I am new to the family and 23 was my first year owning beach property (Myrtle Beach). I did expect there to be a slow season Oct-March, but I am hell bent on changing that! Anyone else been able to bring in the slower winter business and how?
Hot tub as others have mentioned but also, if you're not already pet friendly, this is a huge driving factor. Some people are dead set against it and sometimes your HOA may not allow it, but it you can add pets you WILL get more bookings.
If you are treating your STR as a business, I have a hard time understanding why more people don't allow this. Collect fees and if there are damages you can go through insurance. Unless it is also a property that you have for regular person use.
At least for dogs. Cats make me nervous, I worry about them scratching everything up and then I would need to replace a bunch of stuff in a tight window.
I agree but this is one of the most hotly debated topics. People are either for it or avidly opposed. There seems to be little in between. People even go out of their way to not accept emotional support animals. Often it's about allergies. Sometimes it's PTSD from a prior bad pet experience. We allow them at all of our properties and have never yet had a problem but I'm sure we will at some point, just like we'll come across the guest who does outsized damage. It's just part of doing business. But if bookings are slow, this is one of the few triggers you can pull that will help immediately. There are always people searching for pet friendly properties.
@Jeff Ebert That I'm not sure about, but I know a lot of people here on BP have had good success with the site! Btw.... I invest in Myrtle Beach as well so good to meet a fellow investor investing in the area!
Thanks James! I appreciate your time. Can you think of any resources to find out who might be looking for a MTR situation? How far in advance do most like to contract? I want to be prepared for next slow season!
I could say find a local FB group for renters or where landlords post listings. But really, I'd just look at Furnished Finder to see if they have any listings in your area. It's not an exact science, but it can give some indication of demand for MTRs in your area.
For our medium-term rentals in Colorado, we get most of our tenants through Airbnb. You should be able to change the minimum-night stay for different periods of the year. I'd change it to 3-month minimum starting whenever your slow season starts. I'm guessing you're in the slow season right now, but for the future, your calendar will already be set up that way.
If you're posting on other sites like Furnished Finder, I'd post it as active about 1.5-2 months before you want the tenant.
I can see promoting your condo as pet friendly being riskier than other properties for the reasons that you mention.
For others though, we've had a lot of success being pet friendly at our single-family property in Raleigh, NC. We haven't experienced any pet-related damages yet (fingers crossed) but have definitely have received some pretty great reviews as a result. Almost every guest we've had this winter has had a pet. We've even had two separate groups in town for a dog competition -- the last group had seven dogs with them!! Makes it so our listing competes better against hotels and other rentals not friendly to pets.
Definitely second optimizing your listing for medium term rentals during slower times. We've had success with that in the past. Sure, you make less per day but you also get paid every day without all the costs associated with the turnover. Airbnb, and other pricing tools, makes it pretty easy to automate the discounting based on length of stay, so your guests can book automatically and you don't need to go back and forth on pricing with them.
@Jeff Ebert That I'm not sure about, but I know a lot of people here on BP have had good success with the site! Btw.... I invest in Myrtle Beach as well so good to meet a fellow investor investing in the area!
Thanks James! I appreciate your time. Can you think of any resources to find out who might be looking for a MTR situation? How far in advance do most like to contract? I want to be prepared for next slow season!
I could say find a local FB group for renters or where landlords post listings. But really, I'd just look at Furnished Finder to see if they have any listings in your area. It's not an exact science, but it can give some indication of demand for MTRs in your area.
For our medium-term rentals in Colorado, we get most of our tenants through Airbnb. You should be able to change the minimum-night stay for different periods of the year. I'd change it to 3-month minimum starting whenever your slow season starts. I'm guessing you're in the slow season right now, but for the future, your calendar will already be set up that way.
If you're posting on other sites like Furnished Finder, I'd post it as active about 1.5-2 months before you want the tenant.
I can see promoting your condo as pet friendly being riskier than other properties for the reasons that you mention.
For others though, we've had a lot of success being pet friendly at our single-family property in Raleigh, NC. We haven't experienced any pet-related damages yet (fingers crossed) but have definitely have received some pretty great reviews as a result. Almost every guest we've had this winter has had a pet. We've even had two separate groups in town for a dog competition -- the last group had seven dogs with them!! Makes it so our listing competes better against hotels and other rentals not friendly to pets.
