My Q1 Kissimee numbers, 2022 vs. 2026

Ryan Moyer · 2026-04-17T13:31:23-07:00

2022: $55,464 2023: $52,589 2024: $42, 013 2025: $43,585 2026: $53,024 Prior to this year we were kind of on the same trend as everyone else. Down. But this year we've bounced back to nearly 2022 numbers so far (and not just on this one property, on some others as well), even though the Kissimmee market as a whole has only moved further downwards. We did not make any upgrades to the home (though that is certainly the most sure-fire way to get back to 2022 numbers if you can swing it). We did not re-shoot our photos. Late last year I made some big changes to how I approach several things including revenue management, direct bookings, and how we create/optimize our listings. I think the rev management and direct bookings are bigger topics and I plan to get to those one day, but creating a better listing is the most low hanging fruit and the easiest/quickest/cheapest way to give your revenue a bit of a kick. I'm going to do a little class thingy on Zoom on Thursday to go through all the changes I made if anyone wants to check it out, but in the meantime here are some quick hitters of some of the changes I made to our approach. The single biggest change I made was operating under the assumption that the guest is not going to read the description. Because frankly, most of them aren't, especially during the culling stage. That means I put all of the most important/marketable info in the photos. Yes, that means text on the photos. Not in the caption, ON THE PHOTO ITSELF. If we offer free pool heat on a property, I put that in big bold letters on the photo of the pool. Yes, it's kitchy. Yes, it's kinda lame. But it works. For the description itself, don't be wordy/verbose (ironic given this post, right?). The top half should be bullet points (with emoticons) of all the most important things. Anything you have to write out in long sentences goes in "other things to note". Again, I'm not saying it'll change your life, but I'm an ex-SEO guy that tests stuff constantly, and these are the kind of things (and the rest that I'll share in the zoom class so this doesn't get too long) that I've settled on after years of trying different approaches.

Collin HaysBusiness Member

Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes

5mo

Looks pretty steady to me. I'd take it.

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John UnderwoodPro Member

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

5mo

This is ACTUALLY interesting data unlike some of the AI book reports that people are posting lately.

I like the idea of putting info on the pictures. I'm sure this cuts way down on questions.

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Ryan MoyerBusiness Member
OP
Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 993 posts · 1k+ votes
5mo
Quote from @John Underwood:

I like the idea of putting info on the pictures. I'm sure this cuts way down on questions.

While that is a nice side effect, the main reason really is for marketing.

For instance take pool heat.

I would say roughly 80% of the listings in my area charge for pool heat. So I could easily get away with charging for pool heat. And by not charging it I'm giving up several thousand dollars in pool heat fees.

But I'm not doing that out of the goodness of my heart. I'm doing it because I think I can make more money in booking revenue because I'm offering free pool heat than I could in pool heat fees.

I would imagine most of the other 20% of listings not charging for pool heat are doing it for the same reason.

But they're not marketing it, so they're wasting it.

If we were talking about my direct booking site, the potential guests are going to get an email/text about free pool heat as part of the pre-booking nurture sequence, but I can't do that on Airbnb. So that's where the photo comes in. If they're looking at 10 themed properties that are frankly all the same these days, they're going to see/remember mine as the one with free pool heat (yay no fees) even though two of the other listings they were looking at may also have free pool heat, but they didn't know because it was buried in some 2500 word description talking about how magical the house is.
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Mike GrudzienPro Member

Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes

5mo

Nice tips.

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Andrew SteffensBusiness Member

Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes

5mo

Do you think this is more indicative of a turnaround in the Orlando market, of your new approach to revenue management, or a possible anomaly?

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Stephen Delahoussaye

Real Estate Broker · Nashville, TN · Member since 2022 · 163 posts · 87 votes

5mo

Really appreciate the transparency here @Ryan Moyer. Sharing actual numbers year over year is way more useful than another "how I scaled to 6 figures" post with no context.

To @Andrew Steffens' question — I'd bet it's both, but the operator side is doing the heavier lifting. The listing optimization changes Ryan described (text on photos, tighter descriptions, strategic use of amenity marketing) are exactly the kind of things that separate the top performers from the average operators in every market right now. The Kissimmee market hasn't fundamentally shifted enough in Q1 to explain a $10K jump on its own.

What caught my attention was the photo text strategy. I operate in Nashville and the STR landscape here is completely different from Central Florida — heavily regulated, permit-dependent, much smaller supply pool. But the listing optimization principles are universal. Most operators in Nashville still rely on the same description templates and generic professional photos that everyone else uses. The ones pulling ahead are doing exactly what Ryan is doing — making the first 5 seconds of the scroll count.

The part about guests not reading descriptions is something I think a lot of operators still underestimate. In a market like Kissimmee where you're competing against thousands of similar properties in the same resort communities, those visual differentiators probably matter even more than in a supply-constrained market. The fact that Ryan's numbers bounced back to near-2022 levels while the broader market hasn't tells you a lot about where the alpha is coming from right now.

Curious whether you've seen the direct booking channel start to move the needle on Q1 specifically, or if that's more of a longer-term play that hasn't fully kicked in yet.

