All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

Sounds like there is a lot of room for upside, especially if they are not yet on the OTAs. Combined with some light rehab and self check in you could do a minimal staffing model.

Is there already some personnel in place? Also, definitely look at the financials!

Quote from @Travis Rasmussen:

 I truly don't believe so.

People have said that for years but I have always stayed booked - until the last 3 months. And it was night and day.

I'm only a few days in and I think my theory is correct regarding what Airbnb has changed and what it will promote and what it will NOT promote.

I will say this, Superhost does not seem to matter anymore. Well, it may, but it is weighted A LOT LESS than what it was.

And Jay, thanks for being nice in your response! I remember seeing you over 5 years ago posting in here when I was active! Good to see you are still around.

Could be a bit of both. On a desktop browser there are what, 18 or 24 listings per page before you click to the next page? With that it doesn’t take a lot of new listings to bump you back a few pages on that alone, which we all know is given to the newest listings. In a market such as yours I imagine there are new listings daily or at least close to it. 

I agree with the comments above about searching in incognito mode to see where you land. Note what’s working for the listings that show up before you and see what you can implement. 

Just got off the phone with AirBnb "Host Support". They are telling me that there is no way to switch hosts without deleting all future bookings . . . Is this for real? Is there any way to transfer a listing without losing bookings for the new owner/host?

Also- seems VRBO has the same policy?

Seems to me that since David and Rob left, the BP podcast has become more like On the Market. Which isn't a bad thing in and of itself, although I question the need for 2 different podcasts  at that point. Before there was a clear delineation between OTM, the Rookie podcast, and the BP podcast that had people who started as rookies and moved into bigger plays. Now it seems like more "how to" manual stuff and content that blurs the line with OTM's content. 

Biggest headache I see is setting door codes, which I use the last 4 of their phone number for. Otherwise I have to send them a random code they will probably forget, which they will then have to contact me for at the worst time. 

Quote from @Mike Grudzien:

I used to have dry goods (kleenex, TP, garbage bags, etc.) in the pantry.  Guests took the whole roll of garbage bags (150 bags on a roll).  Now I put out 1 bag per night's stay plus 1 extra...

I had a guest steal a full roll of garbage bags too! There really is nothing that a guest won't steal. Pieces of linen sets disappear over time to the point where the 3X sets/bed whithers down to 1.5-2X. I think there is a mental gymnastics where guests think about the money the spent and feel like taking something worth $10-15 isn't a big deal. 

Should probably add a leakage line item into underwriting based on % of furnishing cost just like the standard for CAPEX and maintenance.

It would be difficult to pinpoint an amenity where sacrificing a bedroom made you more money than 2 bedrooms on a consistent basis. Stuff like game rooms, movie rooms etc can bring in enough revenue to justify giving up sleeping space, although those are activities more likely to be enjoyed by larger groups, so that decision is typically made when deciding between 6 and 7 bedrooms, not 1 or 2. 

I see what you are getting at because I have a 2 bedroom that is occupied by 1-2 people 85% of the time, so giving up that bedroom might not hurt revenue much at all, but finding an indoor amenity that consistently boosts revenue for that guest avatar is another challenge altogether. 

Now, if you can invest in your outdoor space, that seems to make a difference no matter who your guest avatar is. 

Quote from @John Underwood:

Some of these people could have bought poorly meaning they overpaid for what they got.

It's not a one size fits all situation.

That, or you understand the game better and realize you can redeploy the equity in a better way. Doing that now with the first property I bought. 

Quote from @Denise Supplee:

I think many investors will start leaning toward direct booking instead. It actually came up in a meeting I had about a boutique hotel investment, and the consensus was that relying too much on Airbnb just eats into profits.

While I want this to be true, the reality is that it's pretty tough with a single family home unless you really have a differentiator like a special view, location, unique design featured in a magazine etc. Whereas hotels have more OTA options, where a 10-room boutique hotel can land right under a brand name luxury hotel in the search listing, plus more ways to market themselves independently. 

I combed through it in AirDna a while back. Seems that there are a tons of STRs that look almost exactly the same and perform marginally. I would look at what you can do to stand out from your neighbors- maybe a game room, sauna, anything unique to differentiate.