Advice on AirBnB self-management
Asheville, NC · Member since 2018 · 35 posts · 8 votes
Advice on AirBnB self-management
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Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7yYou really don't need a management system for a single property. It'll make your life more complicated, and cost you more money. Also, for your first property it will be good for you to do a lot of things manually at first - learn the system, don't hand it over to a computer right away. Figure out what prices work in your market for your unit - otherwise, how will you know if a computer is pricing it correctly? (I've tried them all and think they're all garbage, frankly) Learn what you need to communicate with your guests and when, have it down to a science, THEN automate it.
Integrating calendars is dead simple and natively supported on AirBNB, VRBO, etc. Ignore all the systems saying "We're a channel manager! You need a channel manager!" Nonsense. You definitely need your calendars synced with each other, but you definitely DON'T need additional software to do it. Search "sync AirBNB VRBO calendar" or similar and you'll learn how in a second.
Communicating with your cleaning staff... what about text messaging? That's what I do for my four properties. And if they're just a little tech-savvy, they can import your booking calendar to their smart phone and see your entire schedule at a glance. I've never once had to communicate the booking schedule to my housekeepers in the Smokies, because they just check their phone each day. It's brilliant.
Once you've got your arms wrapped around how everything works, THEN you can look for a system that's suited for you (if you still want one). But right now, you don't know what you don't know, and management software is only going to muddy the water.
16 Replies
- Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes7y
You already said: AirBnB
You can also consider VRBO.com or Homeaway but AirBnB is the leader. They will hande marketing, communication, receiving payments, etc. They can also give you advice on pricing strategies, protecting your investment, and more.
It's really pretty simple. What is it about their software that is making your eyes cross?
The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews - New York City, NY · Member since 2016 · 470 posts · 348 votes7y
Originally posted by @Amanda Williams:
Hello! I will be closing on my first STR in early June and could really use some recommendations on how to manage it myself. I have worked with long-term rentals and flips, but this seems like a whole new world! I would like to start with some type of management software that integrates the different sites, allows me to integrate auto price updates (wheelhouse), and easily manage guest communications and bookings. A plus would be the ability to communicate with the cleaning team. I have spent hours pouring over the different software programs to the point that my eyes are crossing! Can someone simplify this for me and point me in the best direction to start? What has worked well for you and why? Also, I do live locally, but about 20 min from the unit.
https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/677062-str-automation-resources?page=2#p4039892
- Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes7y
You really don't need a management system for a single property. It'll make your life more complicated, and cost you more money. Also, for your first property it will be good for you to do a lot of things manually at first - learn the system, don't hand it over to a computer right away. Figure out what prices work in your market for your unit - otherwise, how will you know if a computer is pricing it correctly? (I've tried them all and think they're all garbage, frankly) Learn what you need to communicate with your guests and when, have it down to a science, THEN automate it.
Integrating calendars is dead simple and natively supported on AirBNB, VRBO, etc. Ignore all the systems saying "We're a channel manager! You need a channel manager!" Nonsense. You definitely need your calendars synced with each other, but you definitely DON'T need additional software to do it. Search "sync AirBNB VRBO calendar" or similar and you'll learn how in a second.
Communicating with your cleaning staff... what about text messaging? That's what I do for my four properties. And if they're just a little tech-savvy, they can import your booking calendar to their smart phone and see your entire schedule at a glance. I've never once had to communicate the booking schedule to my housekeepers in the Smokies, because they just check their phone each day. It's brilliant.
Once you've got your arms wrapped around how everything works, THEN you can look for a system that's suited for you (if you still want one). But right now, you don't know what you don't know, and management software is only going to muddy the water.
- Kettle Falls, WA · Member since 2017 · 77 posts · 40 votes7y
Well said, @Julie McCoy. Completely agree. Don't know why people get into a tizzy over extra, unneeded software.
- Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes7y
I have 23 STRs and I don't use software. The most complicated thing is a posterboard calendar for all the addresses. It shows what's available, what's rented out, how much they pay, the day they pay, and what needs housekeeping. Pricing? I just look at the local motels and see how much they charge for a room with 2 beds for a week. I charge the same for a house with 2 bedrooms. 1.5x for a 3BR. 2x for a 4 BR.
But my renters are not your typical renters, and my market is not your typical market. I rent to refinery contractors, my town of Coffeyville has the lowest average mortgage payment in the country. That implies the lowest property values in the country. 6 months of gross rent pays for the purchase price of a STR house in this market.
- 7yJohn UnderwoodPro MemberInvestor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
You dont need extra software beyond what Vrbo and Airbnb provides to manage 1 property.
Keep it simple to start with.
- Asheville, NC · Member since 2018 · 35 posts · 8 votes7y
Originally posted by @Nathan Gesner:
You already said: AirBnB
You can also consider VRBO.com or Homeaway but AirBnB is the leader. They will hande marketing, communication, receiving payments, etc. They can also give you advice on pricing strategies, protecting your investment, and more.
It's really pretty simple. What is it about their software that is making your eyes cross?
HI Nathan, It seems like the way to boost your occupancy rate is to market and book across multiple sites. I have heard from other investors who have done it that there is can be a lot of work with avoiding double bookings and managing guest communications. I may be concerned for no reason, but I don't want this first one to be all consuming on top of my other investment work, job, and family.
- Asheville, NC · Member since 2018 · 35 posts · 8 votes7y
Originally posted by @Julie McCoy:
You really don't need a management system for a single property. It'll make your life more complicated, and cost you more money. Also, for your first property it will be good for you to do a lot of things manually at first - learn the system, don't hand it over to a computer right away. Figure out what prices work in your market for your unit - otherwise, how will you know if a computer is pricing it correctly? (I've tried them all and think they're all garbage, frankly) Learn what you need to communicate with your guests and when, have it down to a science, THEN automate it.
Integrating calendars is dead simple and natively supported on AirBNB, VRBO, etc. Ignore all the systems saying "We're a channel manager! You need a channel manager!" Nonsense. You definitely need your calendars synced with each other, but you definitely DON'T need additional software to do it. Search "sync AirBNB VRBO calendar" or similar and you'll learn how in a second.
Communicating with your cleaning staff... what about text messaging? That's what I do for my four properties. And if they're just a little tech-savvy, they can import your booking calendar to their smart phone and see your entire schedule at a glance. I've never once had to communicate the booking schedule to my housekeepers in the Smokies, because they just check their phone each day. It's brilliant.
Once you've got your arms wrapped around how everything works, THEN you can look for a system that's suited for you (if you still want one). But right now, you don't know what you don't know, and management software is only going to muddy the water.
Julie,
That is AWESOME advice! I can tend to "over-prepare" and over analyze things. Sounds like I need to relax and get down the road a bit first. Thank you again for chiming in. On another note, how does your investment in the smokies perform? That is the next place I was considering after I got my hands around this one.
- Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes7y
@Amanda Williams I'm sure you could work really hard to squeeze out a few more bookings, but is the additional work worth the additional effort? It sounds to me like you would be fine sticking with one system.
The DIY Landlord Book4.7248 Reviews - Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes7y
@Amanda Williams I totally understand the tendency to over-analyze/over-prepare! LOL Thanks for taking it in good humor. Once you can break out of the analysis paralysis, that trait will work in your favor - and you'll find that while running a vacation rental is definitely different from other kinds of RE investing, it's not that complicated once you get it up and running. The time/money investment is DEFINITELY front-end heavy. Give yourself a few weeks to work out the kinks and figure out your patterns, and then you'll be off to the races.
My Smokies properties do great. They're super easy to manage, cash flow is awesome, the area is slammed all the time so my occupancy is great, and the fact that the area is so tourist oriented means working with vendors is easy because they're so used to VRs. And for you, that area is just a bit over an hour away! Not mandatory at all (I lived in Los Angeles when I first started investing there) but definitely helpful to be so close.
