All Forum Posts by: Andrew Steffens

My very inexperienced (in this segment of STR) 2 cents based on what others have said:

- If you are sort of in the middle of nowhere it will be hard to fill your calendar from the OTA's alone and on top of all of the other difficulties that would lie ahead make sure you have a clear marketing plan to ensure success.

Best of luck!

Bruce said it best above ^ I have had quite a few clients go from TX to FL because of legislative/legal reasonings since FL does provide a state level protection from jurisdictions passing new restrictions or changing existing ones.  Good luck and be careful!

Very nice! Curious what the retail value of that property would be?  And assuming $165k is gross income potential?

We see this happen quite often.  Definitely lock and monitor otherwise they will freeze it up constantly in FL

Hey Ryan! Welcome (and best of luck)

I am primarily a little North of you in the Tampa area but do manage some as far south as Naples.  It is still a competitive market so pricing / marketing is of extreme importance to your success.  I have a few spectacular properties that are price leaders but the majority of my properties are "average" in size and amenity and I have been beating the market by 14-16% in ADR and overall revenue.  I attribute that success 80% to revenue management.

Feel free to reach out with any more questions about to FL property.  Good luck!

I push for direct bookings for 2 reasons - one I do charge a 5% booking fee (versus Airbnb's 15%) so I can save the guests money.  That 5% funds direct booking initiatives and does provide for some profit margin.  However the main reason is to have control over refunds.  It is no secret Airbnb is guest sided and guests can and do game the system for refunds.  A quick example is a rental from last eek booked at $700 per night.  Checked in and stayed without a peep.  Upon checkout complained to Airbnb the wifi did not work during their stay. Airbnb refunded them 30% x 5 nights a total of over $1,000.  Our manager went to the unit and the wifi worked fine.  Airbnb is refusing to hear us out further.

That is why I like direct bookings.

+1 to seek a more STR investor friendly area, they are out there!

Not to be negative, but I second what @Collin Hays said.  PM's are dime a dozen, what is your competitive edge?

I am headquartered in Tampa but offer limited service (includes marketing) all over FL.  I did experiment with paid ads but as @Collin Hays mentioned it is prohibitively expensive.  As a manager I may spent $100-200 per reservation brought in to our direct site that only nets me $80 commission on a short stay at a small unit.  That said if you are just sitting there your manager likely is not doing something right i.e. marketing on more platforms, and more likely not optimizing your pricing strategy.  Im happy to take a look for your if you want.  Good luck!

+1 for DSCR with a lender that can use AirDNA projections for the income calculation. There are some lenders here but if you need a referral send me a DM I am glad to share my contacts. Good luck!