All Forum Posts by: Garrett Brown

They are great. I used them for my direct booking website. Definitely not the cheapest, but when I went for the cheapest option, I had numerous issues with the UX. Their sites blend very well with your PMS systems. 

I'll echo everyone about make sure you overestimate the expenses compared to what you think and say that you can find much better deals with that type of down payment. We need a lot more information, such as location, other data source estimates (Mashvisor, Airbnb, AirDNA, etc.),  to really help. 
One of my favorite "rules" is John Bianchi's 20% rule. The annual revenue should be approximately 20% of the purchase price. It's not black and white and can vary depending on factors, but if you are looking at a $500k home, it should, on paper, gross $100k in revenue. It fluctuates slightly depending on the price point ($1M could be closer to $180k and be great still), but it is a good rule of thumb. It is tough to find these (good deals are scarce now), but you could find a place to use a $100-200k down payment and $100k to design to the top level and crush it in many markets. 

Great advice! I love the senses portion. People underestimate how small features like that in design can elevate someone's experience without them even truly realizing why. 

I do BYOL. Bring your own logins. I do disclose this in the description and messaging before and tell them to use Roku Guest Mode or  remember to log out. The advice about the $40 antenna is smart if you have the setup for it. 
Some demographics, however, will expect a certain level of TV service, so it really depends on your target audience. Mine like to stream so I can get away without it. 

 Andrew nailed it on the head. 

I love the idea of branding on everything, though, which is the major selling point to me. 

Hey John, thanks so much for the support and for watching the channel!

If you’re asking whether turning on Instant Book and loosening your cancellation policy helps the algorithm, the short answer is yes — but probably not in the way most people think. Airbnb’s algorithm is always going to be a bit of a mystery, but we do know what it really cares about:

1. When guests see your listing, do they click? At that stage, the only things they see are your main photo, estimated location, title, reviews, and price. Those are significant factors.

2.Once they click, do they actually book? That comes down to your rules, reviews, pricing, listing setup, how easy it is to book (Instant Book helps a lot here), and of course, your photos.

So yes, Instant Book and flexible cancellation policies reduce guest friction — and Airbnb rewards that. However, if your reviews are weak or your pricing is off, those changes won’t compensate for it.

Personally, I think Instant Book is a must. Cancellation policies are trickier. Strict has always worked best for me (even though Airbnb is phasing it out) because it protects you from last-minute cancellations, and I’ve still done well with it.

Your numbers already sound amazing, and you're clearly paying closer attention than most. The best way to know for sure is to test: pull your Airbnb insights for a month, change just one variable (like cancellation), and see what shifts. It's tough because STR performance can swing month-to-month, but it's the cleanest way to measure impact. Feel free to message me anytime to chat!

Congrats on taking the next step! I will say that buying an STR just to offeset taxes is always a tricky thing. You buy an STR losing money then you basically wipe away any savings you made and then some.

I'm not very familiar with those exact markets, but I think @Jay Hinrichs gave you some fantastic advice.

Have you gotten prequalified with a STR knowledgeable lender to see what you qualify for? Have you reached out to any STR-specific real estate agents in any markets to see what tips or underlying knowledge they may have? Is this purely a tax play, or is it a lifestyle benefit (such as being able to vacation in it with family), or is it a serious investment you're pursuing? I ask these because if you really want to make this a long-term investment and are ready to take on the extra work (software makes it easy to automate about 80% of this, but you still need to be prepared),  then I wouldn't rush into this just to save on taxes and purchase wrong. Sometimes it's smarter to max out your 401(k) and HSA for tax relief, especially when time is tight to find the right market.

You can definitely make this happen, but you want to set yourself up for long-term success and not a quick win. Without a doubt, use some of the STR data companies out there to look at their market data for nearby places and then connect with a real estate agent that knows STRs. BiggerPockets has a great resource to find investor friendly agents and lenders. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/business/finder/lenders

https://www.biggerpockets.com/business/finder/agents

I use Safely. Wasn't a fan of it when they were SuperHog. Those are low coverage levels for the price. Waivo is good too I've heard.

Agree with everyone. Send all the details you have, and the cavalry here can help give some insight. If it's in a market that you know well, you will end up being the best resource, though, and using your own comparison vs. the 50+ STR data sites available now.

This is exactly what I've been doing for the last five years. I wrote this book on tiny home/glamping "The Glamping Investor" for BiggerPockets recently and it is all of my knowledge for price of Chipotle burrito :) biggerpockets.com/theglampguide

Let me know if you have any questions! It is a lot to process and understand, but definitely doable if you have the county permitting department on your side and the land is unrestricted.