Ben Lomond, CA · Member since 2016 · 338 posts · 337 votes
Hey BP,
I am considering going the AirBnB route with one of my rentals. After browsing current rentals on AirBnB in my area (Ben Lomond, Scotts Valley, Felton), I noticed that most of them are fully booked for the next few months. This makes sense since the summer time is upon us and the majority of people do their travel during this time.
My question is: how do people faire with short term rentals during the rest of the year? Are the vacancy rates significantly larger during the non-summer months? Do people see this as a viable model for smaller towns such as Ben Lomond, Scotts Valley, and Felton?
I rent to working contractors, 24 STRs with 84 beds. My only slow time is between Thanksgiving and New Years. Most companies annual budget is used up, and most of the contractors don't want to work then.
Don't limit yourself to just renting to vacationing people. I've rented to 1200 people in the last 6 years. About 5 or 6 of them rented a place to spend Thanksgiving. The other 1195 people all came to town to work. They are those people that work on those large erections of steel you see at a petrochemical refinery.
I rent to working contractors, 24 STRs with 84 beds. My only slow time is between Thanksgiving and New Years. Most companies annual budget is used up, and most of the contractors don't want to work then.
Don't limit yourself to just renting to vacationing people. I've rented to 1200 people in the last 6 years. About 5 or 6 of them rented a place to spend Thanksgiving. The other 1195 people all came to town to work. They are those people that work on those large erections of steel you see at a petrochemical refinery.
My vacation rentals are in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg. They’re jam packed all year round and the local economy depends on us and the thousands of other hosts. It’s a beautiful thing. Avery Carl and I have 5 which we self manage. I’d highly suggest self managing and I’d also highly suggest no more than 5 VRs.
Paul Sandhu needs a podcast!
Do any of you do any special marketing to bring in clients? I asked my previous question because the town I live in is not exactly a tourist town and neither is it a center for industry. There is a beach community (Santa Cruz, Ca) that is very touristy within 10-5 miles and I am not sure how that affects the fall/winter/spring months for short term rentals.
Every contractor that I give a drug screen to get a pen that says:
Furnished Houses in Coffeyville Kansas
All Bills Paid - Weekly Rates
Better Call Paul XXX-XXX-XXXX
I put a billboard up where the contractors stay. The side of my work truck has two magnetic signs on the doors. My dump truck has a sign. My lawn mowing guy has a sign. My daughter in law has a sign.
I get about 350 calendars of scantily clad women each year with my info printed on it. Whenever I test a superintendent, project manager or general foreman; I give them a dozen calendars to distribute to their foreman.
@Jonathan Pflueger If you can come to tonight's meetup at pour, J Martin will be coming and has a large portfolio of short and mid-term business stays he manages in the bay area. You can pepper him with questions.
My own experience for short term rentals is very limited but more location relevant than the folks who replied (two properties : one in santa cruz and one in capitola). I did not find the demand for the short term stays in santa cruz. I was expecting the university / hospital etc to create the demand and we just didn't see it. It was mostly tourists looking for smaller timeframes.
I'm, not sure if the mountains have cracked down yet, but pay attention to permits and zoning rules. Santa Cruz has a moratorium on new vacation rentals. Capitola has streets designated for under 30 days and live oak has a max count per neighborhood. Youcan't just turn it on.
Long term rents in the area are at an all time high, and after I factored in the turnover cost, addition al taxes, wear and tear, materials, and management impact on my time, the additional profit (I calculated about 15%) was worth turning my fairly passive incomes into another job.
Thanks Shane, I had already planned on coming tonight - looking forward to it. You make a lot of good points. The additional profit would have to vastly outweigh the negatives you mentioned.