All Forum Posts by: Chase Hoover

I'd leave the stairs and just do locking doors.  If/when you decide to sell, you'll thank yourself.  You may also move out and decide to rent the house long term to someone who will want the entire house.  Best to not back yourself in a (expensive) corner.

Lots of naysayers on these forums - I think it's a cool idea and have thought about doing something like this often.  The hardest part is finding an existing campground or RV park with the right "bones" that you can work with.  Having existing zoning approval and utilities is huge.  Sounds like you already have one you're eyeballing.  

Though I don't have actual experience in this type of thing - I'd definitely make sure you have an intense due dilligence period - get the septic systems inspected (this could be a huge expense if any are failing), go meet with the local zoning office and explain exactly what you're looking to do to make sure there won't be any issues, and run a very conservative proforma to account for a slowdown in travel (don't use 2020/21 numbers).

Operationally, I don't think you can get away with a 100% remote management on something like this - I think you'd need/want an on-site PM. I could be wrong! Other than that, use the same softwares/tools as you would your STR - Pricelabs, PMS, etc. and make yourself a good website and social media to get as much direct booking as possible.

Best of luck and keep us posted on what happens!

If you have the space and distance from neighbors to do it, I'd require them to bring in a bathroom trailer, make sure they have proper liquor licenses (banquet one-day license here in VA), and have an airtight contract. And yes, absolutely monetize it by charging an event rental fee either hourly, in blocks (4 hr, 6 hr) or daily.

Yep we did a lot of this in Florida - convert dup/tri/quad into STR apartments and they did very well. Just be clear in the listing description and advertise them as private apartments with common outside spaces.

Fellow boutique motel owner here - we decided to pass off management to a management company and couldn't be happier.  Instead of being in the operational weeds 24/7, we've been able to scale and buy more properties which we then hand off to our manager.  The freedom of time is well worth the management commission, and we're bringing in plenty of revenue to support it. 

 The Luray/Stanley area is a very popular cabin destination (on the river or in the mountains).  Massanutten ski resort is also a solid investment.  If you're looking for a cool small town with duplexes and small MF where you can create multiple units under one roof, check out Staunton and Waynesboro.  Across the mountain, Afton/Nellysford is a very in-demand area on the 151 trail (tons of breweries, wineries, events), but inventory is scarce.  If you're interested in exploring some options, don't hesitate to reach out, our team would love to help!

Combine your interests!  We're closing next week on an event venue with 10 lodging units on-site.  On-site lodging gives our venue a competitive advantage over others without lodging, and also provides us an income stream on non-event nights (by renting them on Airbnb/VRBO/direct).

https://www.battengreen.com/

Softball...... Shenandoah Valley VA!

Seconded - you think Airbnb customer service is horrible?  Booking.com takes it to a level of rage you've never felt

Don't you have to submit a damage claim to Airbnb before the next guest checks in?  At least that's how it used to be... things have changed in the year or so since I dumped Airbnb off on my property manager.