All Forum Posts by: Jeff Piscioniere

Am I missing something with TripAdvisor?!?!?! It seems that I only get inquires with TripAdvisor/Flipkey! Everyone asks whether our cabin is available and what the rate is. Isn't this something that should be clear as day when they are searching on either one of these platforms? So I always cordially respond and I never hear from the people again. Is TripAdvisor/Flipkey the platforms that people go to to get a bargain? I feel like everyone is waiting for me to say sure buy one night and get 2 free! Lol. At the minimum they should be able to know if the cabin is available since it came up in their search. Airbnb is seemless and an absolute blessing. People either inquire or they send a reservation request. They respond quickly and cordially and people are thankful when you communicate with than. Are there strategies that I'm missing with TripAdvisor/Flipkey that I should know about? Thank you in advance! Jeff

Hello fellow vacation rental owners and thank you in advance to your responses.  I thought it a good idea to print up some affordable business cards with a picture of my cabin in Gatlinburg, TN but didn't really see it worthwhile without a way for people to go to the listing on my current listing sites Airbnb and Flipkey.  Is there a way to use one of those "bitly" links to permanently redirect people directly to the listing?  I'm pretty new to both Airbnb and Flipkey so I'm not sure if there are listing numbers that each listing is assigned and if so I've never really seen where someone searching on either site would be able to input those numbers anyway.

Thank you for the help!

Jeff

Thank you @Andy Plattner!

Hello all and thank you in advance for any help and info you might offer.  My wife and I are new overnight vacation rental owners of a cabin in Gatlinburg, TN.  We just closed out our first month of rental (June) and I need to pay my taxes to both the state and the local municipality.  Airbnb does not allow for adding a tax rate to the property's listing (unless I'm missing something, please enlighten me!).  I owe a combined 12.75%.  Technically in my booking rate/fees the taxes are added in.  Now I need to figure out how to back track on my income to figure what it would be if the 12.75% were not added in.  Example: $1000 ending deposit for the month; what is the income before the 12.75% which should have been charged to the guest be...$870-890 approx. range???  I actually figured an equation to get it where X is the amount I'm looking for:

X + (X * .1275) = $1000

@Account Closed water is included in HOA but yes I'm paying for electric.

Thank you!  Not being the most computer savvy person in the world, are these wifi systems difficult to set up?

I'm closing on a vacation rental property approx 12 hours from my home and I'm interested in installing both a thermostat and keyless entry lock system which I can control remotely.  What are the recommended devices to use?  I was looking in Home Depot today and there seems to be a good selection. How exactly do they work?  Do you need to have wireless routers in the rental to work properly?  I'm specifically interested in a lock system that will allow me multiple entry codes and allow me to remotely monitor who and how often people are entering the home. 

Thank you in advance!

Jeff

Juan Duque 2br 2bth in a resort community for $245k. We're pleased with how we did. The next hurdle is getting a team together to allow us to rent through a site like VRBO.

Kevin I absolutely will! Would love to have you!!!

Hello Everyone!

I just found out last night (4/13/16) that our offer was accepted for our first vacation rental home in Gatlinburg, TN a log cabin! I'm leaning towards renting myself and managing from a distance using VRBO but consider rental management as a Plan B. I would love to network with like minded people particularly in this beautiful area of TN. Can't wait to speak with you all!