Question for co-hosts and small managers. When a guest refund, resolution payment or fee adjustment shows up after you've already sent the owner their monthly statement, what do you do? Do you reopen and resend that month, or carry it onto next month's statement with a note? And how do you explai...
I came across a situation this year that every STR investor should sit with for a minute. Picture an investor who buys a three bedroom cabin in a small resort town, and the deal only pencils because of nightly bookings. 18 months later the city council votes to ban stays under 30 nights for non o...
Hey everyone — I'm Christopher, I host my own 2BR in South Philly, Superhost / Guest Favorite, 86 reviews. I'm starting to co-host for a couple local owners and I'm trying to figure out what hosts actually want from a co-host. What would make you hand your inbox and pricing to someone else — and ...
Hi all! First time posting here. I've been an LTR property owner/manager since 2011. I'd like to enter the STR/MTR arena and I think I'd be good at it, but I would need an investor for that. My kids are older now so I finally have more time available for active income opportunities. I think I'm i...
Looking for Advice: Transitioning from Maintenance into Property Management & Airbnb Arbitrage Hey everyone! I'm currently building my company, Refined Executive Housing LLC, with the goal of expanding into residential property services and short-term rental operations (Airbnb arbitrage). I have ...
Hi, I am high income W2 earner with stay home spouse with 3 young kids under 10. We have decided to invest in real estate - both STR and LTR. I plan to invest in Allentown and Bethlehem, PA. I would love to connect with anyone investing or working in these areas to form a team. I am looking for d...
We built a full guide to the STR rules in Indiana! My wife and I own and manage short term rentals. The guide covers 43 cities, towns, and counties, including: Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville, Westfield, Greenwood, Avon, Plainfield, Zionsville, Bloomington, Brown County, New Albany, Je...
Imagine two properties. Property A generates $10,000. Property B generates $8,000. At first glance, Property A appears to be performing better. But then you look closer. Property A may also have: Higher cleaning costs More maintenance expenses More platform fees Higher utility bills Greater manag...
November is the time I look at slow season and make calls on how to manage it. What I see a lot: The first two weeks of December look empty, so the host cuts the nightly rate 25% across the board. Sometimes that works. A lot of the time it just gives away money on nights that would have booked an...
Guest messaging isn't really a hospitality problem. For most hosts, it's a repetition problem. Pull up your last 20 stays and count the questions. Check-in time. Parking. Wi-Fi. Late checkout. Trash day. You'll likely find the same handful, over and over. Here's how I'd take them off your plate: ...
Hey everyone, I am new to STR and about to pull the trigger on investing through STRsearch.com but they for some reason do NOT want to give me referrals or testimonies which is holding me back and I think that is sketchy. Does anyone have experience using them? What was your experience like? And ...
Hi all, I'm Liz, a fellow short-term rental operator and Airbnb Designer/Stager. I help with furnishing, styling, property refreshes, and renovation coordination for investment properties. I know how important it is to create a welcoming guest experience, specially in super competitive areas! I w...
This year, I think the most advantageous real estate investing strategy has been acquiring a short term rental for bonus depreciation. With high interest rates, and low cash flow spreads, investing in long term buy and hold rental properties seems to be not worth it. I think the trend will contin...
One thing I’ve noticed about short-term rental investing is that purchasing the property is only part of the financial picture. Between furnishing, renovations, maintenance, unexpected repairs, and seasonal fluctuations in bookings, having access to additional capital can make a big difference. I...
Im finishing up basic touch ups on a house to use as my first STR. I know theres a program or app to use that will combine any listing platforms i use, to avoid overlap bookings. I forgot the name of the app. Also, I know AirBnB just changed their rules about basic house-hygiene, but they are als...
Seeing a lot of questions about Airbnb's fee change, so here's how I'd think about it if you own on the Gulf Coast. Airbnb recently moved to a 15.5% host-only fee. The short version: if your rate didn't change, your payout did. Airbnb's own example is a $100 rate now paying out $84.50. To net the...
For those with both short-term and long-term rentals, do you manage them in the same system? Bookings, cleaning schedules and platform payouts look nothing like rent rolls and leases. What's your setup, and what's the one thing it still can't do without a manual workaround?
Usually, rental losses do not lower what you owe on a paycheck. That break is for real estate professionals, people who spend most of their working time in the business. Most W-2 earners do not qualify, so the write-off just sits there. A short-term rental is different. If guests stay about a wee...
Louisville agent here, mostly investors. The question I keep getting from out-of-state buyers right now: Airbnb or midterm rental? Here's how I walk people through it, and I always start in the same place. Permission first, spreadsheet second. The permit side. Louisville Metro has allowed short-t...
When analyzing short term rental performance, most investors focus strictly on optimizing average daily rates and calendar occupancy. Yet capturing ancillary guest spending remains one of the cleanest ways to expand cash flow, provided it does not increase operational overhead or accelerate prope...
I have interests in buying STR in Florida. Currently live in MN and have fears after buying, I will wish I didn’t. Anyone out there have those same feelings but are happy they did it? Secondly, the financial burden of paying for the mortgage, maintenance and management of the place seems very str...
Yesterday, Airbnb updated their demands that will take effect on Nov. 20th, I underlined one change: "Since we announced changes to house rules on October 20, we’ve heard from many hosts. Some of you are concerned about losing control over the rules you set for your home. We understand why. You’r...
If I were evaluating a property or trying to improve an existing listing, I'd want to understand what similar properties in the market are doing. What are they charging? How are they positioning themselves? What amenities do they highlight? What do their guest reviews reveal? Which guest segments...
For co-hosts using the split payout, your fee lands with you and the owner gets their share directly. But cleaning, consumables, repairs and any monthly fees still have to be billed somewhere. How do you handle that part? Do you invoice the owner monthly, add it to the cleaning fee, or have the o...
For those of you co-hosting or managing a handful of STRs for other owners, I'd love to hear how you handle monthly owner statements. A few things I'm curious about: Do you start from the platform payout report, your PMS, or the bank deposits? How do you handle stays that cross month-end, and ref...