All Forum Posts by: Ashley Wolfe

Well, we did it!  We had our first guests come and go in our little cabin on the lake!  I worked my fingers to the bone getting it ready for them, restrained myself and only checked in with them once during their stay, and now its been 48 hours after checkout.  I want to send them a quick email thanking them for their stay and asking them to leave a review since we have none on any platform for our cabin.

Do you have a form that you use for this type of message?  Would you kindly share?  Thanks!

Even though this is true, logistically, we would have to rent a Uhaul and spend money and a full day on getting the used furniture and such.  So paying more to have a new one delivered is what we’ve chosen to do.  If we were in the same area as our rental, it would be a different story.  We’re four hours away without a truck of our own. 🤷🏼♀️

@Kate J.

On Monday, I put up a simple FB job post asking for housekeepers and I have 7 phone interviews already.  As I’m getting to know the applicants more, I’m also able to make local connections for people in the trades.  Last night, the gal I was talking to has so many skills that she could be my housekeeper, handywoman, and operations manager.  

I had to close the ad yesterday because I got such a response from it.

I think my La Grange, TX market is way slower than yours.   I’ve seen your listings, they look great.  One day, I’ll get 6 bookings in 6 hours!  ;)

@Michael Greenberg  Thanks so much!  Yes, the new Samsung Smart TV is already ordered and shipped.  We have a 15-night stay booked in mid-Feb that asked how the TV and sports stations were at the cabin.  So, since he's paying the entire rent with his booking, we have to get what he wants, and it will go well with all our other guests too.

I have one cleaning person lined up but I need to get two more so I can throw out jobs to at least two on Properly and let them "fight" for it.

Otherwise, its just a matter of getting those first reviews.

How do I explain to guests, before they stay, that certain renovations are still on the calendar, just not happening right now?  The master shower will be one of the first major renos we do but we have to build capital for that because its only cosmetic.  Should I put that in the listing or just tell folks about it after they book?

@Julie McCoy We bought a Zinus mattress for ourselves upon your suggestion that you use them in your rentals.  From there, we were completely sold!  Today, when I found out they made sofas and loveseats AND had a small discount from Amazon for a damaged box, I immediately knew those were the ones I would invest in.  The reviews said they were very quick to assemble (modular design) and very comfortable.  At about $275 each, I knew it would be an easy decision to make.  Not very expensive, good company, and it will be LOADS better than the $hit that's currently there.

Also, anyone have any experience with SlingTV ($25/month no contract) and a 96-mile antenna as  opposed to paying the cable company?

I went ahead and bit the bullet on buying the mattress, sofa, and loveseat (all from Zinus brand on Amazon) and a few extras like bedsheets, pillow and mattress protectors, coffee mugs, throw pillows, and a few more blankets.  We have a 15-night renter in mid-Feb who has been very communicative and seems to only care about the updated living room furniture and sports to watch on a new TV.  So we bought it.  Everyone else will appreciate those things and so will we when we vacation there ourselves.

All in all, I know that the furniture and other expensive items we've purchased will last years with normal wear.  Its just painful to drop $1100 on that stuff after already dropping $500 on other items needed for the photo shoot.  But, its all for the cause.  And, this is a marathon, not a sprint.

All-Knowing Ones,

My husband and I have our little log cabin in La Grange, TX and we've received six bookings in the last six weeks through all three of our platforms (Airbnb, HomeAway, and Glamping Hub).  We're pretty pleased with it so far and are super excited about hosting our first set of guests at the end of December.

Slowly but surely, we've gotten past the small expenses like stocking paper supplies, dinnerware, and linens and are starting to look at the larger expenses like new TV, mattress and new living room furniture.

The two crumby recliners and the outdated TV in the listing photos are already out.  We know which mattress we want to buy, we've bought the TV on a Black Friday sale.  Now I'm stuck with which sofa/loveseat to purchase.  I find something that has a decent price but crappy reviews.  Then I look at the price tag of the nicer ones and it seems counter-productive to spend so much money that we don't have covered with rental income yet. 

This comes to my next question: when does the spending stop and the money making begin?  I think that my husband and I will be learning in the first year then improving significantly in the second year.  We will also hopefully see some repeat business in the second year.  But I want the first impression of our very first guests to be awesome so we start off with strong reviews so we can get some more bookings.

@Luke Carl Thank you again for your insight.  It makes me feel so much better knowing that not every property or area is perfect but guests might think it’s the closest thing to heaven!

 I think I’ll go stalk your listings now.  :)