All Forum Posts by: Blair Russell

@Sukhi Singh It's an interesting idea, I also wonder how you would keep your product quality high with that many cleaners, managers, and place to furnish and design. 

I've been thinking about this too, but so far Airbnb has even kept my mid-term furnished rental (think corporate/student/snowbird)  full with back to back bookings. So haven't listed yet.. 

Normal. We buy plane tickets months in advance. Often happens on hotel reservations too nowadays, especially on a discounted rate or booking site. 

1. We have 2 or 3 sets of but normally don't  need them. With modern front-load machines they are able to wash and dry all the linens in time. I don't think they have ever had to take them home, but in case they do that is why I have three, then they just bring them back for the next changeover. 

2. I do not wash all those things each time, it goes on the monthly list. 

3. Our 3/4 bedrooms gets 4 hours, less than that only 3 hours. If I know the check-in will be late I tell them so they don't rush.

4. Same cleaner every time. They know what it's supposed to be like and if anything is missing or broken. 

5. I don't think it's necessary. I'd rather have those nights open so more people can choose me.

6. I might be a little different because my cleaners do a lot more than just that. I have always hired them off Craigslist or something similar. I need someone who is going to take personal responsibility for the house as if it was their own, because I am out of town most of the time. I also want someone I can communicate with easily and can give notes to and can guarantee they will be done the next time. Instead of worrying about scheduling, I just share my calendar with them and they can plan out the next few weeks schedule, plus they get updates as they come in. In addition, they act as my on-call agent for guests issues or if I need a repairman supervised or a delivery accepted. Overtime you will find that the cleaner knows more about how the guests use the house and they become a real asset. In their fee I pay them accordingly for their on-call time. They do it as part-time work (against work-from-home or night jobs). I have a very high retention rate. I ask them to have a friend or relative to act as back up ICOE. I also have a local company I can call just in case, but I have only ever had to do this once in 5 years and 100s of rentals.  

I just cancelled my HA/VRBO subscription last year, (1) because of the stupid arbitrary guests fees and (2) because of their listing practices, as they have been trying to transition their software to an Airbnb-like functionality, they have really screwed over some hosts. 

Crime Mapping in Vegas is kind of vague, after all The Strip would be a "war zone" if you just take a look at the heat map. I would also suggest looking around UNLV, areas south of Flamingo, East of Paradise can be hit or miss, you just have to check it out for yourself as the crime map won't give you an accurate idea of what the neighborhood is like. I'm an advocate for the "scarier" parts of Vegas so take my advice with a grain of salt. 

@Benjamin Brasher On the flip side, while the property is cheaper (maybe) the cost of the sale seems to go up in a lot of countries (cost of a trust in Mexico, for example, is pretty big and annual). 

I transitioned form lockboxes to Kwikset locks after, one cleaner changed the code but forgot what it was, one guest somehow broke the lockbox, and later I saw evidence of people trying to get in (luckily without success). The Kwikset locks are great for managing guests. I have 4 on different properties. They also integrate with many security systems, although I'm not sure of the availability of this in PR. Managing an out-of-state vacation rental has so many challenges and headaches (and middle of the night emergency calls that you can't really deal with yourself) but there is something kind of amazing about it too. 

I have two out-of-state (sometimes out of country) units close to each other one rents as a short-term Airbnb, as low as two nights, one as a mid-term/corporate rental. They are townhouses, the Airbnb has been going for 5 years, the other for 1 year.  Once you have your system in place it's really easy to remove yourself from the process and not as complicated as people imagine. 2 bed, 2 bath are the perfect size for these types of things. 

The upside, especially on the Airbnb, has definitely been worth it. I do about 3x/4.5x the going rate depending on the season. On the corporate rental I am getting around 2x and that's with low rents to get on the review ladder. Occupancy has been solid on each. 

 I've only been in Vegas 5 years but have never had problems with flooding affecting my property or anyone I know. And my properties are in that area. I'll admit flooding is something I only do light research on when buying in Vegas (it would have to start raining first for that to be a real problem) but there aren't really basements so...I don't know. I think it's a strange thing to be focused on in Vegas. Have you had problems here with your properties?