All Forum Posts by: Christina B.

@Benjamin Louie THIS!

I'm going to try your workaround. Basically, I pushed through the request via mobile. However, that's less than ideal for me because it automates 2 separate templates (one isn't customized and explained above) and the other is VRBO's email template (which I can't find yet to edit or get rid of) which has all sorts of incorrect things such as review the rental agreement (we don't have one beyond House Rules) and how to pick up keys (we're 100% smart locks).

You're exactly right with the clunky nature of high demand dates so in one case when I actually pre-approved a return client, they couldn't pay (that was the problem and absolutely with VRBO's system) despite repeated tries and another request from a different guest for those same dates overrode my pre-approval and it was a huge mess.

As hosts, we have to act as if VRBO won't find a fix. So while I can edit the templates to remove personalization if they get sent automatically, I'd really like to delete any auto-generated messages. I just keep pushing VRBO to acknowledge responsibility with that guest but still a bad look. Thank you for sharing- and for hearing me!

For clarity, @Andrew Steffens, I cannot accept the booking. VRBO glitches. They can't even accept it on their end. @John Underwood, I prefer not to enable Instant Booking to VRBO's chagrin as I vet guests a little more. But currently, this works better for me. Possibly more hosts here have Instant Booking so not experiencing issues.

I wish I could offer the guest ability to book on Airbnb or directly but not unless they ask...

Thanks, @Adrian Lammersdorf-Scioll. Lol. While I don't disagree (on our mutual experiences with VRBO), VRBO currently provides bookings for me 3:1 vs Airbnb. This has changed from my first year (where Airbnb led in bookings). I think the guest profile is slightly different (but realize this can change). I'll update when I have more info. I have accelerated to management previously and it didn't make a noticeable difference as I think their tech team has changed with all the mergers, etc. If anything, it's worsened. 

TLDR: VRBO hangs when I try to accept a booking (no need to read the rest if short on time)

The last time I posted about serious issues I was having with accepting a booking, I seemed to be the only one, lol. Well, maybe it's happened again! VRBO freezes when I try to accept a request to book, after I've personalized my response and clicked "accept". This has happened to me at least 3 times in the past 3 months and the VRBO rep I spoke with today, confirmed it's a known problem. When she tried to accept the booking just now, she couldn't. So she has escalated the issue. She also expressed a finer-grain understanding of the impact on the host's metrics (if it looks like I'm not accepting the booking) as she said she had to place a separate request for me not to be penalized.

A few months ago, I could "push" through the acceptance by switching to the VRBO app on my phone (vs desktop- which is my preference). However, in doing that, it didn't allow me to personalize the accept template which is a little more generic but has fields such as X adults, Y kids, Z dogs (which is why I do it manually). So the guest would see the acceptance but with "X adults" etc. (which looks unprofessional).

I feel bad for the CSRs who have to answer phones, know there's an issue that hasn't been fixed (3+ months??), and then have to offer poor work-arounds. For example, she proposed trying pre-approval (which I dislike because it ties up my calendar for some hot seasonal dates). When I explained to her that this requires extra work on the guest's part (which isn't very hospitable), she seemed to understand that the guest has already provided all their personal and credit card info, and that Pre-Approval requires them to re-enter it another time. (FWIW, the last time we tried Pre-Approval as a fix, it didn't work either which was even more frustrating. I honestly cannot believe how much work and time wasted on the phone, both the guest and I- had to put in to push the reservation through but I estimate it was at least 4 hours!)

I do have a direct booking site (and yes, very tempted to steer people that way but I do not want to jeopardize our relationships, etc. with the major platforms which understandably, control the communication channels- and yes, I'm looking at you Airbnb now that you're not even allowing access to guests' or hosts' phone numbers except via a mask!).

This was my previous VRBO debacle:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/1258250-vrbo...

Going to take my deep breaths and enjoy the fall colors later in the day...

Great choice! Now I'm curious. Is that pretty idiot-proof? Or could a guest move over the logs (not sure about how it connects to the propane) and use real wood?

We have gas (and a cover that's hard to remove to keep guests from roasting marshmallows, etc.). You can see the wall switch on the upper right. Simple toggle on or off. I've toyed with the idea of providing more controls for making the flames larger, different colored, etc. but opted to keep it simple for now. KISS is a mindset we often refer to when we think about improvements. It does get quite toasty for the large TV above it (which has a pull out mount) so that's one thing to consider. (We also have a propane fire table outside which sadly, has seen questionable choices to roast marshmallows which probably burned and smoked on the glass beads, etc.)

You may not have this @Collin Hays where your cabin is, but one nice thing about the propane outside (not your question, I know) is that depending on the county fire restrictions (which we get when the fire danger is high), our guests have still been able to use both the grill and the fire table since they're contained and propane-fueled, which is not the case for charcoal or real wood.

Who doesn't love a real fire- true. However, if guests have asthma or other respiratory issues, gas or electric is just easier (and they can be fun if you want to spend a little extra). Don't forget your carbon monoxide detectors!

When I researched this earlier this year, (while I did consider Houfy, Lodgify, and others) I ended up testing OwnerRez. I really liked their setup and ease of use. Ultimately, I didn't continue past the free trial phase (which is generous) for one main reason. I couldn't set up the site the way I wanted it with their particular template. And given their monthly costs, I decided to host and design the site myself primarily with some outside tech assistance (because I knew I'd come in at a better price point and could build it the way I wanted).

