All Forum Posts by: Leslie Anne Morris

Depending where you are looking you could get a property manager to assist with projections, but you can also use AirDNA. There is also a new tool called STR Insights. If you are just listing on Airbnb it usually takes some time to climb rate wise, especially considering you already know there are well established STR near you.

Investors are underwriting deals in my market and taking action on deals that fit the bill. Things that are price dropping and sitting on market were either overpriced to begin with or not an ideal STR. Things are still going under contract, still cash flowing and still appraising. It's still a good time to buy.

Yes! Go for the hot tub. I recently added one at one of my cabins and the nightly rate shot up about $100 per night 

 I am curious here.  Do they provide commercial liability umbrellas on the individual properties as a part of the vacation home coverage?  

 Yes great idea with that.  You may be able to get some organic growth with that website too.  I am doing something similar in multiple spots.  The key will also be to find a collection method for guests info and retarget for direct booking.  I use Ownerrez and have a programmed discount code that we provide via email later.  The guests rebook and always forget the code LOL.  But they rebook!  The emails are gathered with Ownerrez also and then we send out correspondence via Mail Chimp I believe.  I have a team now, so to @Dave Stokley's point it is a large money game.  Do what you can with the time and budget you have.  There are folks who have been in this game a lot longer than airbnb has been around and they only direct booking, so it is possible to do.  It is just a grind, and becomes like a second job.  Which leads me back to my point I always like to make is be a passive investor and hire an amazing property manager!  (maybe not for you, but I try to educate my clients on the difference here, and how when they buy a vacation home to self manage they are creating a job for themselves.)

We've created a large marketing budget focused on just this!  I have 9 cabins in the Smoky Mountains that I own personally, and it is hard competing with thousands of other cabins.  I do google ads, social media, bring out travel influencers and have a ton of backlinks that are starting to form.  It is tough and it takes time and dedication.  I've been pretty focused since I have recently become licensed and am now a property manager for others as well.  My cabins are all google-able and that has been awesome to watch grow.  I try to give them all unique names and have created a brand under which they all are under which has helped a ton.  Folks seem to learn the name and google it and then direct book which has been exactly my goal.  It is a big undertaking and probably not worth it unless you are looking to scale.

In the Smoky Mountains I have seen other property management companies charge 40%.  It can be negotiated in most cases. Most are full service but be really clear on exactly what you will need to do once you sign the contract with the company you’ve chosen. There are companies out there that only offer part of the service and you are still expected to build out a team of vendors which I don’t think makes much sense. For investors who are trying to be passive and build wealth - a full service company is needed.