All Forum Posts by: Joseph Bafia

Congrats and good luck!  I'm also in Western NC (just north of Asheville).

We self-manage our STR from a distance as well, so we have the items we use regularly on Amazon and direct ship to our housekeeper (thats the important step that you'll want to lock up if you haven't already).

Ours tell us what's low and we restock.  If its something cheaper at Walmart, she has a debit card we load for her and she can buy it for us.

Any help we can provide, happy to answer questions.

Be happy to share some of our basic info. PM me.

Otherwise, I'm sure everyone's templates are different based on certain things that are important for your guest to know.

Are you listied on Airbnb, VRBO, both or other?

We went the other direction on ours.  Initially, we were on AIrBnb, VRBO and Lodgify for our first cabin.  Definitely say no harm to try several platforms early on.  AFter about 6 months, 95% of bookings came from VRBO, 5% from Airbnb and 1 had only 1 deal through our own Lodgify site and that was to someone we knew locally and steered them that way. 

AT that point, we dropped Airbnb, i cancelled Lodgify subscription and we push 85% occupancy all year.  Easier for us to manage (although there are platforms to sync multiple booking sites).  We just bought 2 more and have them again on AIrbnb and VRBO to start.  I'll stay with where the traction takes me.

Good luck!

We listed our first property on both Airbnb & VRBO to get maximum exposure.  AFter a year, we got 95% of our bookings on VRBO so once we got traction, we delisted from Airbnb.  In my market, its not as much about location as it is about reviews.  Our 2nd and 3rd cabins are nicer & bigger than our first.  I have 90+ reviews for the first cabin and we charge double the daily rate and are about 85% occupancy.  We will still get inquiries on the other 2 properties asking "why do you not have any reviews?", or "are you a new listing?"   I think people are hesitant at times to take a chance on a new listing.

@Sean McDonnell said it right with using some of the discount promos with Airbnb and VRBO.  If you do that, they will sometimes get you a better position on the search.  Great pictures are a plus and a great description (including the one "About the Owner".  Make it personal.

If you wanted a quick glance idea, you can always search VRBO/Airbnb for the area you are looking and see if there are other STRs in the area.  If there are MANY, its likely a good indicator that it is allowed.  The way I've done it is have my realtor ask the listing agent if they are allowed (again, not fool proof, but a way to get an indicator).  As @Jon Crosby stated, only way to find out for sure is to contact the actual HOA/POA. Often times, you can google search the name of community + "HOA" and maybe get their website and covenants.

I can speak to where we invest in Western NC, it is a VERY friendly POA to STRs as most homes get rented so owners are for it. If you get to an area like Asheville, NC where housing is in a shortage and local government gets pressure from local residents, it is NOT STR friendly.

I lean towards what @John Underwood says regarding not "volunteering" up any info.  I had a similar one where guest stated " just wanted to share that you have bed bugs and my wife got bad bites and we had to take her to the hospital."  I simply replied "thank you for sharing the information and we will pass it on to our housekeeper".

Definitely not legal advice, but if the guest is not asking for something or asking for an action, then I'm not offering one.  In my case, maybe guest was just looking to test the waters and see if I'd say "oh my gosh I'm sorry to hear that.  I'd really like to give you a discount for your inconvenience.".  SInce I never responded any further, neither did they and it was over.

My concern is once you start commenting, making assumptions and inquiring further, you may be opening yourself up to unnecessary liability.  I believe if they want something, they will ask and then you decide how to pursue or defend your position.

$500 on VRBO.  We've had to collect a few times for damages and have had an easy path to collecting. 

As for Airbnb, we've tried collecting there as well and after submitting pictures, receipts, explanations, 500 word essay and more, we painfully collected.

Congrats! Just use the "Search" box here on forums and you'll get everything you need. Thats how I got started when I knew nothing about this business. Everything from "Do you have a keurig?" to "Whats the worst crime committed in your STR?"

An entire library of info over many years of entries!

Best of luck!

Congrats!  I'm in Raleigh but do STRs out in Western NC.  Would love to do some STRs locally.  If you're ever intersted in connecting and swapping stories, love to meet up.  Best of luck with this one in Garner.

Joe

@Robert Lively

Absolutely!