Realtor, General Contractor, and Developer · Redding, CA · Member since 2009 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
Reading many of the posts on this new forum, I know there's a lot of interest in STR and VR properties. Therefore; to help those wanting to learn, maybe some of you with experience in this niche can share.
What are your biggest challenges in having Short Term or Vacation Rentals?
Property Manager · Big Bear Lake, CA · Member since 2013 · 585 posts · 330 votes
11y
@Lauren Lockett Some other great places to list your rental are: Airbnb and Flipkey. Of all the sites I have my places on, Flipkey gets me the most inquiries. They are part of TripAdvisor and a bunch of other places that Flipkey syndicates to. I find my listings on places all over the internet from Flipkey.
Property Manager · Big Bear Lake, CA · Member since 2013 · 585 posts · 330 votes
11y
I own 2 vacation rentals in Big Bear, CA, as well as manage several others for the homeowners.
I would say my biggest challenge is the constant upkeep. There is always something to take care of. Making sure they are really clean is extremely important. Towels and wash cloths go missing, so I frequently have to buy more of those items. Things get damaged, so there is the dealing with repairs/replacement of items. Yard maintenance, dealing with the City inspectors, etc. I really could go all day with this list.
How we deal with things: My husband and I take care of most of these things ourselves. We do delegate some repairs and landscaping. But, we spend a lot of time going to all the rentals each week to deal with issues.
No doubt that vacation rentals are a lot of work. So, if you hire someone, make sure they are a go getter and don't put off the work. Guests will not be happy to walk into a place that is not really clean and has broken things, missing things, etc.
Investor · Arlington, TX · Member since 2015 · 201 posts · 61 votes
11y
Hey guys!
I began vacation renting my home 8 months ago! I own a condo in North Arlington 3 miles from the Cowboys Stadium & Rangers Ballpark and 2 miles away from Six Flags & Hurricane Harbor. You know how you live in a place that's not a big deal to you, but is of value to people coming into town? That's exactly what I have here. What's great is besides those major attractions, the Stadium and Ballpark host other big events (which translates to higher nightly rates and more income for me) like most recently the Country Music Awards, NCAA Bowl Games, Beyonce/JayZ concert. May 2015 has been my biggest month with 16 night occupancy, June has 11 night occupancy so far, & July will probably be even bigger with a full month's occupancy. I list on Airbnb & Flipkey, but my first night joining BP someone mentioned listing on HomeAway as well. I'm warming up to that as we speak!
I chose to VR landlord vs traditional landlord on my condo because it just makes sense. The earning potential is glorious and for now, I'd rather have the influx of folks versus a tenant I'm not educated enough to service. I naturally enjoy hosting and it was a great transition to tapping into real estate investing.
To answer your question, my biggest challenge is PMing and keeping occupancy up. On PMing, I currently do everything myself. I'd love a great referral for someone who does VR PMing in my area. It's rare and I know the other VR landlords in my area only have housekeepers as do I. She comes only 2x a month since she only deep cleans so I'm looking for someone who understands that I need to turn my home over constantly to welcome the next guest. With occupancy, I've learned that marketing/listings keeps you in the business. I'm uber grateful for the HomeAway.com referral and will be listing with them by next month. I also heard of a few other sites since this forum has started and will explore that as well.
I'd love to hear how other VR landlords market and get occupancy through the roof along with who does their PM'ing and housekeeping.
Property Manager · Big Bear Lake, CA · Member since 2013 · 585 posts · 330 votes
11y
@Lauren Lockett Some other great places to list your rental are: Airbnb and Flipkey. Of all the sites I have my places on, Flipkey gets me the most inquiries. They are part of TripAdvisor and a bunch of other places that Flipkey syndicates to. I find my listings on places all over the internet from Flipkey.
Investor · Arlington, TX · Member since 2015 · 201 posts · 61 votes
11y
@Account Closed
That's pretty awesome! I was referred to Flipkey by a group on Airbnb! I had no clue it had a ripple effect in a sense of it being connected to Trip Advisor. And congrats on your properties! I must have been still typing and missed your post! ;) California sounds like an awesome getaway by the way! ;) Are you thinking of getting more?
Property Manager · Big Bear Lake, CA · Member since 2013 · 585 posts · 330 votes
11y
@Lauren Lockett Yes, we are planning to buy several more vacation rentals in the Big Bear area. The two we own now make us a pretty good return. Big Bear is a huge vacation spot in California.
Professional · Yona, Guam · Member since 2014 · 62 posts · 30 votes
11y
Home Exchange is awesome!
No real big challenges with our vacation rental, except local regulation that we ignore. We enjoy ours. To all those on other topics and blog posts who have posted that they would rather vacation in other places than the same place over and over, and use this as a negative to owning a vacation rental, I highly recommend using homeexchange with your vacation rental. We've been all over for free by exchanging ours. It's a huge advantage, if you like to travel, that most overlook. We did 10 days in New Zealand on the beach and 2 weeks on the coast in Oregon last year. Right now I have 2 weeks in Italy, a week in Colorado, and Tahoe banked to use later. I let people exchange with mine when it doesn't rent or in the off-season.
I don't see this getting mentioned. Thought I would throw it out there. Most people who buy a vacation rental like to travel.