All Forum Posts by: Karen Chenaille

I own two condos in PCB. Both  in the shores of panama.  There are a three things that I dislike about PCB compared to other gulf coast towns.

#1. The seasonality is extreme.  A condo making 400-500 a night in peak plummets to 80-90 night in the off season.  Even at that low rate there is substantial vacancy.

#2. The partying. Despite what your realtor may tell you about the decrease in partying, it's not true.  There are numerous facebook groups dedicated to PCB condo owners that are rife with discussion about major party events geared toward college kids.  Do a google search on Panamaniac part 2.

#3. The HOA's...if you buy a condo with a poorly managed HOA, it does not matter how great an experience you provide in your unit, if the association does not manage the basic facility amenities well (ie elevators, pools, parking garage) your reviews will suffer.

If you are sold on PCB, try to stay out of the condos.  Another option to consider is going a bit further west to Destin, or even as far as Biloxi.  We own two in Biloxi and while they don't command as high a rate, the vacancy is less, prices are lower and the crowd more genteel.  Biloxi was also listed in Air DNA's top 10 upcoming markets.

@Marcus Tam

Hi Marcus!  

I have tried several tools and many configurations over the years.  Here is what works for me:

Locks: Remote lock.  They are a wifi lock that does not require a separate bridge.  If you have multiple properties in one area (say Gatlinburg) you can group your locks by area and give access by area. They change codes for each guest and they integrate with some of the major PMS systems.

PMS: Best out there is OwnerRez for flexibility and customization.  There is definitely a learning curve in the beginning, but since I started with them 4 years ago, they have added a concierge setup service where they will do much of the heavy lifting for you.  OwnerRez will sync your calendars across all the booking platforms and provide a unified inbox.They integrate with all the major cleaner scheduling tools and wifi lock companies.  They have a robust messaging platform that lets you send emails or text messages.  Their reporting module is pretty robust.  You can easily host your own website. There are a ton of other features too.  For one property is overkill, but if you are planning to scale, might as well start using them with your first property. It will save you time in the long run.

Pricing tools: Best out there for functionality and price is Price Labs.  Their functionality with Beyond Pricing for basic pricing support is the same, but they have a better pricing model. Beyond pricing takes a percentage of your bookings.  At some points last year during the high booking periods I was shelling out hundreds of dollars a month.  If a booking cancels, you don't get a refund from beyond pricing.  Price Labs UI is not as sexy as Beyond Pricing, but the functionality is similar for a lot less.

Backoffice-Relay FI and Quickbooks... but if I was doing it over, I would go Relay FI and Stessa. Stessa is free and just fine for managing STR's as long as you set it up correctly. Quickbooks is overkill.

Welcome to the jungle! :-)

Karen

@Mark Wurtemberg We bought a Class A diesel pusher. Low miles. Just had photos taken and plan to list it by 1 Nov. Not exactly the best time of year but I need to get it listed so I can claim bonus depreciation on my taxes.

I have been doing some serious research into the business model with thoughts of scaling. On my list as a major goal in 2021. For now we need to figure out how to use it ourselves! You tube is a great teacher. :-)

Hi

Another consideration...if you bought the property as your primary residence and you have a mortgage on it, you would have to transfer it into the LLC and could trip the due on sale clause. Pretty unlikely but still a chance I had an attorney look at this issue for me and he recommended increased liability coverage.

Hi

I power my website using a PMS called OwnerRez. OwnerRez has integrations with BeyondPricing and PriceLabs. That integration will drive consistent pricing across your website and OTA’s. 

Good luck!

Karen

Thanks Mark!  Your RV looks just perfect!  Congrats on all the 5 star reviews!  

@Mark Wurtemberg thanks Mark! Do you provide any type of camping essentials with your rental besides dishes? I am thinking of things like towels, picnic table covers etc...Seems like it would not make sense to have someone buy these for a rental.

Hey Folks...found this thread. We are looking to branch out our STR into RVs. I think it would make the most sense to park the RV near a major interstate route so folks could easily pick up the RV. We would hire someone locally to do the pre rental walk through and cleaning. The margins seem to be pretty lucrative and we would have the benefit of being able to use it personally on occasion. For those of you doing this now, where do you base your RV from? How are you handling turn overs? What do you set aside monthly for repairs and maintenance?

Thanks in advance-

Karen

have you considered diversifying your risk and standing up your own booking site?  I am slowly starting to get traction on my site. It’s been a lot of work but the peace of mind that comes with it is worth it. 

I looked at Key West three years ago. They were not allowing anything under 30 days so definitely check out the regs.