Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes
Hey all,
I stumbled across AirEnvy.com tonight, and this service almost seems to good to be true. Just wondering if anyone has experience using them to manage their short term vacation rentals? I'd love to buy a house in Denver soon, and go back and forth between Washington And Colorado - and this seems like it would help a lot with the Denver house.
Anyone? Here's their promo video:
(And according to their website... they only charge 12% of the listing price. That seems super reasonable, no?)
Another alternative is https://www.guesty.com/ - anyone use them either?
Rental Property Investor · Saratoga Springs, NY · Member since 2014 · 122 posts · 101 votes
12y
There are so many nuances with a vacation rental property...it doesn't seem practical to use a stranger as the host or reservation agent.
Our vacation properties (and the many I manage for clients) all have unique nuances that if not attended to will ruin the guests experience and/or the property. Bad reviews can put an end to future bookings.
In my attempts to use third parties to lighten my work load, there have been lots of problems. Examples: don't adhere to max number guests, rent to inappropriate guests (handicapped person in a walk up was my most memorable!), forget to put out basic supplies, lose the key, forget to greet the guest or hire the housekeeper, neglect to collect payment, lose the lease, forget to remind guests to take out garbage or separate recycles, don't replace broken furniture, dishes, worn linens or even bulbs, neglect to notice and charge for damage, and none came close to getting the number of bookings I get on my own.
My priority is to get top dollar, fully booked, great reviews all with minimal damage. Their priority was to get easy bookings, with little investment in all the rest.
Investor · Western Montana · Member since 2014 · 110 posts · 36 votes
12y
@Brandon Turner After watching that video, it does seem to be too good to be true. But I do know a buddy of mine does the same thing with his condo in idaho..... I believe the fee is quite a bit more than 12%.
If you do end up using it, do a podcast about it :)
San Francisco, CA · Member since 2014 · 2 posts · 2 votes
12y
Brandon, et al. There are actually a growing number of companies like Airenvy popping up around the world. We work with a number of them that use our software to dynamically price their short term rentals (in the same way that hotels do).
They are a spin on the age old business of vacation rental property management (who you would hire if you had a vacation home in Vail or Lake Tahoe), but are more efficient, lower priced, and more tech savvy, generally.
Investor · Saint Paul, MN · Member since 2012 · 128 posts · 56 votes
12y
Hi @Brandon Turner ! I like your idea. There's a huge overlap of traditional real estate investors who are diversifying their portfolios with short-term rentals. The rents are typically higher, and there are tons of great online tools available to buy, market and manage vacation rental properties, whether owners want to be hands-on or use full-service management.
You should talk with Evolve Vacation Rental. They're in Denver. I can vouch for their knowledge, professionalism and enthusiasm. They have a booking fee of 10%.
Check out Peakos, also in Denver. They have a fixed fee service that's unique, and very knowledgeable founders.
I can give you specific contact info if you'd like.
Why do you think it's too good to be true? This space is booming and Denver is a hotbed of smart startups, as you know...
Investor · Saint Paul, MN · Member since 2012 · 128 posts · 56 votes
12y
@Micki McNie I'm going to forward info to you. If you don't need it, no worries, but I think you'll be able to get some insight on your rental.
When property management companies advertise their high level of service, they should be highly responsive. Or if it's low price, low service, you get what you pay for.
Flipper/Rehabber · York, UK · Member since 2013 · 895 posts · 453 votes
12y
I spoke with Airenvy about their offerings in Denver, and they only offer a "virtual" service right now which equates to me paying them to correspond with my Airbnb tenants. Their full service option which offers check-in service for guests, schedules cleanings, etc is only available in San Francisco at the moment. For me there's not much point in the virtual service since I respond promptly to inquiries and only do multi-month rentals. I would definitely consider using them when they go full service here.
Hanford, CA · Member since 2013 · 5k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
That is pretty cool. I wonder how their vacancy rates compare with other services. I really would like to buy our dream house now as a vacation rental so a tenant can start paying my mortgage for me. I was planning on doing it myself but that service is an interesting thought.