Some things to keep in mind- what's your exit plan? That is, if Lodgify (as an example) raises its rates, is it easy for you to transfer your entire site to a new host (because you also own your domain name)? What's the uptime and issues, etc. for those other brands (e.g. Zeevou)? A quick search on "Zeevou complaints" would make me uneasy about building it as a solid alternative to VRBO/Airbnb (which you're not aiming for currently).

Houfy seems a popular option if you don't need frills. It was too basic for me because if I was going to invest the time and effort into direct booking, I wanted to position it for the long run (but that's just me). (Disclosure: my background years ago was in SEO and while I have more work to do on that end, I've built in that knowledge into my copy on the platform listings from the beginning so we come up first for our business name as an option for returning guests or savvy guests who've asked us a while ago if we had a direct booking site. In today's challenging economy, I'm definitely seeing the interest in saving on platform fees.)

We used to provide Disney+, Hulu, ESPN, etc. We only got one complaint in that entire time and it was only because they were having problems logging into their YouTube account for a big game (and we fixed that problem in a few texts). Once we switched to Roku Guest Mode, I cancelled all subscriptions, made this clear in our online guidebook, and have never looked back.

Anyone who's a major sports fanatic has their own subscriptions. It takes a little effort to log in to their account but all major platforms have made this easy by either providing QR codes (on the tv screen) or codes to sync to the apps on your phones. This one is not worth the hassle, IMO.

Your question comes at an interesting time for me, personally. We 1031'd from a LTR in the DC suburbs to a ski in/out in the CO mountains (but not a major resort) two years ago. You've already received a lot of good answers with thoughtful perspectives (and I especially agreed with @Ashish Acharya's perspective on fundamentals). While we turned a modest profit in our 1st year and it continues to grow in our 2nd year, my question to you is- how much of your time can you devote to this?

If the answer is a significant chunk and you're not remotely managing, you'd learn a lot and potentially grow your investment. Our net the 1st year was comparable to LTR, slightly better, and while there's a larger upside this year, all of this pales to what a similar investment in the stock market would have been, even invested conservatively (with much less time involved). But yeah, you can't disregard capital gains and it comes back to... time. That is, for me, it's a massive time sink. While I've learned so much (and continue to learn), it's up to each individual to calculate the personal cost of time. (And the AI bubble may pop, the stock market won't always continue with these gains, etc.)

I work vacations, weekends, evenings. My youngest (who's in college) looks at me skeptically when I say I'll carve out time when I go up to the rental because I always work most of the time I'm there. So unless I'm turning over or turning off my phone for uninterrupted time, the work always finds me. I'm doing better but am grateful to have a very patient husband and kids who keep it real. I'm considering another 1031 back into MTR or LTR based on the opportunities and economy in the next few years- unless we find a dream property like AJ Wong (https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/1263679-str-...).

None of this is intended to dissuade you. You're asking good questions. If you do end up investing in STR, I'd recommend properties that appeal to a variety of guests, even in low seasons, and also where you have either a local's knowledge or perspective to understand your target market and create that unique and solid experience for them (which is why they'd pick you over other lodging options). But be prepared for that significant time commitment unless you're planning on using a property management company, etc. which takes another slice of the pie, so to speak. (That's the other thing I honestly wasn't prepared for- how much STRs pay out in terms of state or local licenses/fees, state and local taxes, the platform fees, cleaning, maintenance, and most recently for us, a new HOA STR surcharge. The gross figures can look high. The net is another figure, indeed.)

This group is a truly fabulous resource for asking questions and sharing/learning (especially being able to search on old posts). Don't discount the importance (or cost) of your time.

Anyone else experiencing technical issues with their VRBO bookings today? I've unfortunately wasted several hours on the phone with them and with the prospective return guest.

First problem: my returning guest is less tech-savvy so they reached out to tell me what dates they wanted. I had to ask them to send me an inquiry or request for those dates as I could not create the booking for them (because VRBO had already obscured their contact info- e.g. phone and email). They forgot to check the box for bringing pets so...

Second problem: when I tried to edit the quote on both a Chromebook and my desktop, I got a blank screen (when clicking edit quote). I also found my extra guest charge (for groups over 10) was not being followed (it's automated via VRBO or should be). When I provided screenshots to the VRBO agent, they said they were experiencing the same problem (blank screen). We were finally able via work on her side and work on my side via the VRBO app (on my phone) to edit the quote and send out the pre-approval.

Third problem: when guest clicked "Pay Now", they got a blank screen. They tried repeatedly. With my encouragement, they called VRBO and VRBO told them the problem was my end because I hadn't approved their request. WTF?! At this point, I called VRBO again and they saw the pre-approval. Their solution was to ask the guest to re-submit the request (and click correctly on bringing pets although VRBO's system defaults to one animal and they're bringing two so I'd have to edit the quote again at some point). I balked at that because they hadn't confirmed that all technical issues with editing a quote- were fixed. So then they said "Pay Now" is working again.

Fourth problem: no, "Pay Now" was not working but guest at least got a "try again in a few minutes" screen. They tried again and again. It didn't work. In the mean time, a new guest submitted a request for most of the same dates. I'm not sure why VRBO allowed that to go through because my understanding is that Pre-Approvals were good for 72 hours (but I see less than 14 hours on my countdown on the app).

Fifth problem: (you could see this coming)... guest now says that when he tried to pay, he's told those dates are no longer available. !!!

I know technical issues are a fact of life. But the above interaction seems crazy to me for how much time we've each spent trying to make this 4-day booking happen. At this point, I could see VRBO saying the problem is mine because I have to manually unblock the calendar as a result of their system allowing the new guest request (when the pre-approval was already done for the previous guests). AITA? Lol. Or have any of you been experiencing VRBO issues as well?