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Back from the Smokies: What I Saw
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Back from the Smokies: What I Saw

Spent a week in the Smokies, looking at properties, meeting with my team, visiting with merchants. Without exception, merchants say business has been down in 2026. The Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg is the ultimate bellwether, because they are busy regardless. But not as much in 2026, and the waitr...

Cost seg's year 1 looks amazing. Here's what year 2 and your sale look like.
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Cost seg's year 1 looks amazing. Here's what year 2 and your sale look like.

I work in cost segregation, and there's one objection I hear from STR investors all the time: "Sure, year 1 is huge, but then the deductions dry up, and I'll pay it all back when I sell." Here's why that thinking leaves money on the table. (This is an illustrative example, not a specific client. ...

Dubai Short-Term Rental Market: What should a new investor know?
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Dubai, Emirate of Dubai
Dubai Short-Term Rental Market: What should a new investor know?

"Hi everyone, I am an investor based in Dubai with a background in E-commerce and Crypto. I am currently exploring the Short-Term Rental market here in the UAE. For those who have experience in STRs, what are the biggest challenges you face in Dubai compared to other markets? Any tips on regulati...

How do you handle owner statements/commission splits if you co-host for other people?
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
How do you handle owner statements/commission splits if you co-host for other people?

Anyone here co-hosting or managing STRs for other owners — how are you currently handling monthly owner statements and commission splits? Just eyeballing it in a shared spreadsheet, or is there actually a tool for this? I've looked and everything I find is either generic bookkeeping software or b...

How do you deal with Guests smoking inside the House when there is non-smoking policy
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
How do you deal with Guests smoking inside the House when there is non-smoking policy

Our short term rentals have non-smoking policy. However some guests are smoking inside the house. When we discuss with guests or Airbnb or VRBO , there is no photo to prove as it is smell. It is only the strong smell and we can tell it is smoking or Weed. Also many times it is just our cleaners c...

Struggling with lack of transparency from property managers
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Pensacola, Florida
Struggling with lack of transparency from property managers

Struggling with lack of transparency from property managers, is this the industry standard? I have recently hired new property management companies for my short term rentals, Avari in Navarre, Florida, and another firm in OKC, but I am already deeply unhappy with both. Having self managed my prop...

Air DNA can anyone tell me about this service
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Air DNA can anyone tell me about this service

I am looking for a replacement for a 1031 I have been posting about it for a few weeks now.. I am considering doing a STR on it. I just popped on to Air dna but you cant get much info unless i guess you pay for it which is fair.. But one thing that comes up is a score which for my sub market I am...

Offseason: midterm rental vs STR?
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Hampstead, North Carolina
Offseason: midterm rental vs STR?

Beginning a furnished rental in Hampstead, NC that will be ready approximately mid-October. 2-bed/2-bath currently sleeps 4 but could push to 6-8 if better optimized that way. It's a small stand-alone newly renovated home across the road from the intercoastal waterway but currently with no water ...

Co-living and STR
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
New Orleans, Louisiana
Co-living and STR

My husband and I work with off-market properties in New Orleans, and we’re seeing more larger homes with 3+ bedrooms and 3+ bathrooms. We’re exploring whether some could work for co-living or as short-term rentals. For those with hands-on experience, where would you start when analyzing a propert...

Evaluating Exit Strategies for a 4-Unit Turnkey Mobile Home STR Portfolio in Houston
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Houston, Texas
Evaluating Exit Strategies for a 4-Unit Turnkey Mobile Home STR Portfolio in Houston

I am looking for some feedback and strategic advice on the best way to exit or structure the sale of a small portfolio of single-wide mobile homes currently operating as short-term rentals. Here is the current setup: - Scale: 4 single-wide homes located within a private, 8-home gated park that I ...

How do you track true net profit per property across your STR portfolio?
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
How do you track true net profit per property across your STR portfolio?

I self-manage a handful of short-term rentals and I've become a little obsessed with knowing the real net profit on each property — not gross revenue, but what's actually left after cleaning, platform fees, supplies, utilities, and everything else, broken out property by property. Curious how the...

Top Airbnb Investment Investment Locations
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Charleston, South Carolina
Top Airbnb Investment Investment Locations

Port Arthur, TX - “Best Place to Invest in Short Term Rentals 2026" 465 active listings. Occupancy 72% 35.8% required a 30 night minimum stay. 49.1% were full time STRs. 29.5% were private rooms in a home. https://www.airdna.co/vacation-rental-data/app/us/texas/port... Rockford, IL: "Best Hidden ...

