Convert Long Term Rental into Short Term Rental

Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 4 votes

Hi, we are considering turning our long term rental property into a short rental. This would be our first STR as we have 3 other long term rental properties. My questions is has anyone used a fully turnkey company like Awning or Quantr Rentals to fully setup ( provide furniture, technology, management, etc.) to start your STR? If so can you provide any feedback from using them or refer us to a different company? Any info would be great. Thxs

0 Reply

243 views

Most Popular Reply

John UnderwoodPro Member

Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes

I have not used any of these companies but turnkey is going to be much more expensive than you doing this yourself.

You could buy good used furniture from 2nd hand stores or FB marketplace.

You could hire a local handyman to pickup and assemble items.

You could also go to too to go and buy the big stuff and have it delivered.

Other stuff you could order on Wayfair and Amazon and have it shipped to the house.

A local staging company might be willing to help you and coordinate deliveries that you purchase.

Turnkey is going to cost a lot more.

3 Reply

See this reply in the discussion

10 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
1y
I have not used any of these companies but turnkey is going to be much more expensive than you doing this yourself.
You could buy good used furniture from 2nd hand stores or FB marketplace.
You could hire a local handyman to pickup and assemble items.
You could also go to too to go and buy the big stuff and have it delivered.
Other stuff you could order on Wayfair and Amazon and have it shipped to the house.
A local staging company might be willing to help you and coordinate deliveries that you purchase.
Turnkey is going to cost a lot more.
3 Reply
- Kristine Cotton
  OP
  Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 4 votes
  1y
  Quote from @John Underwood:
  
  I have not used any of these companies but turnkey is going to be much more expensive than you doing this yourself.
  You could buy good used furniture from 2nd hand stores or FB marketplace.
  You could hire a local handyman to pickup and assemble items.
  You could also go to too to go and buy the big stuff and have it delivered.
  Other stuff you could order on Wayfair and Amazon and have it shipped to the house.
  A local staging company might be willing to help you and coordinate deliveries that you purchase.
  Turnkey is going to cost a lot more.
  
  Hey John, thanks for the reply. We expected there to be an additional cost but starting out, we thought it would be a faster way to get bookings via their marketing reach to test the waters and then pivot to self perform once we get an understanding of what's needed to run a STR property. We used a management company for my 1st rental property for a year and they sucked. But learned very quickly what to do and have been self managing ever since.
  0 Reply
Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
1y
Hi Kristine!
I do not have first hand knowledge of those particular companies but every national company in the STR space has either burned myself, a client of mine, or has burned someone on this very forum. Typically speaking you are best off going local. Find a local designer with STR experience to do the furnishing and design and a local PM who can bring the best to the table. Good luck!
[email protected]813-563-0877
Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
Website View Page
2 Reply
- Kristine Cotton
  OP
  Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 4 votes
  1y
  Quote from @Andrew Steffens:
  
  Hi Kristine!
  I do not have first hand knowledge of those particular companies but every national company in the STR space has either burned myself, a client of mine, or has burned someone on this very forum. Typically speaking you are best off going local. Find a local designer with STR experience to do the furnishing and design and a local PM who can bring the best to the table. Good luck!
  
  Hey Andrew, thanks for the reply. We used a local property management company for our first rental property and they were the worst. But the one thing we did learn was what to expect in managing rental properties so we took over after 1 year of using a PM company. Even though it may cost me upfront, I am hoping to do the same with a STR as this will be our first.
  0 Reply
- Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
  Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
  1y
  Quote from @Kristine Cotton:
  
  Quote from @Andrew Steffens:
  
  Hi Kristine!
  I do not have first hand knowledge of those particular companies but every national company in the STR space has either burned myself, a client of mine, or has burned someone on this very forum. Typically speaking you are best off going local. Find a local designer with STR experience to do the furnishing and design and a local PM who can bring the best to the table. Good luck!
  