I'm actually going to be in Maggie Valley the week after next for a couple of days, shoot me a PM if you want to grab coffee or something in Asheville and chat STRs. :)
- Investor · Roseville, CA · Member since 2016 · 893 posts · 1k+ votes7y
@Amanda Williams I think everyone's schedule's and technical comfortableness is different personally. If you want to use software, I say go for it because if you do scale to 2 or 3 then you will be that much further ahead of the learning curve when you actually will fully benefit from software.
I use Evolve so I don't need to manage my bookings, payments, etc. but am going to be helping a friend manage his new property in San Diego this summer and am going to try out AirGMS just to see how well it works. It's $20/month and will do a lot of what we need (although by no means do we actually need it since it's one a property). However, he has multiple properties so if it works out well we will likely convert his other properties over to it as well.
One thing I will say about NOT using software for your first property however, is that you will understand the individual platforms much better by directly interacting with them, so keep that in mind as well.
Best of luck and congrats on your new STR!
- Asheville, NC · Member since 2018 · 53 posts · 35 votes7y
@Amanda Williams Congratulations on your pending purchase.
I started running my STR last March, but here's my experience, in case it helps.
I started by listing on Airbnb only, for a few reasons. They are the most 'known' platform for Short Term Rental. I wanted to aggregate all my reviews in one place, to get Superhost as quickly as possible. I didn't want to try to learn and manage multiple sites while learning what I was doing simultaneously.
I did eventually add HomeAway (sister/same company now as VRBO). They were a bit of a nightmare, and I pulled my home from their site after they effectively stole money from me (long story).
I tried, and ended up using and paying for beyondpricing.com to manage my pricing. They have full time staff evaluating the competition, vacancies in hotels, events, etc. For the minimal amount I paid them, I felt they returned much more to me in higher rates than I would have charged, and especially for the time it saved me from dealing with pricing. They will manage Airbnb and HomeAway/VRBO directly, and keep your bookings synchronized between those 2 sites automatically.
My research showed that HA/VRBO is generally the preferred platform for full home rental, families, long stays. Airbnb is considered better for short stays, singles, getaway travelers.
My home was definitely in the VRBO camp based on the above, but I did great with Airbnb, so I don't think those 'rules' are set in stone. I mostly had families, and usually 3-7 day stays.
I agree with others that you don't really need other software for your first one, and doing it yourself lets you fully appreciate all that needs to happen to give guests a great experience. I'm very happy I did it myself and learned what i did.
Eventually, I tried a property manager, and it was a terrible experience. I fired them after they showed their incompetence and never earned a booking for me.
I think much of the difficulty was that I had high expectations from my experience running it. If I had never done it myself, I might not have been so unhappy with them.
Eventually, I got tired of cleaning the place myself, and values in the area (very rural Weaverville) have gotten so high, so I listed it for much more than I thought I could just 6 months earlier, and sold it quickly.
I'm using that money to finish the rehab of another property now, and am seriously considering hiring a different property manager to start the listing and do it all from the beginning, to avoid the 'take over the listing' issues I had last time.
If I can help with anything, or answer any questions, please let me know.
Good luck with your new asset!
- Hatfield, PA · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 629 votes7y
Everyone has opinions, so this is mine
I will never use a property manager. Or a co-host. They suck the best part of the gross profit out.
Use really good software and you not need a Mgr. I don't mean evolve or the others. I use OwnerReservations. But there are others.
I will do all I can to NOT do remote properties
I will own my properties.
I will not cheap out on prepping or furnishings. Not sure all the newbies are all about scaling rapidly rather than building for success.
This is a business. I use every advantage I can
I have a powerful agreement
I list on ABB, HA/VRBO and Booking.com. They are only a source of leads. Once they stay, I want them as direct bookers in the future
I definitely do dynamic pricing
I have smartlocks (erentallock)
I found my location and I live here. In one of the buildings.