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2008 · 83 posts · 50 votes
12y
@Brandon Turner i just checked out their site and signed up. i have a second home in kona hawaii that i'm considering renting out when i'm back in SF. i asked them to contact me to walk through the process ... i'll circle back and let everyone know what i discover.
Rental Property Investor · Saratoga Springs, NY · Member since 2014 · 122 posts · 101 votes
12y
There are so many nuances with a vacation rental property...it doesn't seem practical to use a stranger as the host or reservation agent.
Our vacation properties (and the many I manage for clients) all have unique nuances that if not attended to will ruin the guests experience and/or the property. Bad reviews can put an end to future bookings.
In my attempts to use third parties to lighten my work load, there have been lots of problems. Examples: don't adhere to max number guests, rent to inappropriate guests (handicapped person in a walk up was my most memorable!), forget to put out basic supplies, lose the key, forget to greet the guest or hire the housekeeper, neglect to collect payment, lose the lease, forget to remind guests to take out garbage or separate recycles, don't replace broken furniture, dishes, worn linens or even bulbs, neglect to notice and charge for damage, and none came close to getting the number of bookings I get on my own.
My priority is to get top dollar, fully booked, great reviews all with minimal damage. Their priority was to get easy bookings, with little investment in all the rest.
Investor · San Francisco, CA · Member since 2008 · 83 posts · 50 votes
12y
@Brandon Turner update on airenvy.com... i spoke with Charlie from airenvy.com yesterday and he indicated they are a startup out of san francisco, with full services ONLY in the SF bay area, but looking to expand to other metros. sorry, they're not yet in Denver. full services = what you see in the video posted above. They also offer limited services outside of the SF bay area that i'll describe below.
FULL SERVICE offering which they're charging 12% (only in SF Bay area):
- first month free, then they charge 12% of collected income there after
- they work with you to gather everything that's needed to post your rental on several sites. they handle the posting.
- they take all calls, vet customers, arrange logistics with the customers, etc
- they provide sheets and linens and clean after each customer. I believe there is an additional charge for cleaning.
- provide 24/7 response for customers, that includes sending someone out to assist customers if their is a situation that warrants on-site help
- provide instructions on how to use different things in the house (i.e., how to use the dishwasher)
in all, for 12%, it seems like a great service. Its basically like a remote hotel service. its still in the infancy stages, which is also its drawback, right now as its only in SF... I don't see them having full services in kona hawaii for some time :-/
LIMITED SERVICE offering which they're charging 1% (outside the bay area):
- first month free, then they charge 1% of collected income there after
- they work with you to gather everything that's needed to post your rental on several sites.
- they take all calls, vet customers, arrange logistics with the customers (i.e., they provide information on how to get to your place, where the key is located, etc)
- they collect payment
- coordinate with the housekeeper that you set up to clean your house. difference here is that you need to find and pay your house keeper.
YOU ARE ON YOUR OWN TO:
- you are responsible to make sure the customer gets access to your house. e.g., set it up with a key box, electronic lock, or convince @Joshua D. to handle keys for you. JK
- you are responsible for linens/towels, and servicing them.
- there is no 'on call' service ... customer would call you ... or just give them Josh's phone number...he's local in denver ;-)
in sum, for 1% they screen customers and get them in your place. for me, i'd pay 1% to not have to deal with the phone calls... i'm not sure how widely tested the limited service is. if i pull the trigger on renting my kona home, i'll give them a call, but would want to meet them in person in SF (convenient for me as I live in SF) to make sure they'd pick the same people I would.
Investor · Berlin, Germany · Member since 2014 · 1 post · 0 votes
12y
I've been emailing them over the past week, they've recently increased their Virtual pricing for new customers up to 3% of booking. I like how they screen inquiries that don't have positive reviews!
darmsdadt, germany · Member since 2014 · 1 post · 0 votes
12y
My own AIRENVY experience: Terrible!
