All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Greene

These are both great. Hospitality can be assisted by automation, but the backbone of the hospitality industry is personal touch. I also agree that a program can distill information about pricing, but a good operator and owner knows their market better than a computer.

A 1-star review is often not realistic and will tank the algorithm in your first year for sure because it's not balanced out yet. I completely agree that no one should have all 5-star reviews because it looks fake, but a 1-star is also hyperbolic and crushing to your business when you are new. Much different than a 4-star that is realistic.

Where did I say anything about lowballing anyone? I am confused who you are responding to.

There are so many new operators in the STR field now, and the questions about certain things are mind-boggling. STR is a hospitality business first, and a for-profit business second (if you want to succeed). Your guest is your priority, not your profit. When you focus on your profit, you ask for a bad review and harsh treatment from the algorithm. Here are some things I have seen people asking that make it clear that they are already failing in this business.

1. Do my guests really need a (insert item for the home here)? If you know to ask, someone has told you you need it. While there are some limits here (you don't need a pasta maker), asking about having a plunger in each bathroom closet is insane. They cost $1. If your bottom line is so tight that you are hand-wringing and making forum posts asking about a second colander, the problem lies with you.

2. Should I spend money on professional photos? If you are asking this, quit. Professional photos could cost as little as $150, but you should pay more to get experience shots, golden hour, aerial, and video. This is your product, and you are branding it for maximum consumption. When you shoot seven photos on your iPhone, you tell the guest you don't care. P.S. - you don't care if you don't hire a professional photographer.

3. Can't I let automation handle all the questions from guests? Why are you entering a hospitality business to automate your (im)personal responses when guests have an issue? Using automation can certainly help at scale for easy things, but if you have one STR and can't be bothered to respond promptly to your guest, I can guarantee this business will not go well for you. @Garrett Brown and I were just talking about this. You want your guests to know there is a person behind the curtain.

4. Why do I need to tell people where to go and eat when they have Google and Yelp? You are missing the point. Katie Cline (listen to her episode on the Rookie podcast) and I were just talking about this. Google and Yelp in some towns could rank Applebees as the best restaurant. Your guests want to know the secrets. You have to know the secrets. Remember, this is a hospitality business.

5. Someone left early and asked for a refund; should I give it to them? Yes. The guest is always right, even when they aren't. There are limits to this as well (when someone stays the whole time and doesn't say anything while there), but if someone chooses to leave early or right away, give them their money back before they drill you with a 1-star review. If you are new, it will take you a year to recover from a 1-star review.

I have been staying in timeshares and short-term rentals my whole life. I managed STR with my sister twenty years ago before Airbnb existed. Technology has changed significantly, but this has always been a hospitality business. You don't have to have a pickleball court to win right now, but you do have to be a professional and personable operator (or have a team that is).

What did I miss?

Ding! "Also, wholesale deals off of the MLS are typically a waste of time for all parties"

This forum is a waste of time because you have a first-time wholesaler arguing back with experienced real estate investors about how to sub to/wholesale a 3-unit, STR, all in different cities deal. What could go wrong with that? It's really beyond complicated to even try this and silly to pitch to someone who is a colleague.

The best person I have seen be able to move STR deals for other investors, and some on sub-to, is @Zeona McIntyre. @Timothy Franklin look her up on socials and you may be able to get some guidance, but this is playing with fire from where you are at now.

What was your extensive research? There is really no data on this so most of the numbers are just proposed. You will get better answers here. It also depends what you mean by experienced. How many flips is experienced? I would say anyone who has done 5 flips is experienced and that success rate should be closer to 90% and up. Beginners I would say, meaning first-time flips, are below 50% for sure because you never hear from the failures again.

Welcome. It's not a fair partnership if you the tap the equity of their property to use together if you aren't brining any capital to the table. If this is your first investment and your first property, the quickest way to fail is to create an uneven playing field. If you both don't have capital, you don't have a partnership to start. Instead of rushing to buy, go together to as many real estate investing meetups in your area and learn together for six months to a year before you figure out how to place money into the field.

Just get a second set of sheets for each property so the turnover isn't pending the same sheets going back on the beds. This will also help them last longer together as a pair in each unit. Then you can take them off-site yourself so you have time until the next changeover or create another option for the cleaners that they go back and finish the sheets and store them so their changeovers will be easier as well.

To me, cash only is just cash. Second to cash in the bank is HELOC cash because you can use it however you want (you just have to see it already in an account). The reason hard money is not cash (although some think it is) is because there is still an appraisal attached to it. Anything that has a contingency is not cash.

Listings here will say cash, hard money, or 203k only if they want all three. Best practice is to ask them if they consider hard money cash.

When someone who is not an electrician wants to do electrical work and you choose that because it's cheaper, don't you already know the answer? The potential liability from having someone do a job they are not licensed to do far outweighs the cost-benefit. With that said, a lot of people take the cost-benefit, but no one can argue it's a smart choice, just a frugal one.