All Forum Posts by: Kate Stoermer

To be fair, I think mid term and short-term are different audiences, and I think its highly reasonable to ask - even require, a midterm renter to partner with you and turn the ac up when the house is vacant for stretches of time. Its not terrible to ask that of STR - esp. if you are in a market that is more "utilitarian" and they likely arn't around all day; even in vacation rentals they go out and about for chunks of the day. Sharing the concern about freezing it is fine; its all about building a relationship, getting buy in vs. rules. And that's very much just in tone and phrasing.

Disclosing something like this aligns expectations. Managing guest expectations is how you get 5-stars. I think a lot of people have allowable ranges on their thermostats - large enough to encompass a wide range of comfort levels. 70 is probably not low enough to encompass all.  

This is hospitality, and in order for guests to feel hospitality they don't want to feel constrained in how they are able to enjoy the space they paid for. They absolutely will be less judicious than in their own homes.  We have to allow that a few bucks in added heating or cooling is the cost of 5 star reviews.  

I personally have ranges from 66 to 76 and I welcome folks to contact me if they need a different temp. No one ever has. 

I host (2) RV sites for an owners property (he also has a cabin he rents out as an STR part time as well). The RV sites do very well on Hipcamp but it does take a bit of effort to promote it and get attention brought to them. I have them on Airbnb but get very little traction there; its not set up for RV only and lots of questions come in; they think there is an RV already.

I hold 10% a year as maintenance and repairs. I never us it all, but its also the fund for capex stuff. A good checklist for quarterly walk thru, checklist of age on appliances and mechanicals for forward planning and do the upkeep to keep things in good repair. Nothing is bullet proof, but a good maintenance process helps.

How are you doing on Airbnb and VRBO? How are your conversion rates? The OTA have huge marketing budgets and get warm leads looking at your listing from day one. Make sure you are optimized there first, then branch out. DB is a long game. It takes alot to build up enough of a presence online via a DB site, so it works great to market to guests who have already stayed. Some folks will only book via the OTA based on a belief they have more protection, even if they've stayed w you before.  As for the tech side, I used Guesty for Hosts, which is pretty good and offers website functionality but no booking widget so you cant build your own like on wordpress if you wanted. I recently moved to Ownerrez; OR's integrated rental agreement w signature is the bomb, you can use their integrated website or booking widget to build out your own DB site.

Quote from @Rajagopalarao Paidi:

How to know If I can list my property on ABNB, don't know if i get any guests on this area? how to decide ?

Regulations first - can it be rented legally? Then, Is there demand in the area?  That can be discovered by looking at performance of Airbnbs in the area. You can use the free versions of Airdna and Data Rabbu to see how well those sources predict it could do.  Then think about if the property itself is a good candidate - this is the hospitality industry, principles of desirablity come into play. For example, in an ocean market beach views and access have far higher demand than those without. In an urban market, level of finish and proximity to an attraction or location contribute significantly to demand for a specific home. I do income potential reviews for clients all the time, every market has subtle differences but these are generally good indicators.

Differentiating to increase occupancy or highlight the value offered doesn't need to cost money.  Make sure to respond to reviews guests leave and acknowledge them; builds trust with future potential guests who are considering your listing. Consider, if you haven't, noting you share favorite restaurants and places to go while in town. People really like that, and will lean into a place that offers this. Removes the question of "where should be eat/go".    Ensure your listing really speaks to your ideal guest - not showing real estate and things, but highlighting key experiences to be had while staying at your place. More eyeballs on your offer equates to more opportunities, so expand where you are listed or show up on social media regularly. Build an email list and use it.  All free. 

I'm assuming they did, but make sure that they followed their bylaws to the letter in making that change. If they didn't, its not legal.  That's generally the only loop hole.  They often don't grandfather, but you could try to petition.  If when you bought you got specific confirmation from someone on the board that it was okay - I've seen people win cases in that event.  

I know its not helpful to you, but if someone else is reading this down the road - this is why buying in an HOA is a bad idea unless its a purpose-built resort. Its too easy for an HOA to pivot and decide they don't like it.

The financial decisions are rough; if you can't mid term it or long term it and wait out appreciation a bit then its probably best to cut your losses.  

If you have a good cleaner, your business is going to have the ability to be successful. Make sure that cleaner feels valued and valuable.  Unless there is a demonstrable reduction in the amount of work being done per turn, why would they take less?  For one of my properties, the cleaning fee drops in off season a little bit, reflecting a reduced scope of work - namely the outdoor patios and pool. That's in the contract.  But good cleaners save the day many times over and I'd resist sending any message to my cleaner that they are less than a valued member of the team.  To the problem you are trying to solve - when we compete on price alone, its a race to the bottom.  Make sure your listing stands out and highlight the value to maximize low season opportunities and justify your total pricing. 

So an example: partner and I had an agreement on funds we could bring to the deal and generally what that would look like. We agreed verbally on general details like partnership split and responsibilities. We found the deal, but decided to bring in additional funds and use PML to fund a cash offer as a mortgage/promissory note - not a partner. We used our funds to renovate and set up, and financed into a DSCR after 6 months, paying off the PML and pulling some of our funds back out.

We didn't pull the trigger on LLC or bank account or anything till we had an accepted offer. It doesn't take long to set up, and we changed the offer from personal name to business name before hitting the closing table.

Some things I advise folks having seen partnerships go south - Get really clear not just on who does what but contingency plans. You say you will do operations; is your partner going to have any say on operations? If so, what?  Will you get paid for doing it? (I "gave" year one and we had an agreed on commission for PM starting in year 2 to reflect I'm 24/7 managing). Where are the lines of authority?  How much will be put back into the property vs pulled as profit. Personal use is always one if there is interest - get clear on what's allowed or not.  Exit strategy is huge as well - this was probably the biggest tense point in negotiations for my deal.   Good luck, hope this helps.