All Forum Posts by: Chris Watson

Honestly you have to run numbers. So many nuances from property taxes, insurances, what does airdna or rabbit say, cost of internet, HOA, permit costs, local utilities, are you doing maintenance or is someone else.... Depending on the property one property could clear you over $100k or you could loose $20k a year.

Any issues with guests logging out of your YouTube tv?  Was thinking of trying it but I am concerned guests will log out of ours and into their Youtube tv and then log out of theirs at checkout leaving it logged out for the next guest. How do you guest proof it?

Who Is your market or guests and who do you want it to be?  Do you trust Airbnb/VRBO wild range of actions through the years?

If you want a younger market (less loyalty, more frivolous spending, more hold their hands during stays) then stick to Airbnb and tiktok.  If you want an older market (more loyal, less complaints, more private feedback, more cost conscious) build a brand and website.  Also remember tiktok guests watch tiktoks on how to score discounts and refunds.

With Airbnb I have seen them deplatform hosts for no stated reason, cancel guests day of checkin because one child out of a large group had to go get a cast for breaking an arm, send emails to all guests platform wide stating it is okay to cancel penalty free, cancel all future guests on a friend because a scammer guest claimed bedbugs (even after two independent pros confirmed none were on property) and list goes on. What scares me the most is the social action side of Airbnb which could lead to overnight deplatforming because they do not like where you stand on social issues, or refuse to sign a pledge, or you put a quote from the Koran, Bible or Torah on the wall at your STR.

It is interesting the thought on hotels. When I was younger I used hot wire, priceline and hotels.com. Now that I am older I go to my Hilton app, Hyatt app, Marriot app and IHG app in that order.  Why? I know the experience I get at each place, I get the app as a key and bypass the front desk and I get loyalty perks.  I still use AAA and military discounts through the app. I now also am willing to spend more on a room.

Lastly, remember as a general rule in macro/micro economics is during a recession the younger generation wealth dries up quick and the older knows how to make it stretch and they have larger wealth to spend.  Again know your market you are catering to.  We prefer older guests but will gladly host anyone over 25.

When I bought my first STR direct from owner he said you want guests to unpack as they will feel it is more like their home and take care of it. That means try to get longer bookings and have dressers and hangers.

I disagree.  In one market I am in I have a website setup via channel manager about 18 months ago and have no clue on SEO and only made about 12 Facebook posts in the last year BUT 42% of my bookings for all 3 properties came from my website.  I didn't have to worry Airbnb might give a refund because a mosquito was in the house because the guest left the door open all day.  Airbnb is an abusive and controlling relationship and the more anyone can separate dependency the better they are.

Autocorrect changed what I meant "I suggest rerunning your analysis by removing the reviews and see how different your analysis will look."

Your review count requirement in your methodology completely skews your results.  Understanding this market is key.  

Number one thing is most bookings comes from VRBO or ECBYO.  You get less reviews from these platforms versus AIrbnb.  You do not need review count at all in the methodology as the data is already in your numbers. If Navarre avgs 70% occupancy (255 days) with avg of 5 day bookings that would give you 51 bookings a year. The avg review rating only would matter if you see a cluster and then read the reviews to see what the issue was.  If it is a condo and they were painting the building over the course of a month it might have been a temporary issue.  If it is a condo and they all point to how the amenities are not kept up it could be a red flag.  I suggest refunding your analysis by removing the reviews and see how different your analysis will look.  All three areas attract different types of guests and have difficulty amounts of inventory.  How many 4 to 6 bedrooms are on Okaloosa Island versus Pensacola Beach?  Major differences.  

That is part of the location part. On MFR in the years ahead local governments might put in rent control. Due diligence on local/state government is required when buying any real estate.

While the lender pool on DSCR for STR has shrunk to cash out equity, it is for this point in time. Next year could be better or worse, but everything changes with time. Right now for most (not all) people it does not pencil out (unwise) to pull equity out at these interest rates. Also remember STR is not the only one facing a lending issues/cashout issues as commercial is too for other reasons. I with rather be stuck with a STR I can't cashout but gives a great return. Now the "great return" question really goes back to the original post. That will depend on at minimum location, marketing, economy, management (even if it is self managed), purchase price, insurance costs, property taxes, operational costs and rates financed at.

Quote from @Halil C.:

Hi everyone, not sure if this post should be in STR section vs BRRRR section but here we go..

I recently got a BRRRR type of duplex property (3 br 2 bath in each unit) in Ft Lauderdale (Yayyyy!) and it currently has "wall/window AC" that looks horrible (old style, dirty, randomly located like under the window or high above the window) so really bad for marketing the unit in STR platforms.

I want to change them ASAP!! with the most practical, economical, but also nice-looking AC option:

Would you recommend Split AC or Central AC?? (there is enough space under the roof to set up the central AC).

A few pros and cons that I can think of for each option:

Mini split:

-Flexible room temperature control

-Less costly to operate if I turn it off in the rooms that I don't use

-Takes more visible space, not very pleasing to eye

-Renter might loose the remote or break the unit (somehow!!)

- Noisy?? 

Central AC:

- No flexibility to chose your room's temperature: Entire unit is the same temperature

- If it is broken, no other room to escape

- Quiet

- Cleaner look on the walls (guessing the outlets will be on the ceiling)

- I think costlier to set up 

I have a STR with a minisplit in a added on sunroom. To prevent the remote from it being lost I used the included wall mount for the remote and mounted it with longer screws onto a stud (important). Then put a screw in the wall into the stud barely above the remote preventing anyone from removing it but can still control the minisplit. To change batteries remove the screw. 2 years with no issues.