All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

Half its value relative to what currency exactly? All western currencies have solvency and debt issues. As for the BRICS currency, do you think the world will trust a currency primarily managed by 2 authoritarian regimes with declining demographics and economic power? And several other countries with major corruption, social issues and questionable property rights laws? 

Brazil has massive resource potential but like the US, they can't get out of their own way. The Bank of Brazil expropriated money from its own depositors back in the 90s (IIRC, I could be off on the decade). They have an expression: "Brazil is the country of the future and always will be". 

The economic elites in the eastern hemisphere invest their profits in Western banks and real estate for a reason. 

Seems like it has already been priced in for a bit. Quick search I did on bankrate last few weeks had owner occupied rates in the mid-5s ( albeit with hefty fees attached)

Enemy method is great for establishing a baseline. If that baseline average is an acceptable figure, then go a few notches up from there with your design and amenities and you should do well. 

On the flip side, if you don’t think you can match what the average market rental is doing, and the returns for nice  properties are marginal, then I would avoid that market. For example, I was looking in Cape Coral and there were nice modern homes with swimming pools doing barely $30k, whereas a pool in many other markets is a major advantage. Hard pass. 

Quote from @Leora Merrell:

Yeah I was assigned to the “Lakefront” category, even though I never requested it or said anything about my property being on a lake. I did mention the general neighborhood that has the word “Lake” in it so the AI must’ve picked that up. A call to customer service fixed this. 

IMO it is also a branding play to differentiate from VRBO, Booking, hotels etc. I doubt that the experiences will make much of a dent in their overall revenue. It is more about having a eye catching unique landing page, which is the same function that the categories/unique stays provided. 

Quote from @John Underwood:

This seems like a marketing ploy that might appeal to a small group of travelers. 

Similar to the "Categories" that everyone lost their mind about 1-2 years ago. Very few people go to the main page without a destination and dates in mind. 

@Kandi Sterling yes, you are correct about why larger properties book out further in advance. That is not requirement for profitability but I certainly sleep better at night. 

I do agree that smaller units can be a better ROI than 2- and 3- bedroom properties, especially since there is so much overlap in the guest avatars between those bedroom counts. I personally don't like 3 bedrooms because the nightly rate to be profitable is too expensive to compete with hotels and 1- and 2- bedrooms, but not enough space for larger groups. That said, I don't think I could've acquired 2 smaller properties for the price of my 5 bedroom that also outperformed it.

As for your tiny home photo, I'm simply not a fan of that design. I don't doubt the practicality and workmanship, however the design doesn't do it for me. I think tiny homes are constrained by the dimensional requirements to be street legal without a state trooper escort. I've seen some great designs in the container or mini-MCM realm, however a lot of those have square footage that is closer to a small house than a true tiny home. 

To each their own- I hope you have success. 

Quote from @Deborah Wodell:

 I've only been in the game since 2022 so I don't have anything to report yet! Although I do keep an eye on their performance relative to value, and this is how I plan to rearrange my portfolio in 3-5ish years once I can see the annual earnings relative to the values of the properties. Idea would be to sell off the low ROE properties and funnel the profits into paying down those that cash flow better. 

Quote from @Andrew Steffens:

Not sure as a traveler I would stay in one or not, but I am sure there is a market for it.  To me the money is in larger groups.

Agreed. I've also noticed that large groups/properties book well into the future more often than smaller properties. Which makes sense intuitively.  After comparing the performance I don't think I could ever go back to anything under 4 bedrooms. 

I can also count on 1 hand the number of tiny home designs I've seen that don't look like repurposed tough sheds and/or have awkward dimensions. The only one that comes to mind as being somewhat appealing is the one that Elon Musk is supposedly an investor in. 

Awesome listing all around @Brandon Gale , looks like your calendar is filled up nicely for the fall. Goes to show that success is still possible, even in the most competitive markets, if you buy, design and manage right.