My family and I tried to rent a house managed by AIRENVY in San Francisco for a holiday week. And we had trouble from the first day on. First we had to pay the rent, which was refunded, we had to pay again. AIRENVY asked us when we would pay even though we had done so days before.
The real nightmare started less than 24 hours before our arrival in SF (4 days ago): We were told that "unfortunately" AIRENVY had made a mistake and let the house twice. Until today a friendly "sorry" was all we got. The amount of money AIRENVY claims to have refunded is less than what we payed.
I will come back to this post if anything happens within the next days. So far my personal advice can only be: DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH AIRENVY.
Englewood, CO · Member since 2014 · 20 posts · 3 votes
12y
I used AirB&B once in Denver, Co while I was out on vacation. I had a positive experience and will use them again. I dislike hotels and prefer an apartment or house for the same cost if not a little more.
San Francisco, CA · Member since 2014 · 2 posts · 2 votes
12y
@Evan R. - thanks! Having come from the hotel and airline industry, it's been great to apply similar yield management technology to individual vacation rentals.
Re: neighborhoods, (link removed) uses clustering based on geographic areas that have similar booking and availability trends.
Sometimes those clusters are smaller than Airbnb's and sometimes larger.
San Francisco, CA · Member since 2014 · 5 posts · 0 votes
12y
Hey there everyone, Airenvy co-founder here : ) I just stumbled upon this conversation, who doesn't Google their own company here and there. First off, thanks for the discussion. I'm glad you like what we're doing! Our goal is to create a standard guest experience within the short-term rental market. While also leveraging technology to create the most transparent yet affordable property management company for property owners.
I would like to respond to Ivo Radloff, if you really are a person or a competitor. First off, this is no way we would treat any guest. Let alone one with an issue. Our reputation is everything we have that is why we have 10 customer service reps working around the clock to ensure guests and owners have the best experience possible. I had our booking team try to locate your name in our database and it doesn't exist. We would have this if you tried to book a reservation with us. If we happen to be wrong please give me the dates. In anycase, please contact me if anyone has any questions they'd like to ask me directly. We hope to have your business and looking forward to serving you and your guest! Thanks : )
San Francisco, CA · Member since 2014 · 5 posts · 0 votes
12y
Thanks everyone! I'm glad you like our service please let me know if I can answer any other questoins now that I'm a part of Bigger Pockets @IVoRadloff this is Sean, I'm a founder at Airenvy. I suspect that you aren't a real guest because I can't find your name or last name in our guest database. Additionally, we would never treat our guests this way, especially if we happened to make a mistake. We have 10 customer service people staff throughout the week 24/7 to ensure this doesn't happen. Thanks for the support!
Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2014 · 3 posts · 1 vote
11y
Hello,
Read all the posts as I was specifically trying to see if Airenvy had any history yet. I believe they are relatively a new off-shoot of Airbnb. As a short-term rental manager of several properties in Los Angeles, first and foremost, my company offers a more extensive service and for less % than Airenvy. The host furnishes the property, which includes furnishing linens. The guest pays the cleaning fee, so the host doesn't have that expense, and the cleaning personnel launder all linens. Other than Airenvy having serious money behind them and advertising just about anywhere you click, I don't see the advantage for hosts to hire large management companies as I believe the smaller companies are more attentive to the property, the guest and obviously, doing a stellar job in order to retain 5 star ratings and repeat guests.
Rental Property Investor · Oakland, CA · Member since 2011 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
11y
@Sean Conway , are you guys going to come across the Bay to Oakland? Or if I have my own cleaning service, can you guys handle all the inquiries?
IMHO, the biggest thing holding owners back on deploying more AirB&B is the time needed to answer inquiries.. Not sure how much personal knowledge might be needed to answer the questions, but if the customer service rep has a thorough Q&A for each unit, they can probably copy and paste the answer to the inquiring guest...
Set up a VA team in Manila to answer the questions for hosts (or are you doing VA CSR's already..?). Then you can manage that business nationwide or worldwide for owners, make a nice spread, maintain quality control, and build your brand. Then start adding local cleaners as you go..
Let me know if you're interested, or I might do it...!