All Forum Posts by: Collin Hays

Smaller units have longer average bookings in my experience.  How are your weekly discounts looking?

My wife and I recently purchased our first STR. It's a house sectioned into 3 apartments each a 3-bed 3-bath. It stays full on weekends but we're missing weekday rentals, especially in non-peak season. My business partner has two STRs adjacent to ours that has several 1-bed units that rent very well during the week.

A month ago I added converted 1-bed and 2-bed listings to our platforms to help with weekdays. Currently I have the 1 and 2 bed listings blocked from being booked on weekends. We've seen some uptick in weekday bookings, but not as much as I would have hoped. It's worth mentioning that I have the 1 or 2 bed options blocked from being booked on the weekends.

All that said, I'm interested to see if anyone has any suggestions or ideas to help us with weekday bookings. We are using Priceless to optimize our pricing and it's well within the line of others in our area. Any strategies or suggestions are welcomed!

@Collin Hays I'd file this under "Shiny-Things". 

If one only looks at listing and digs no further, venue stands out. 

But when dig into it..... 

It's on a very small lot, with very limited parking for any kind of venue. Very limited doesn't really convey it in venue sense, nearly non-existent is more accurate. 

There is next to no privacy.

Weddings that book venues of quality, which is how this home views right, of quality, these weddings are predominantly of a certain size threshold. 

Just 40 guests, it would be a total circus. Imagine 50+...... 

It's nice, but it's also over built for it's investment use potentials. 

The most standout is the proximity to the school. I don't see students paying Ivy league for this school, but I could be wrong, I don't know this school at all. 

If you could pick it up and plunk it down on 2+acres in another location, holly-cow it would be a rock-star. 

But it is what it is. 

Super nice looking home, very cool, in a location and lot not conducive for revenue generation that would make it make sense. 

In my mind, revenue management is the most difficult concept to master. There is so much that goes into it. What does your comps do? What is your peak season? What is your average booking lead time? What is your average stay? I use Beyond and am constantly tweaking prices. These pricing tools use data and algorithms, but it is never going to be perfect. So, you need to be looking at your occupancy and pricing frequently to ensure your RevPAR is where you want it to be. 

Quote from @Jay Hurst:

Quote from @Collin Hays:

I reside in Amarillo, Texas. This home is for sale, circa 1920s. The price seems right. If you could buy it, what would you do with it as an investment? STR? Event space? Wedding venue? Other? Thanks in advance for the ideas!

2116 S Van Buren St, Amarillo, TX 79109 | realtor.com®

 I live in a historic neighborhood in Dallas in which there was a wedding venue operating. That is until the neighborhood got tired of the parking and parties from the venue, and got it shut down. (I did not hear the noise or  care but those much closer to the house did) so be careful with these kinds of plans  in the middle of a residential neighborhood.  

Also, it is bananas that a house like that is one is only 849k. Location, location, location! 

the front pillars make it look gigantic but its only 3500 sq ft.. very cool curb appeal though !

Quote from @Collin Hays:

This is zoned commercial, so I could do pretty much anything I wanted with it except a casino.ou

Isn't the Texas legislature considering casino gaming this session?  Maybe you have 1st mover advantage.  Amarillo hold em poker room.

The other thing to consider is what is the exit strategy.  While it is a super nice home and seems like a great price to many of us, if you decide to sell, what is your pool of buyers?  How many $800-$1.2mil homes sold in Amarillo in 2023 and 2024 and did they look/feel like this one.