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Michael Eskenasy

Investor · Pacific Northwest · Member since 2026 · 538 posts · 309 votes

5mo

That shift you made—assuming the guest won’t read—is the part most people miss.

You didn’t just “optimize a listing,” you changed the model from information delivery → attention capture.

At the culling stage, guests aren’t comparing details—they’re scanning for certainty signals:

“Is this obviously better?”
“Does this solve what I care about?”
“Can I decide without thinking too hard?”

Text on photos works because it collapses that decision loop instantly.

No scrolling, no interpretation, no effort.

What’s interesting is your numbers didn’t recover because the market improved—you just started winning more of the existing demand by reducing friction in the decision process.

Most hosts try to compete by adding value (upgrades, amenities).

You competed by increasing clarity per second.

That’s a different game.

Curious how far you’ve pushed it—have you tested sequencing the photos like a funnel?

Not just “what’s shown,” but in what order the decision gets made:

Hook (why this property)
Proof (why it’s real)
Reinforcement (why it’s better)
Objection handling (what they might worry about)

Feels like you’re already halfway there, just not formalized yet.

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JD MartinBusiness Member

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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes

5mo

This is a great thread Ryan - thanks for posting it. I wish we had more good stuff like this showing up in the forum.

On your numbers, I assume these numbers are for your 9BR? What is the location/neighborhood (in general) and the SF and the amenities? I see Champion's Gate but that encompasses a pretty big area at least as far as operators refer to on the STR platforms. I assume from the pictures you're in the Retreat or similar.

My numbers are similar in terms of percentages (except for 2026, since I've shut things down) but of course much lower in gross since I have less total available days and a smaller property.

Another important thing to note in your analysis here (assuming this is the 9br). In most neighborhoods you're going to spend at least $800k on a 9br, plus HOA or resort fees (a lot of 9s are in resorts) and your taxes and insurance. Assuming most people won't pay cash, and let's just say they're putting 25% down on the cheapest house, they're looking at PITIs and HOA of around $5k per month or more. Add in utilities, whatever maintenance isn't included in the HOA fees and repairs & maintenance, and it's going to easily be $6k or more per month to keep the property operating. Putting that against say $52k in gross revenues, on a pure investment property where the owner isn't using the property at all, and it's pretty obvious that anyone buying now is not going to make this work without an all/almost all cash purchase. My numbers bear this out, where I have much lower costs than that but also much lower grosses due to less available dates and a smaller property. This doesn't even begin to include renovating or outfitting the property with theming, new furniture, etc.

A quick note/thought about pool heat. You're right about giving up the pool heat fees, but it actually cuts on both sides of the equations. When I am there in the winter - let's say February and part of March - I run my pool heater, which is essentially a heat pump for water without any solar assistance. My Duke energy bill increases by $300+ per month with the pool heater running about 9-11 hours per day, depending on how long I've got the pump set (we don't have any natural gas). We don't typically offer pool heat May through October unless we get someone who really, really wants it, since the sun brings things up pretty quick, and we keep the pool heat set to about 88. So for the 6 months that we would run it, giving a credit for the shoulder seasons and a little bump on the coldest months of Dec/Jan, it would add somewhere near $2k to the electric costs, and hasten the demise of the pool heater which costs about $5k installed. It also eats up more pool chemicals and increases evaporation, so increased water refills, but even just leaving those off free pool heat would end up adding about $300-500 per month in costs that either need to be ate or factored into the nightly rate.

I bring all this up because it's a good illustration on where anyone coming into this market now - not in 2015 - should expect in terms of costs and revenues. If one looks at a typical 9br house in this location, right now, with the resort fees and 25% down they're going to have a monthly payment of $6k before utilities, repairs & maintenance and other non-included upkeep, against nightly rates of $200 which at 70% occupancy is $51k gross, just like your numbers, against probably $80k or more in costs. And most people are not going to work as hard at it as you, and even the best operators are going to be hard pressed for 70% occupancy since these days Aug-Oct are deadsville and now May and the beginning of November have been getting really slack.

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Ryan MoyerBusiness Member
OP
Property Manager · Orlando Kissimmee Davenport Salt Lake City, Park City · Member since 2019 · 993 posts · 1k+ votes
5mo
Quote from @JD Martin:

This is a great thread Ryan - thanks for posting it. I wish we had more good stuff like this showing up in the forum.

On your numbers, I assume these numbers are for your 9BR? What is the location/neighborhood (in general) and the SF and the amenities? I see Champion's Gate but that encompasses a pretty big area at least as far as operators refer to on the STR platforms. I assume from the pictures you're in the Retreat or similar.

My numbers are similar in terms of percentages (except for 2026, since I've shut things down) but of course much lower in gross since I have less total available days and a smaller property.

