All Forum Posts by: Alex S.

@Manley Seale Thank you for bringing that up!

You are right; that formula is flawed.  It looks like you've reached out to the author, but he seems to have stopped responding.

If you click cell A1 in the "Result" tab, then press CTRL-SHIFT-END, then CTRL-C, then create a new tab and click cell A1 of the new tab, PRESS CTRL-V (or right-click and use "Paste Special") Then you can edit formulas.

@Jimmy Woodard I have never had a neighbor problem, but I know its only a matter of time!  I went to great lengths to meet my neighbors, be friendly, and establish rapport on my first 2 STRs.  I have offered to let their visiting family stay free and even mowed my neighbors grass as a favor a couple times.

@Jason Ricardo salgado I wish I knew that automated messaging exists and improves reviews and guest experience.  There are lots of platforms out there.  I use SmartBnB now and ensures that I never forget a welcome message, checkout instructions, and even local tips about restaurants and activities mid-stay.

The ultimate HOA is the local city/county government.

In my area, there is a full-range of restrictions on STRs from one city to the next. Completely outlawed, taxed, restricted, and wide open to STR. I'd be interested to know if anyone has attended City Council meetings and argued for protecting STRs. What was your strategy? Any luck?

There are so few in my area, that I can't imagine it would make sense to regulate it at this juncture.  If the market crowds...maybe that will change.

This is a great BP blog post about analyzing for STR:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

It even includes an excel calculator that is pretty good.

@Tanner Woolley  Check the Sea World area on AirDNA and see what the average occupancy is doing.  If you are doing it full-time, you'll beat that average.  Oh also, might want to look up the average life expectancy of Killer Whales in all that analyzing you're doing.  I don't think the US has approved a wild-caught Killer Whale since Free Willy ruined it for everyone in the 90's.  Attendance at Sea World is going down once the last one goes to whale heaven.

One more thought...there is always risk.  Just make sure you have a clear idea of what is at risk.  I'd argue, it is only $10-20K that you'd lose in closing costs if you fall flat on your face, buy this place, and no one stays there.  You'd sell it (probably for more than you paid) and move on with your life.  The risk is NOT $80-100K.

@Bruce Lynn You are totally right.  We're all just bluffing.  It is embarrassing to have 20% occupancy, so we lie about it on the internet.  :)  J/K.  Luke Carl does a good job explaining how to analyze your competition, so I won't reinvent the wheel (ENEMY method on youtube).  Bottom-line: A lot of places do have 20% occupancy, but they aren't your competition.  LOTS of people just throw their house up on AirBnB, but have awful pics, awful/no systems, and regularly block out dates.

@Mike Pennington Habitat for Humanity's REstore is awesome if you have one nearby!  Often new furniture that was donated.

These lists seem like good starting points for vacation hot spots, but every town that has a major chain hotel experiences travel and therefore STR demand. Marriott and Hilton have access to in-depth data and analytics that they use to justify building a hotel, so if they build one, you can siphon off some of their customers with your STR. @Ika Sargeant I don't know anything about the Chesapeake market, but maybe find a town 30min-1hr away from Chesapeake with a few chain hotels.  Call the city's planning department to verify legality of STRs.  I suspect you'll find lower property prices and high STR demand.

@John Morgan  IKEA has everything.  COVID has given them issues with keeping things in stock, but I really like their leather (fake leather) sleeper sofa with chaise for AirBnB.  We've used their night stands with USB built-in, kitchen cabinets, rugs...all sorts of stuff.  Reasonably priced and slightly above average quality.

I'm not a huge fan of the garage sale method.  Though, you CAN score some mega deals (and I have), it is just too time consuming.  Imagine taking one extra weekend to get your property listed because you were hunting around at garage sales.  You lost $800 in potential revenue that weekend and got a used piece of furniture instead of new.  Time = money.

We avoid mass purchases of materials to re-use, because AirBnBs need to be somewhat unique to beat the competition. It is a great LTR strategy, but it is less desirable for STR.

That said...have you slept on an IKEA mattress?  They are fantastic and I buy them for every unit.  I get the firm Haugsvar with the thick IKEA pillow top.

I'm not into the musty moose genre, so I'd take your place over the wood bear statue on the porch any day.  Looks awesome!