All Forum Posts by: Cliff H.

Have you looked over Capterra's list of Hospitality Property Management Software? While I applaud the site trying to the Amazon of category reviews it loses usefulness when some else's setting the comparison variables, there's not many of them to go on, and consequently the category's so large it's an 89 page scroll through. Since Capterra's data is provided by each vendor, it also appears it may be outdated over time as well. A quick spot check of Lodgify shows $30/mo on Capterra, with $32+/mo on Lodgify's site. 

Overall, Capterra seems a decent place to start, but having my own variables to validate against is a bit easier in narrowing a crowded and (as I'm seeing already) pretty outdated and terribly designed software sector. 

I'll play the devil's advocate and say that you absolutely do need your own website/mailing list/CRM/etc because those are the only platforms you can truly own your customer data and engage directly with your customers without the filter of an intermediary stepping in to define the rules of engagement. 

Don't get me wrong, I love the ease of using someone else's STR platform as much as everyone else. AirBnB's done a great job using VC money to build a better VRBO, but basing an entire STR business on one platform is volunteering to play by someone else's rules: rules that are aligned to very different objectives than the ones each of us have as owners.

More importantly, as we've seen with Google, Facebook, and virtually every other "free" platform, it's only free until you're hooked, after that it's pay to play. I've seen this on my own STR in just watching the search rank change once I turn on Instant Booking or tweak settings to be more in line with what the latest "feature" that AirBnB has a vested interest in promoting. Smart pricing tools are perhaps the best indicator of this: leveraging huge pricing data sets to show how AirBnB's own "smart pricing" as primarily a tool to allow AirBnB a competitive advantage against hotels vs maximizing long term profits of STR owners.

Depending exclusively on someone else's system isn't growing your asset, it is turning what you own into an asset for someone else with much less skin in the game. 

Seth Godin had a far more articulate explanation, using the analog of "share cropping" for modern social media and platforms. I'll even save you the trouble of listening to the whole episode and cut right to specific section of the podcast episode. It's an insightful couple minutes of audio from a perspective we don't hear enough from in the age of social everything: 

https://overcast.fm/+L0YU4_L80/17:53

How to do it? Lots of great ideas already posted here. Tons of options on WordPress or templated website builders out there for the DIYers or maybe you just invest the $1k you would have wasted chasing ever-rising FB ads over the next couple years and have a developer build it for you. Either way, the goal is investing in a system that allows you full ownership over customer data beyond the platform so you can actually build a business around your customers, not customers that look like yours but are really someone else's. 

In my own STRs, I view each of the major platforms as basic lead generation only. Once first-time customers become guests, it's my job to ensure they come back by "owning the channel" and keeping folks out of AirBnB's shopping aisles to get picked off my another, cheaper option. None of that's easy so I welcome others' thoughts on what's worked best for you in getting repeat customers to come back again and again. 

Working on a breakout of all the different channel managers that I’d be glad to post back here when done. Very confusing trying to compare one to the other, but a must when you’re getting into managing across multiple platforms or listings at the same time. 

@Jason Breton yes that’s the balance. I’ve seen both too strong and not enough. I think I’ve found some reed diffusers that seem to strike the balance. I’ll post back here with what I find.

Now to figure out how to trigger some nice sounding music on entry, which has been a challenge from the start.

Thanks @Luke Carl. I’ll give those a look. Suppose I had lumped all the plugin air fresheners in the same category, but there probably are meaningful differences between the brands. Thanks for sharing your experiences!

@Lauren Kormylo to clarify, that’s the difference in getting at: options that don’t smell like strong our pervasive air fresheners, but do provide a gentle scent in entry. This is similar to the tactic realtors will often use when baking fresh cookies for an open house: it triggers a sense of “home” that helps buyers “see” themselves in the house.

I have recently been experimenting with basic oil diffusers and these may the the right balance of not too strong and not too fake. I had been using potpourri in the entry up to this point and the scent simply does not have quite the longevity that I would like for this particular space.

Westin hotels had actually taken this to such a degree that they view the scent as part of their corporate brand and (news to me) actually do sell it directly to people who just cannot get enough of their Westin experience. If you’ve ever stayed at one you’ll know that scent from the moment you walk in the door: nor overpowering, just subtle enough to trigger familiarity. Given how direct our sense of smell is to brains it may actually make a bit of “sense” (pun intended) what they are doing.

https://www.scentair.com/why-scentair/testimonials/westin-hotels-resorts

Hi folks. I've seen great results in my STR on focusing on making the space more relaxing and with small elements of a spa-like experience. Along these lines, I've been seeking a better alternative than glade plugins or potpourri in the entry way for providing a welcoming smell. This is a key element of many higher end hotels and something Airbnb talks about as a way to hit the five senses as guests come into your home. Ideally I would like to find something with a long shelf life, perhaps one that runs only during a guest stay or can be remote controlled by electrical outlet that I can integrate with the automated lights and door locks I have on place now.

Have any of you found any diffusers or other form of deodorizers to be particularly effective in your STRs that aren’t overpowering or otherwise like a nuclear odor bomb going off like those gyro style twist and open air fresheners?

@John D. I see this post is a couple years old, what was the outcome of your potential purchase? Manage a STR up over her other side of the mountains and happy to connect, if helpful. From what I saw in looking at NC area last year there's just a ton of competition up that way which could make running a successful STR challenging.

@Collin S. Most of the options seemed covered. I’m using TurnoverBnB now, largely because it’s free if paying cleaners directly. God awful UI and the phone app is a UI disaster, but it works and allows cleaners to have an auditable checklist where they can upload images and report back any issues they find.

I tied Properly like others. Better Mobile app, but the visual checklists were too limiting and tedious to maintain and I simply didn’t feel the value was there to pay for it.

As others have said, for the basics you can just give cleaners the link to your Airbnb or HomeAway calendar, though you’d still need to setup a google Form or other survey software if you wanted to replicate the kind of templated checklist capability that the purpose built platforms mentioned above offer.

TurnoverBnB also offers a way for guests to report early checkout via a custom QR code that immediately notifies your cleaners, which I suppose could be useful for situations where you’re dealing with same day turnovers.

Hope this keeps!

@Matt Hudson it takes a long time to find the right deal. I always assume the rule of 10x: 100 deals > 10 offers > 1 closing.

Like great tenants, finding the right one takes time and being your first property you’ll definitely make mistakes, but the worst of those mistakes is putting your good money in the line for a bad deal which then siphons all the other good dollars away.

My first rental took 10y to reach $400/mo Cashflow and I don't know that it ever truly broke even after CapEx, while its newer sibling rental meets the 3% rule at only 1/5 the purchase price.

Good deals take time.