All Forum Posts by: Collin Hays

So I have mortgages on all of my properties, 30 year fixed with interest rates in the mid 5s. A credit union here is offering to refinance them for as low as 2.5%.  That saves me $1000 a month from now on, and I think at that rate I'll just go 30 years.  Why would I be in any rush to pay off a loan at 2.5%?   

I am in disbelief right now.

Pretty much worthless.

There are oh-about-a-million circumstances that could be deemed “extenuating”.  The fact that Airbnb is the sole and exclusive arbiter of such is now being exposed.  VRBO has acted reprehensibly through this, but they’ve stopped short of confiscating and refunding payments.

This space needs some new players. Perhaps this crisis will spawn some.

I don’t think anyone is not recognizing the gravity of these events. No one wants to be here.  Everyone is going to feel this.  There are not only ethical questions but legal questions.

After weighing all of this as a property manager, I have concluded that I have a contractual and fiduciary obligation to my clients, the homeowners. My contract with them states such. It is not ambiguous.

And while I am empathetic to guests during this most awful of times, I do not have a contractual and fiduciary obligation to them.  Quite the contrary:  Cancellation policies are very clear cut and in fact are legally binding.

While I am emphathetic to the guests, I am not Robin Hood:  I cannot arbitrarily decide to take money from my clients and distribute it to guests out of charity. In that event, I am then picking “who is more deserving”.  I do not have contractual authority to make that call.

If no contract existed between me and the homeowner, no contract existed between me and the guest, and trip interruption insurance was unavailable to purchase, then yes, I would then have to play Robin Hood.

Thankfully, contracts ARE in place with the parties and trip insurance IS available, so there’s really no dilemma here.

We’ve been in the Smokies since 2005. We didn’t see a downturn in reservations. But what we did see is a change in our guest profile:  Instead of folks coming in from the northeast as much, we saw a lot more guests from closer distances - Nashville, Atlanta, Charlotte.

This one is a tough nut to crack.  Of course you can hire an answering service, but they aren’t going to be able to assist the guest in any meaningful way.  The answering service is going to turn right around and call you.  If you can’t be reached, you really aren’t able to manage it.  In that case, hire a property manager. Their only job is to manage your property.

I read that several times and didn’t see anything from Airbnb about why they are continuing to deny trip insurance claims for refunds for cancellations due to CV-19 purposes - the very insurance that THEY marketed and sold to guests.

I guess Airbnb exempts themselves from “extenuating circumstances.”  What a bunch of hypocritical crooks.

 My opinion doesn’t matter either, but as I tell my kids, if I want your opinion I’ll give it to you!”

 We consulted with a local ad agency about the whole concept.  What we learned is that prospective vacationers are “fantasizing” about their vacation long before it arrives.  Too much info (ie video) makes things too real, and the fantasy piece is lost.  We removed our videos and I’ll be darned if bookings actually went UP!

Good photos are staged and present a frozen image of a number of items “with full makeup“.  The prospective renter recalls these images and fills in the blanks with imagination.

If you go to websites of luxury resorts, you will find the same concept:  Mostly photos but not too many!  Not very much video if at all.

This has been studied extensively by the marketing gurus.  Hope that helps!

VRBO’s payments situation is a colossal train wreck.  Whether that’s intentional on their part or not, is anyone’s guess.  We “integrated” with VRBO and in the process, dumped their payment system.

VRBO was charging us 3% for the credit card, and of course 3% for the “advance pay” b.s.

Now we are paying 1.7% for the credit card fee and getting paid within 24 hours..