Definitely second optimizing your listing for medium term rentals during slower times. We've had success with that in the past. Sure, you make less per day but you also get paid every day without all the costs associated with the turnover. Airbnb, and other pricing tools, makes it pretty easy to automate the discounting based on length of stay, so your guests can book automatically and you don't need to go back and forth on pricing with them.
Nice Nick! That helps! 7 dogs?! LOL that was nice of them to admit that! Thanks for the info on AirBnB-I didn't know they had tools for MTR rates.
I think hybrid rentals are the way to go for any sharply seasonal market. Try and get those MTR Leases for the off season so that it takes the sting out of the slow time. Even if it's lower, better to have someone paying for your place than you!
We have owned a 2 bed/2 bath condo in North Myrtle Beach since 2021. We have rented our place in the fall and winter to traveling healthcare pro's for 3-6 months and snowbirds. We get those clients from Furnished Finder.
I think hybrid rentals are the way to go for any sharply seasonal market. Try and get those MTR Leases for the off season so that it takes the sting out of the slow time. Even if it's lower, better to have someone paying for your place than you!
We have owned a 2 bed/2 bath condo in North Myrtle Beach since 2021. We have rented our place in the fall and winter to traveling healthcare pro's for 3-6 months and snowbirds. We get those clients from Furnished Finder.
Thanks Cindy! Great to hear from a fellow MB-er! Does Furnish Finder charge a percentage or flat fee? How far in advance are you reaching out to them before the season starts? Lastly What is the going rate for 2 BR/2 Bath condo per month?
We have owned a 2 bed/2 bath condo in North Myrtle Beach since 2021. We have rented our place in the fall and winter to traveling healthcare pro's for 3-6 months and snowbirds. We get those clients from Furnished Finder.
Thanks Cindy! Great to hear from a fellow MB-er! Does Furnish Finder charge a percentage or flat fee? How far in advance are you reaching out to them before the season starts? Lastly What is the going rate for 2 BR/2 Bath condo per month?
Furnished Finder is a listing site, not a booking site. For our 1 property, it is $99/year. The renter contacts the owner through the site with questions and/or a housing request. You then can screen the renter, make and state-specific lease through Keycheck (another small fee), and collect payment through Stripe.
We currently charge $1960/ month for rent, $130/month for cleaning and $300-500 security deposit.
We have owned a 2 bed/2 bath condo in North Myrtle Beach since 2021. We have rented our place in the fall and winter to traveling healthcare pro's for 3-6 months and snowbirds. We get those clients from Furnished Finder.
Thanks Cindy! Great to hear from a fellow MB-er! Does Furnish Finder charge a percentage or flat fee? How far in advance are you reaching out to them before the season starts? Lastly What is the going rate for 2 BR/2 Bath condo per month?
Furnished Finder is a listing site, not a booking site. For our 1 property, it is $99/year. The renter contacts the owner through the site with questions and/or a housing request. You then can screen the renter, make and state-specific lease through Keycheck (another small fee), and collect payment through Stripe.
We currently charge $1960/ month for rent, $130/month for cleaning and $300-500 security deposit.
Awesome. Thank you for that information. Thats actually what I offered someone this past winter (1900) and then some locals told me it was too much...but I definitely think it's not, so I'm glad I'm not the only one! Thank you for the info!
Do remember when thinking to MTR to calculate in 7 days and less avg stays to qualify for material participation when self-managing STR for your tax year deductions as a business against your W2 wages. Cost seg and accelerated depreciation helps in lowering taxes. House passed bill to reinstate the 100% AD and make it backward to include 2023. Hopes it passes and goes in effect. CPA stating to hold off filing until April. This works best for high earners.
the hot tub is the single greatest amenity in most areas.. it is worth the investment.
You could also look to switch to mid term during a slower season and that would require less money up front!
Thank you Jeremy. I finally hooked up with Furnished Finder. We shall see!
I recommend using Turbo Tenant and listing the property as furnished and month to month! It post the listing on multiple different websites and it's FREE