  Hey Andrew, thanks for the reply. We used a local property management company for our first rental property and they were the worst. But the one thing we did learn was what to expect in managing rental properties so we took over after 1 year of using a PM company. Even though it may cost me upfront, I am hoping to do the same with a STR as this will be our first.
  
  Not every local manager is good! But, the general consensus is, every national manager is not good. Definitely vet them closely!
  [email protected]813-563-0877
  Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews
  Website View Page
  1 Reply
John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
1y
I also really like our Lazy boy couches. They have held up very well and have built in recliners, but you could also get a sleeper sofa for more heads in beds.
We bought rugs and other stuff at Lazy boy too.
2 Reply
Mike GrudzienPro Member
Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Work locally! Hire locally. And learn the business of STR. You're running a hotel and a hospitality business: if you shine you get good reviews and reviews = more bookings, more revenue.
Look at my profile for more (free) help.
0 Reply
Josh Green
Real Estate Agent · Cumming, GA · Member since 2025 · 26 posts · 14 votes
1y
Hi @Kristine Cotton!
I haven't heard of any of these companies. We use a co-host who manages most of the business for us, and helped us design and stage the property before listing on the major hosting platforms. She handles client communications, unit turnover, stocks supplies, and tech for listing syndication and reporting.
The only thing I do manually is pay county taxes because the county we operate in uses some antiquated software that's incompatible with Hospitable. All other bills (HOA, utilities, etc) are on auto-pay.
If you'd like for me to connect you with my co-host, just reach out! Our property is in Ellijay, but her company manages properties across the southeastern US. They are local to GA and really great folks.
My contact info is on my profile. Best of luck with everything!
1 Reply
- Kristine Cotton
  OP
  Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2021 · 11 posts · 4 votes
  1y
  Quote from @Josh Green:
  
  Hi @Kristine Cotton!
  I haven't heard of any of these companies. We use a co-host who manages most of the business for us, and helped us design and stage the property before listing on the major hosting platforms. She handles client communications, unit turnover, stocks supplies, and tech for listing syndication and reporting.
  The only thing I do manually is pay county taxes because the county we operate in uses some antiquated software that's incompatible with Hospitable. All other bills (HOA, utilities, etc) are on auto-pay.
  If you'd like for me to connect you with my co-host, just reach out! Our property is in Ellijay, but her company manages properties across the southeastern US. They are local to GA and really great folks.
  My contact info is on my profile. Best of luck with everything!
  
  Hey Josh, thanks for the note, I just sent you a separate message.
  1 Reply
Lucas De Carvalho
Rental Property Investor · NYC · Member since 2024 · 52 posts · 17 votes
9mo
Kristine — Andrew's warning about national companies is spot-on. If you want a recent example: Sonder, one of the biggest names in the turnkey STR space, filed for bankruptcy last month. They were running thousands of units, and landlords got left holding the bag when the company collapsed. Not an isolated case either — the national turnkey model has a history of over-promising and under-delivering.

The alternative that's worked for a lot of landlords is finding a local operator (or a serious remote operator with a track record) who will actually run the property as their own business. The arrangement usually looks like one of two structures:
1. Master lease — operator pays you a fixed rent, takes on all the STR operations, and keeps the upside (or downside). You get stability similar to an LTR.
2. Profit split / co-host — operator handles everything (furnishing, listing, pricing, guest comms, turnover), and you split revenue. More upside for you, but also more variability.
The catch is finding someone legit — not someone who took a course last month. You want to see track record, references from current landlords, proof of insurance, and a real business behind them.

That's actually something I've been working on — a platform called Vantage (vantagestr.co) that connects landlords with vetted STR operators. Still early, but the whole idea came from seeing how hard it is for both sides to find each other.

Happy to share more on what to look for in an operator if you go that route. Atlanta's a solid STR market if you find the right partner. Currently working on getting my cousin set up on his first one right there.
1 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.