Another important thing to note in your analysis here (assuming this is the 9br). In most neighborhoods you're going to spend at least $800k on a 9br, plus HOA or resort fees (a lot of 9s are in resorts) and your taxes and insurance. Assuming most people won't pay cash, and let's just say they're putting 25% down on the cheapest house, they're looking at PITIs and HOA of around $5k per month or more. Add in utilities, whatever maintenance isn't included in the HOA fees and repairs & maintenance, and it's going to easily be $6k or more per month to keep the property operating. Putting that against say $52k in gross revenues, on a pure investment property where the owner isn't using the property at all, and it's pretty obvious that anyone buying now is not going to make this work without an all/almost all cash purchase. My numbers bear this out, where I have much lower costs than that but also much lower grosses due to less available dates and a smaller property. This doesn't even begin to include renovating or outfitting the property with theming, new furniture, etc.

A quick note/thought about pool heat. You're right about giving up the pool heat fees, but it actually cuts on both sides of the equations. When I am there in the winter - let's say February and part of March - I run my pool heater, which is essentially a heat pump for water without any solar assistance. My Duke energy bill increases by $300+ per month with the pool heater running about 9-11 hours per day, depending on how long I've got the pump set (we don't have any natural gas). We don't typically offer pool heat May through October unless we get someone who really, really wants it, since the sun brings things up pretty quick, and we keep the pool heat set to about 88. So for the 6 months that we would run it, giving a credit for the shoulder seasons and a little bump on the coldest months of Dec/Jan, it would add somewhere near $2k to the electric costs, and hasten the demise of the pool heater which costs about $5k installed. It also eats up more pool chemicals and increases evaporation, so increased water refills, but even just leaving those off free pool heat would end up adding about $300-500 per month in costs that either need to be ate or factored into the nightly rate.

I bring all this up because it's a good illustration on where anyone coming into this market now - not in 2015 - should expect in terms of costs and revenues. If one looks at a typical 9br house in this location, right now, with the resort fees and 25% down they're going to have a monthly payment of $6k before utilities, repairs & maintenance and other non-included upkeep, against nightly rates of $200 which at 70% occupancy is $51k gross, just like your numbers, against probably $80k or more in costs. And most people are not going to work as hard at it as you, and even the best operators are going to be hard pressed for 70% occupancy since these days Aug-Oct are deadsville and now May and the beginning of November have been getting really slack.

These are all great points.
To answer your question, yes this is an 8br in the retreat (Oasis area). In particular this one is on Moon Valley Dr on the east side (far from clubhouse). We have another nicely themed 8br on Rolling Fairway with similar results.
Everything you've said about Orlando/CG is true, albeit with one caveat. I think you can get in a lot cheaper than $800k on the 8br's nowadays. Prices have come down a lot, I'm seeing some move in the low $600's now which is not much more than I bought mine for way back when (albeit with a much better interest rate). Assuming you're willing to invest in the theming (though my opinion is that turnkey STR in any market is all but dead, the play now in STR is to take your cash you plan to invest in a property and set aside 25-50% of it into post purchase renovations/amenitization).
There are also giga-themed properties actually hitting the market now (they never used to), and some without a huge mark-up. We had a client buy a property themed out nearly to the same level as ours at $729k.
You totally hit the mark on expenses in Orlando. Many investors totally underestimate those. Electric you're talking $500-$900/mo. HOA is $500/mo. And beyond all that the consumables and maintenance are higher than most markets because these are builder grade houses hosting 16+ guests (many of which are kids). We spend 2-3x on maintenance at our 8br in Orlando compared to our 6br in Southern Utah (quiet, leave no trace guests that are out hiking all day then come back to the cabin to relax and sleep).
While I do think Orlando has bottomed a bit ahead of other markets I agree that it would not be high on my list if ROI/cash flow were the primary motivation for buying. I think the main advantages to this market are if you love Disney (it's pretty cool owning an x-wing and bringing my kids to it), stable regulation (these are essentially zoned as hotels, I think people are underestimating the regulation risk in most markets where they own in residential neighborhoods), long term stability (Disney will still be in demand 10 years from now. Broken Bow might be forgotten from existence), adn finally tax advantages (home to land value ratio is perfectly optimized for cost segregation).
Though, cash flowing deals still are possible with the right post-purchase investment. But I would say that is true anywhere. For cash flow it's less about the market these days and more about finding the right deal, and an inefficiency in the market that you can exploit.
If cash flow were my #1 priority my play would be finding a tertiary market (like some random lake near a big city) and creating a giga-amenitized property there. Basically something to the awesomeness level of these Disney properties, but in a market where there aren't 5,000 other people with properties that are just as cool.
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Leah WalczakBusiness Member

Specialist · Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2026 · 18 posts · 7 votes

5mo

Ryan — those numbers tell a story worth pausing on. You bounced from $42K in '24 back up to $53K this year, but your 5-year compound is still a bit below 2022. The question I'd add for Kissimmee specifically: what does the LTR case look like on that same property today? Because if LTR net covers debt service, your 2022 purchase is safe regardless of where STR goes. If not, you're betting on STR every year forward. Not saying sell — just, the LTR floor is the real risk metric, not year-over-year STR revenue. Been running STR vs LTR side-by-side in a tool I built (Gemhaus), and for Kissimmee product specifically, LTR coverage is usually in the 65-70% range post-2022 pricing. If you want me to pull your address I'll send you the comparison.

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My Q1 Kissimee numbers, 2022 vs. 2026

My Q1 Kissimee numbers, 2022 vs. 2026

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