All Forum Posts by: Jennifer Green

Pricing is crucial; I switched to Pricelabs, which adjusts prices daily for my market. My revenue has consistently increased by 35% over the last six months.

I have all hardwood floors, walls, and leather furniture, which makes it easier to clean and does not absorb odors.

Also, I list places out of the regular tourist stuff into categories like date night, fun for kids, and adults, etc. We get a lot of positive feedback, and guests usually plan a return trip just to do the other stuff or to bring their family out next time. We have held consistently with a 30 to 50% guest return rate, which has helped us tremendously during the slow times.

Thank you very much, I did not think of the 30 calendar manipulations because we were trying to figure out how to keep from booking so far out, just a night or two. We have been going by all the hotels in a 20-mile radius at night, seeing the work trucks and contacting the companies. I am working on reaching out to insurance companies and realtors. Have you had any experience reaching out to home builders? I thought it may be a good source while their homes are being built.

I am looking to transition from short-term rentals (STR) to medium-term rentals (MTR) and would appreciate guidance on how to approach this change. Specifically, I would like to know the best ways to advertise MTR properties and the most effective platforms to list them on. In my area, we have seen a decline in vacationers, but an increase in traveling workers. We have had a few traveling workers stay with us this year, and we really enjoy hosting them. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

That's a great question. I've been wondering the same thing because we're seeing a decline in vacationers in our area, but an increase in workers. We've attended TXDOT meetings to network and visited job trailers. Our current workers will be leaving at the end of the month, so we need to more workers to replace the ones leaving. 

I Have to agree with you about Airbnb information. They keep wanting reduced cancelation policy and have increased fees for guest; but I will say they still send me quality guest and been a super host for years now.  I prefer Airbnb, Hipcamp over expedia or booking.com.

We have two glamping bell tents and two tipis before that. They do generate a profit, but with the heat here, we end up having to block them out from June through August. 

I own a 20-acre campground with 13 log cabins, 10 RV spaces, 2 bell tents, primitive campsites, and a store. We have discussed selling the individual cabins and managing the rentals. They could not live in the cabin but can stay long-term from November through February to appeal to winter Texans, and that is when we are slower. There would be a fee for the rentals, an HOA, and a land lease agreement. Has anyone done this before? Does it create less work for the owner of the campground? Any thoughts or opinions on doing something like this?

Thank you

Thank you. It is always a work in progress.

Investment Info:

Large multi-family (5+ units) commercial investment investment.

Purchase price: $165,000
Cash invested: $1,200,000

Purchased raw land and built a campground

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

I always wanted a campground and had found the perfect property and built my dream. I had purchased and flipped 2 houses to purchase the property

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

Search for land on internet

How did you finance this deal?

cash and our retirement and bank fiancing

How did you add value to the deal?

We offered people in this area a place to stay that is enjoyable for the whole family

What was the outcome?

We have built a successful business and are looking to expand in the future. We are starting to sell cabins individually and transition into property management, which will enable us to grow and decrease our workload.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Lessons learned are that it is a 24/7 job and a lot more work with a lot less free time. Challenges have been adapting to various cultures and personality types.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

Yes, Andrea Mc Gillary at Cowboy Capital Reality in Bandera