Vrbo's Host Cancellation Penalty Just Got More Expensive
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Vrbo's Host Cancellation Penalty Just Got More Expensive

Vrbo sent me an email today about changes to their host cancellation policy, and they've upped the penalties, as of October 15th. And they are increasing the suspension times. Bolded sections below are mine: "What is not allowed - At Vrbo, we expect hosts to accept booking requests and honor conf...

Late Starter - 2nd Property -First STR in San Antonio — 3BR Near Lackland AFB
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
San Antonio, Texas
Late Starter - 2nd Property -First STR in San Antonio — 3BR Near Lackland AFB

Hey BP fam, Excited to finally share this one — I just picked up a 3BR/1BA short-term rental in San Antonio, TX that sleeps 6. I'm on my 2nd guest stay so far. It's sitting in a great spot: about 3 miles (7 min) from Lackland AFB and 6.5 miles (11 min) from Sea World, so I'm hoping to capture bot...

How would you take down this STR deal?
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
How would you take down this STR deal?

Hi gang. So I'm a real estate broker and STR owner/operator. 16 years and 5 years respectively. I also manage 7 listings for other owners. I bought my first deal on seller financing. It was a vacant house which I did a bit of work to, completely furnished it from the ground up, and went through t...

How do you evaluate guest experience before buying an STR?
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
How do you evaluate guest experience before buying an STR?

When I look at STR acquisitions in Central Texas, revenue comps and bedroom counts are easy to pull. What is harder and more important is whether the physical property will support the guest experience that justifies those numbers once real people are staying there. I check kitchen and dining flo...

Best bunkroom setup?
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Best bunkroom setup?

I am working on the plans for the renovation of my mountain cabin. 3 story cabin with 4 bedrooms/4 bathrooms. All of the upper bedrooms will be king beds. For the basement I am planning on a bunkroom, as the bedroom down there is big enough to hold that, but it’s not really feasible to divide it ...

STR owners — how are you actually tracking expenses and getting Schedule E right?
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
STR owners — how are you actually tracking expenses and getting Schedule E right?

I run a small Airbnb/VRBO portfolio and I've spent a lot of time this year digging into the bookkeeping side of STR ownership. The more I looked, the more I realized how easy it is to get the numbers wrong — especially the gap between what platforms deposit into your bank and what Schedule E actu...

Predicting STR Income
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Durham, North Carolina
Predicting STR Income

Hello! STR newbie here - I am looking at investing in a STR in the Durham, NC area and am trying to predict rental income. I've looked on Air DNA and used google / AI in addition to talking with a friend who has a few STR in the area. According to my friend he feels AirDNA is not totally accurate...

STR Stabilization Time Horizon
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Detroit, Michigan
STR Stabilization Time Horizon

Hi all, Just for some context, about two months ago I acquired my first rental property (an FHA-financed duplex). I'm house-hacking with a roommate paying $750 a month and a short-term rental in the other unit. I used AirDNA for my short-term rental projections and then cut that monthly income fr...

Cleaning fee question - this has probably been answered before!
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Cleaning fee question - this has probably been answered before!

Curious what other STR operators are seeing with cleaning costs because mine are all over the place. I have a cleaner in Chicago who does a 3-bedroom unit for $100 per turn and does a great job. Meanwhile, in Southwest Michigan, I’m getting quotes of $400+ per turn for houses that really aren’t t...

20-year-old landlord trying to understand STR property management
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
20-year-old landlord trying to understand STR property management

I am 20 years old and already a landlord, and I have been looking more seriously into short-term rentals and property management. One thing I am trying to understand is when STR owners actually decide it is worth hiring a property manager versus just self-managing. For owners who use a property m...

Short v. Mid term?
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Springfield, Missouri
Short v. Mid term?

Hi all, I am totally green, haven't even purchased a property yet. I'm looking to partner with my dad on my first property. I'm interested in investing in short and/or mid-term rentals in my local area. I've talked to some other investors, and I believe there is a market for it here, and I've als...

Buying my first STR today!
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Buying my first STR today!

Hey everyone. I posted a few days ago, thank you for all of the replys. Im so new to this, and working backwards. I saw the house for sale, decided to buy to STR it, and I close today! I have to paint and repair a few things. And I plan to have my children and I clean between guest stays. I dont ...

In search of STR property manager (Davenport, FL)
Short-Term & Vacation Rental Discussions
Orlando, Florida
In search of STR property manager (Davenport, FL)

We are in search of a new property manager for our vacation home in Davenport, Fl. We were informed today that our current manager will be stepping away from management for family reasons. Please send your recommendations my way. Thank you,