All Forum Posts by: Ben Tutewohl

Hey everyone! I’m moving to Austin soon and want to start plugging into the local real estate community.

I currently own 3 short-term rentals and also co-host some properties for others, but I’m looking to expand my personal portfolio and eventually get into commercial and development projects within the hospitality niche. 

If anyone here regularly attends (or hosts) consistent meetups, mastermind groups, or networking events in the Austin area, I’d love some recommendations.

Appreciate any recommendations, looking forward to connecting with other local investors!

I’d recommend starting out by renting your current home. Being a landlord is often a wake-up call, you might find out quickly it’s not for you, or you might catch the real estate bug like many of us did and will end up finding your next deal sooner than later.

The big advantage of renting out your primary first is that you get hands-on experience managing a rental before putting a lot of money into another property. That experience is valuable. You don’t want to buy an investment property only to realize you hate managing it, and don’t have a great property manager lined up. Most property managers won’t care for your home the way you would, and poor management can easily lead to an under-maintained, underperforming asset that’s expensive to fix or get out of.

By renting your home, you get to "test drive" landlording with minimal risk while still building equity. Once you know what that is like, you'll be in a much stronger position to decide your next steps. I started with managing a few STR units before buying my first one, and I'm glad I did. Once I understood the operations, the time commitment it requires, and what amenities are most desirable in my market, I felt much more confident putting offers in and closing a deal.

Hey everyone, wanted to share a recent experience and get your thoughts because I’m very frustrated with how one-sided Airbnb feels when it comes to guest vs. host protection.

I had a group stay 4 nights at one of my STRs. On the last night of their stay, they messaged claiming they found a bed bug. They demanded a full refund plus $300 in additional compensation for “trauma.” I freaked out because bed bugs are every host’s nightmare. I was ready to offer full refund until we had pest control out the next morning. They confirmed there were no bed bugs at all.

I looked more closely at the photo the guest sent. It was a super-zoomed-in bug on a white sheet… except it didn’t even match the texture of our sheets. I reverse-searched and literally found the exact same photo on google, total scam.

I reported it to Airbnb, thinking this was a clear-cut case. Their response? They said since the guest didn’t have proper photo evidence they wouldn’t force me to refund the bed bug claim. BUT they then asked me to refund $100 because one of the T.V. remotes had dead batteries. (which the guest also conveniently mentioned on the last night). And of course, the guests left a bad review, which Airbnb doesn’t seem in any rush to remove.

So now the scammer keeps their account, gets to leave a damaging review, and likely tries this same trick on another host. Meanwhile, if a host tried to pull something like this, they’d be banned instantly. The guest-favoring bias feels insane.

My questions for the group:

• Has anyone else dealt with “fake bed bug” claims or other obvious scams?

• Do you feel Airbnb’s policies protect guests way more than hosts?

I lost sleep thinking I had an infestation, only to realize it was a scam, and yet there’s no real punishment for the guest. Curious if I’m overreacting or if others have run into similar issues.

Hi Ismael, 

Congrats on launching your first Airbnb!

1. Comfy beds... don't be stingy when it comes to buying nice mattresses and bedding. This is one thing you can't get wrong. 

2. Have an automated message sent to guests a day or two before their check-in that explains parking info, wifi details, check-in time, and how to access the home. Easiest way to have guests access home is a smart lock on the front door. 

3. Pricelabs has worked great for me. Make sure you monitor it every week or so but they do the heavy lifting. 

4. Focus on guest experience and getting 5 star reviews instead of making money month 1. The money will come once you have a review base, offer discounts to the first three guests and listen to guest feedback.  

5. Have some automated messages set up to check in with guests during their stay. I have one scheduled to send the day after check-in to make sure everything went smoothly and to let them know they can reach out with any questions, concerns, or requests for recommendations. In my experience, you can't eliminate guest communication entirely, just limit the number of messages you need to send by using thoughtful automation. You’ll still need to be available (or have a co-host available) for the occasional odd-hours message.

6. If they have less than a 5 star guest review that is an obvious one. Other things to watch for are local guests who may just be looking for a place to party. In my experience, there is much less risk of big damaging parties in small apartments than bigger houses. 

Best of luck with your first launch!

You should also consider how pet-proof your unit is. If you have a lot of carpet or light-colored furniture, I’d be more cautious, I've had carpets ruined before and pet smells can be tough to get out.

That said, I do allow pets at my properties. If your unit and cleaning team can handle it, it’s a great way to earn some extra income. We charge a flat $75 pet fee per stay, whether it's one pet or a few.

Hi Paulina,

You're doing a great job already, optimizing photos, tweaking pricing, and making thoughtful listing updates. That’s exactly what you should be doing.

I wouldn't worry too much about your current stats like views, impressions, or conversion rates just yet. When launching a new STR, it takes time for the listing to gain traction, and most of the early momentum comes from stacking a few 5-star reviews. Until then, the data isn't very meaningful.

The best strategy in this phase is to keep prices low to secure those early bookings, overdeliver on the guest experience, and build trust with reviews. Once you’ve got a few under your belt, you’ll see a big shift in your search visibility, pricing power, and conversion rates.

Congrats on your first booking, huge milestone! Don’t stress about the numbers right now. Focus on creating amazing stays, and everything else will follow.

Buying a duplex to house hack and using the other unit as a short-term rental is a solid option here. With just 5% down on a FHA loan, you could be all in for under $40K and kill two birds with one stone, eliminating (or drastically reducing) your housing costs and gaining hands-on STR/investing experience. And all the benefits that come with ownership that you don't get through arbitrage.

To keep your cash-to-close even lower, try finding a property that's been sitting for a bit and see if the seller will cover closing costs. If you can snag something already furnished, that's also a huge bonus and will save you a lot on STR startup costs.

This could be a great way to get your foot in the door without needing to drop $80K–$100K+ 

Congrats on that great deal! I bet that cabin’s worth a lot more than $230K now too.

Here’s my best:

Three years ago, I jumped into real estate totally blind. I had been managing an Airbnb for a family friend and figured I was ready to buy one of my own after selling my share of a side-hustle painting business to my partner.

I saw that Rockford, IL was AirDNA's #1 STR market that year, and since it was close to home, I found a SFH on the river and just went for it. Honestly without really respecting real estate as the investment it is, just saw it as an airbnb business I could run.

Back then, I hardly knew what appreciation was, didn’t know how to analyze a market, and definitely didn’t know jack about due diligence. All I knew was the place seemed like it would cash flow on Airbnb. 

Fast forward to today, Rockford has been called WSJ’s hottest housing market, and that home has appreciated close to 40% since I bought it. I made a ton of mistakes along the way (like not realizing I needed flood insurance — $400/month!), but somehow it still cash flows really well and has been a great long-term play.

Moral of the story:    

1. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

2. If you're struggling to pull the trigger on your first deal, just go for it. Real estate is a forgiving asset class if you buy decent and hold.

3. Learn from your mistakes, I am now much more careful when analyzing deals and am much better off from this experience. 

Trying to compare Airbnb arbitrage to STR investing is like comparing driving for Uber to owning a car rental company. Sure, both involve cars and can generate income, but one is a job, the other is an investment.

With arbitrage, you're taking on significant risk without owning anything. There’s no appreciation, no loan paydown, and no tax benefits. You're essentially creating another job for yourself, and when the lease ends, so does the income.

That’s why many of us on this forum don’t consider arbitrage a form of real estate investing. It’s a high-risk hustle. If you're simply looking for a side hustle to generate income you can later invest, I’d recommend exploring something that doesn’t carry the risk of sending you into bankruptcy.