reportedly inching closer, leading industry stakeholders have highlighted the rewards that could be reaped, and are advising short-term rental owners to spruce up their facilities for digital nomads.

“Initially, questions were raised around travellers’ tax residency status, but those have been addressed. Considering this, there is definitely a window of opportunity, which will become less lucrative the longer South Africa waits. If other countries move first and offer an easy solution, then a large piece of the nomad market will be snapped up,” said Max Urban, Co-Founder and MD of Propr, South Africa’s largest short-term rental management company.

Urban’s comments come as the Department of Home Affairs is reportedly set to mull the contents of a report submitted to it on Thursday, November 10, which contains recommendations for how the long-awaited policy should be implemented.

Key attributes of the digital nomad

Urban said remote workers were mostly drawn to South Africa’s coastal regions, particularly Cape Town. “Digital nomads are looking for lifestyle improvements, and coastal areas typically provide those benefits.”

He said although the average length of stay was increasing, some digital nomads also sought to move regularly between accommodation establishments.

“Our average length of stay has increased compared with the pre-COVID era. However, it is important to note that there are many nomads who switch more than once a month, which means that quite a few of our shorter stays are still remote workers, but it is hard to quantify the exact number.” 

This is reflected in a survey conducted by Lonely Planet and freelance site, Fiverr, which found that a third of digital nomads preferred to move on every one to three months.

“However, 55% of the so-called ‘slomads’, said they liked to stay somewhere for at least three months at a time,” Urban said.

Tips to capitalise on

Urban highlights five ways that short-term rental owners can capitalise on the growing digital nomad trend:

1. Have high-speed, reliable, uncapped WiFi. Although this should be the norm, it is even more essential for those wishing to attract digital nomads. Short-term rental owners have no choice but to offer travellers the best so that they can work as effectively as they would in their home country.

2. Ensure the property is loadshedding proof or resistant. Make sure you minimise the impact by providing a UPS/inverter device to keep the Internet going, and provide a few emergency lamps.

3. Set up a dedicated, laptop-friendly workspace with good lighting. Propr has started offering guests ‘work packs’ that include a second monitor, laptop stand, HDMI cable, mouse and a keyboard, which are proving extremely popular with guests.

4. Offer convenience services like additional cleaning and stocking of fridges. Digital nomads are looking for lifestyle upgrades and hotel-level amenities.

5. Highlight handy amenities. If the listing is close to co-working spaces or has any other amenities that remote workers would enjoy, then highlight that in the description. Digital nomads will be new to the area, so this information will assist them in making their choice of property.

“Whether it be coat tailing the digital nomad trend, welcoming more local travellers since they are currently bolstering tourism in the country, or providing accommodation for international guests, now is the time to prepare for a bumper season,” Urban concluded.