I carefully set ABB and VRBO seeking to avoid any with a negative review.
I use IB for all. I don't want to spend hours on the phone answering inane questions. Or pretending to be able to Screen.
I use a people search website to verify the booker.
Etc
Originally posted by @Chris Baber:
@Amanda Williams Congratulations on your pending purchase.
I started running my STR last March, but here's my experience, in case it helps.
I started by listing on Airbnb only, for a few reasons. They are the most 'known' platform for Short Term Rental. I wanted to aggregate all my reviews in one place, to get Superhost as quickly as possible. I didn't want to try to learn and manage multiple sites while learning what I was doing simultaneously.
I did eventually add HomeAway (sister/same company now as VRBO). They were a bit of a nightmare, and I pulled my home from their site after they effectively stole money from me (long story).
I tried, and ended up using and paying for beyondpricing.com to manage my pricing. They have full time staff evaluating the competition, vacancies in hotels, events, etc. For the minimal amount I paid them, I felt they returned much more to me in higher rates than I would have charged, and especially for the time it saved me from dealing with pricing. They will manage Airbnb and HomeAway/VRBO directly, and keep your bookings synchronized between those 2 sites automatically.
My research showed that HA/VRBO is generally the preferred platform for full home rental, families, long stays. Airbnb is considered better for short stays, singles, getaway travelers.
My home was definitely in the VRBO camp based on the above, but I did great with Airbnb, so I don't think those 'rules' are set in stone. I mostly had families, and usually 3-7 day stays.
I agree with others that you don't really need other software for your first one, and doing it yourself lets you fully appreciate all that needs to happen to give guests a great experience. I'm very happy I did it myself and learned what i did.
Eventually, I tried a property manager, and it was a terrible experience. I fired them after they showed their incompetence and never earned a booking for me.
I think much of the difficulty was that I had high expectations from my experience running it. If I had never done it myself, I might not have been so unhappy with them.
Eventually, I got tired of cleaning the place myself, and values in the area (very rural Weaverville) have gotten so high, so I listed it for much more than I thought I could just 6 months earlier, and sold it quickly.
I'm using that money to finish the rehab of another property now, and am seriously considering hiring a different property manager to start the listing and do it all from the beginning, to avoid the 'take over the listing' issues I had last time.
If I can help with anything, or answer any questions, please let me know.
Good luck with your new asset!
- Real Estate Agent · Texas Tennessee · Member since 2019 · 93 posts · 83 votes7y
Congratulations on your purchase! Everyone has great advice here! I currently have my first guests in my first STR right now. I have taken several of these folks suggestions through reading through many many of these forum posts.
A quick suggestion on automating your cleaning staff communication. My house keeper prefers communication through TurnoverBnB. I created an account and synced my Airbnb & Vrbo calendars to it and it automatically sends her new reservations and creates a real time turnover schedule. And the best part, it's completely free if you have your own house keeper! I think you can even pay through them, but my house keeper prefers to receive payment through Venmo.
Best of Luck!
- Member since 2019 · 65 posts · 48 votes7y
@Julie McCoy fully agree with all your advice. Absolutely no need to over complicate at this stage. One question - can you clarify how your housekeeper downloads / syncs with the booking calendars? Thanks!
- Real Estate Agent · Sevierville, TN · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes7y
Originally posted by @Matt Ayoub:
@Julie McCoy fully agree with all your advice. Absolutely no need to over complicate at this stage. One question - can you clarify how your housekeeper downloads / syncs with the booking calendars? Thanks!
If they have a calendar app that works with the .ical protocol, they can just import your AirBNB (or VRBO or whatever) calendar to their phone. It would be considered a calendar they "subscribe" to, and all they need is the .ical link you'd use to sync your AirBNB/VRBO calendars.
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