All Forum Posts by: Alice Horn

Quote from @Nick Loukas:

@Alice Horn looking in Florida for an STR, but near the beach, perhaps panhandle area as a vacay/STR home. Any chance you or someone you know has a good grasp in this region? Thanks !

touch base with FAVR https://floridaavr.org/ they should be able to refer someone in the specific market you are looking in!

@Sam Deacon we are property managers with 100+ properties under management in the Disney/Orlando market. If you would like to consider this market, we are happy to help you pull any reports you need on revenue, occupancy and more!

@Matthew Pride welcome to the STR fact-finding journey. The Kissimmee and Davenport areas near Disney have a wide range of purpose-built STR communities. This means not only are they fully legal and you will never have to worry about changing regulations, but many communities also have a full slate of resort amenities (clubhouse, restaurant, pool, playgrounds, lazy river etc....) that Disney vacationers will want. Feel free to reach out if you would like more info about the specific communities and home types!

If the home has large living spaces, or multiple living spaces as many of our Orlando area homes do -- then it should be able to support the additional beds. People need the room to spread out. If a room is large enough, two full beds is a nice option. It won't feel cramped, but the room can still sleep an extra child (or two) if need be. This gives more flexibility to the home and should also deliver higher rates. Just make sure you have enough seating, plates and flatware, etc. for the maximum possible occupancy in the home. 

Quote from @Dave Tov:

I was looking mostly at single family homes with pool.  Because that's what I always rent, I figured it is where I would see the greatest demand.  It seems there are so many townhomes and condos.  Maybe I should look that way also?  Any experience in the townhome/condo market in the same area?

In most Disney area communities S/F pool homes will perform far better than condos and townhomes. The market is over saturated with the smaller units. There are a few notable exceptions where condos and townhomes may perform well, mostly based on location. Message me and I’ll be happy to provide more detail!

yes, Marriott has been involved for a few years. Their business model in the STR space is essentially to behave as a marketing channel much like Airbnb or Vrbo. They have fairly rigorous screening for the properties and then the STRs will be listed on the Marriott channel. Unlike other hotel chains that have tried their hand at STR management, the local PM remains in place and Marriott provides the branding and marketing. This way, their rewards customers can take advantage of their points however the STRs retain their local flavor. It remains to be seen how this all pans out. In my opinion this is smart for Marriott as they get to try their hand at STRs without such a huge financial commitment.

Quote from @Chaim Tarkieltaub:

Thanks for the valuable info and perspective!

Regarding #3 I had a management company run the property and and they said it is standard to charge a daily pool heat fee. It sounded petty to me as well, but once I started seeing the bills it made sense (some months the gas bill runs more than $1,000). I wonder if it is indeed standard to charge for pool heat in the Orlando area, and if not is a 1k/ month gas bill something you just eat as part of doing business?

It is absolutely standard to charge for pool heat. It can be a bit tricky to manage guest expectations, since some will think they don't need the heat until they arrive and then they find out how chilly the water can be in January! At that point, it takes at least 24 hours to heat up. Nonetheless, it's critical to charge as those utility bills will certainly go up when the pool heater is on.

We are still seeing very strong occupancies for the summer, but booking windows are getting a bit shorter. We'll see how the fall shapes up. It seems many travelers are taking more of a wait and see approach and booking closer to the date. Having said that, there is still a lot of pent up demand for Disney travelers.

@Matt Castle - agree! We live in Orlando, and recently wanted to buy a second small home in Miami (the plan was for my son to live there and we would stay there when we visit).

Aside from the outrageous home prices even in moderate to low income residential neighborhoods, we were shocked to see how many were marketed as "suitable for Airbnb" or "great Airbnb property". Obviously, residents and long term renters ARE being displaced.

As a property manager in Orlando, I like the idea that most of our homes were purpose-built as vacation rentals in vacation communities. The zoning will always stay STR friendly, and no-one is being displaced. The neighbors will always be other vacationers (who may also be annoyed by unruly behavior, but the problem guests will move on.)

Great to see that this post which was started 6 years ago still has legs. Since then, in Orlando we have weathered a pandemic, the aforementioned political turmoil, and much more. This speaks to the strength of the market. During most of the pandemic, when Disney was shut down our homes still generated more revenue than comparable long term rentals because many people just needed to get AWAY. Being in a nicely themed pool home with a game room was a great alternative to just staying home - the home becomes its own attraction. Now that Disney and all the parks have been reopened for some time, we are seeing consistently high occupancies and strong demand. Additionally, the overall economy is certainly diversified beyond Disney as @David Vanlandingham explained so well above. Depending on the location, some homes can appeal to business travelers, remote workers AND tourists. Last but certainly not least, in Orlando's many purpose-built vacation rental communities, you will never have to worry about local laws changing which impact your vacation rental.

Hope this helps!