Anyone try Fairly.com?

[Vivian Key]

We're currently using Vacasa but have heard about Fairly a few times. We've done some homework on the differences between Fairly and managers like Vacasa but we would love feedback from any STR owners that have actually made the switch to Fairly. What has the experience been like? Are you happy with your decision?

[Eric Breon]

Quote from @Andrew Steffens:

100% recommend finding a local provider.  To me (PM of 70 +/- units), the sweet spot is likely 30ish to 120ish.  The reason for this is I do not think it is advantageous to hire a manager of 1-30 as on the low end they lack experience and even at the higher end of that range they lack resources. That typically means the PM is dropping off towels, while calling a plumber, while answering inquiries on the OTA platform etc.  30-120 they start to have specialized employees on staff, some automations, more experience, some marketing reach, etc.  Above 120 you start running in to similar issues as nationwide companies you become a number and quality tends to diminish.  I hope that helps!

If you look at the data, the issues start well before 70 units:

1 listing: 4.8 avg review
2-20 listings: 4.7 avg review
21-100 listings: 4.6 avg review
101-1000 listings: 4.5 avg review
1000+ listings: 4.4 avg review
(https://www.phocuswire.com/power-of-reviews-in-the-short-term-rental-sector)

This was the inspiration behind Fairly: to capture the customer satisfaction of small hosts, and pair it with industry-leading yield management, automation, etc.

And our results have proven this out: with over 5,000 guest reviews, our average home has a 4.95 rating (and our median home has a 5.0!)