All Forum Posts by: Jared Higginbotham

This really sounds like they just want you to process payments through home away checkout instead of whatever external processor you might use. Not really a big deal in my opinion.

John, could you please share your source so that I can study this for myself?

@Julie McCoy these locks operate on a "Heartbeat" signal. Essentially, you set the rate at which it "comes online" to look for updates. I have it set to look for updates every hour and anytime the lock was spun. This is a really neat feature because they don't require constant access to wifi and only use it for occasional updates. So far I can't find an issue with them. 

I swear by the "RemoteLock". Easily sets itself apart from the rest because it connects directly to your wifi without an extra "hub" of any kind. Stores over 1600 possible guest codes. Allows you to give admin codes to people like housekeepers or maintenance personnel that only work between set times. Integrates directly into Airbnb and a few other property management systems. 

Perfect for a full time vacation rental.

I recommend looking at the airbnb regulations like in Miami and doing whatever you can to run your business within the confines of those laws. They are strict, but very ethical. I operate my hosting business here in Tampa within these laws and I am active in our local Facebook groups. It is imperative to talk with other hosts in your area and get them to unite. A single voice will not go far against the hotel lobby.

Not that I am advocating for sexual predators... But in my experience, I don't know my guests well enough to know or enforce. In places like Miami-Dade county in Florida, there are now laws on the books that limit the number of days a convicted sexual predator can legally stay at a vacation rental that is within x# of feet from a school. I think this is not only ethical but god forbid something ever happen. I would never want that on my conscience. 

Hmm... This looks like investors have flooded that market since the last time I looked at the numbers. What are the numbers for year over year growth in rentals?

I'm in Tampa and we aren't very good in that category either... As an experiment, on Jacksonville (without selecting a zip code) scroll down to the bottom of the overview tab and see what it says under "Professional Hosts". Here in Tampa, a lot of our homes are owned by investors with multiple properties and they have been traditionally renting them long term. More and more are switching to STR to increase their profits every day. We are just over half under this category. What does Jacksonville look like? Great comparison considering we have the same state laws.

@Paul Sandhu You made an interesting point when you mentioned the # of bathrooms. Not sure about your market but here in Tampa the average party size is 4.8 people and guests shop on the perspective platform by beds predominantly.

The bests investment will be the one that works not only as a STR but a LTR if had to. One of the keys here is to look at the cost of ownership on a 3br/2bth vs 2br/1bth. Here in Tampa that could be 75-100K price difference in those two homes. 4.8 ppl can comfortably fit into a 2br/1bth home, the cost to acquire is significantly cheaper, and the difference in yearly earnings is so insignificant that it doesn't make sense to splurge on the larger units unless the investor is riding an equity wave and plans to BRVRRR.

This is an interesting topic. I think there will be some areas of the market in 08-13 that will translate to the next downturn... but I also believe that as a whole, the sharing economy is changing the way the next generation is living and investing. With the arrival of Airbnb, and other like platforms, people are finding it cheaper to travel. I wouldn't say this will make the industry bulletproof. But I do think it will make a downturn a little more tolerable.