All Forum Posts by: Jim Hudelson

I know why fire engines are red.  Fire engines are red because 

2+2=4, 4+4=8, and 8+4=12

There are 12 inches in a ruler; queen mary was a ruler

Queen Mary was also a ship; ships sail the seas

Seas have fish; fish have fins

The Fins fought the Russians

Russians are red and fire engines are always rushin

Therefor - fire engines are red

Julie Groth - what you say is the truth.  There is a 'look' that everyone knows and recognizes as modern/current/upscale and it is easy enough to replicate.  What I meant by 'style needs to fit the market' in relation to the house that we rent, goes something like this.

Our house is a mid-century home in the heart of the city.  It's in a neighborhood that has a distinctively retro feel to it.  To outfit the house in modern suave would not 'fit the market'.  The people that rent our house are typically people in the 50+ age group.  They are looking for warm and comfortable, not sleek and stylish.  We don't get young people renting and I'm sure that it is due to the pictures showing a house that is 'warm and comfortable'.  That's o.k. with us. We are doing a good business with the 50+ crowd and the bonus is that they generally take very good care of the property.

We have an STR in a small city in Colorado. We've been renting it for over 5 years and it has done pretty well. We decorated primarily as if we were going to live in it (and we do spend some time there). There is art work throughout the house. Fortunately, my wife has great taste and is able to put rooms together that look good and are comfortable to be in. That said, different styles suit different people. I believe that it is important to be consistent to whatever style you are trying to achieve.

We have had feedback and it has always been positive.  One guest commented that 'the place feels larger than it appears in the pictures'.  I view that as a positive but it also means that I need to re-do some photos.  Another commented 'the home is exactly as represented in the pictures'.  I like that one.  Managing expectations makes my 'top 5' list when it comes to handling rental property/vacation rentals.  You want the guest to arrive with good-to-great expectations and you want them to go "WOW" after the first walk through.  Then, if possible, you want them to continue to discover new things about the house that make them fall in love with it.

We provide cable or satellite t.v.  Our market is mostly older folks.  In the kitchen we provide an array of spices, some other basics like olive oil / vegetable oil, a few bottles of water in the fridge.  We provide a starter set of amenities (laundry & dishwasher detergent, trash bags, paper products, bathroom soaps/toothpaste/sunscreen) type stuff.  Rarely have we had a guest who cleaned out the supplies.  Occasionally they leave more than we started with.  We have a 30 day minimum on the house in high season, 1 week the rest of the time.  In a typical year we probably rent it 6-8 times for a week or 10 days.

I would say that what has surprised me most with handling short term rentals in different locations is how each place develops a market and it has never been from where I expected it.  I must not be very good at sizing up a market is about all that I can figure.  The design style comes into play on this, for sure.  If the style doesn't fit the market the property is not going to do as well.