All Forum Posts by: Luke Carl

Man years ago Big Bear was a huge topic of conversation around here and it seems they've really shot themselves in the foot. I think this would be a deal-breaker for me and I'd have to look elsewhere. Even if I lived next door to this property there's no way I could spare my time to go hand off keys to a guest. I wouldn't even know where the keys were. I would lose them in 2 seconds. I live a key free life and I highly recommend it. Hell, I bought a new FORD truck recently because the door has a keypad. I've never owned a ford in my life, but it fit my system because it doesn't need a key. 

I love it. I think it's important to remember we must know Airbnb and vrbo's policies and procedures better than they do. And this is learned by calling and asking questions often. 

I know they've made it much more difficult to call them since COVID with huge wait times. But if you're new to this game the best thing you can do for your business is call often and ask tons of questions. Especially Airbnb. 

@Melissa Bovee

Your mistake was sending them money. These guests happen. Not common. But you've just been catfished. Or whatever you want to call it.

I would have apologized and then ignored. BUT it's difficult to give a real world example of what I would have done without seeing EVERY message on the thread. 

At this point... you're done. All communication with this guest should stop in my opinion. There's nothing you can do to make them happy. 

Good thing about STR is they'll be gone very soon. Focus on the next one.

It autocorrected me to "leaves" before I could edit it sorry! I'm sure there's more than one mistake I'm not a copy editor. Maybe leaves is correct? I guess I'm the guy with the terrible grammar. It's a good thing I don't leave bad reviews. 

 I hope you enjoy! 

Yeah, I said it. And yes it's because I just got one. 

     First of all -I want to make it perfectly clear that I am not encouraging you to allow bad reviews. Anything short of a glowing 5-star review that quite frankly looks like you paid for it, should ruin your day. Maybe even two or three days. This is an indication that you are good at your job. Because after all, you are running a business here.

      Second -Allowing them to leave this bad review, in my opinion, is exactly what you're doing. It is very rare that I didn't say to myself "Yeah I could have done this or that to make that guest stay better" But sometimes, you just have to throw your hands in the air and say "Screw it. This person will never be happy in life and I'm not their therapist -there's nothing I can do to help them." As uncle Paul Sandhu says... You must be a mind reader in this business! 

     And furthermore, if you're providing a great product that is super clean and has decent sheets, plates, large televisions that work, flushing toilets, etc.... If you're confident in your property -at a certain point you just have to let miserable people be miserable. 

So... To get to my argument... here's why BAD reviews can make you look GOOD! 

It makes you look real

     If you've got 249 5 star reviews it looks like you're faking it. An occasional 4 star or even a 1 star can make you look REAL! 

People that leave bad reviews are not smart

     Successful people have better things to do. Bad grammar and horrible English in a review (and nearly all bad reviews have this) are laughable. Future guests will instantly take your side when they see a "they're" spelled "there" or a lower case "i" (and while I'm at it, don't hold my typos against me, I'm sure there are a couple)

TLDR 

     The "Let me speak to your manager" types always leave a LONG ridiculous review. This review is therapeutic for this type of person. It gives off an "I can't control my husband or my kids and they don't like me but I can control your property for this moment in my life" vibe that future guests can see right through. 

Guests that read every review are the type that leaves a bad review

     Like it or not the only person that will ever read this view (assuming they're far and few between) are people that are also likely to leave a bad review. The average guest is never going to see this review so feel free to get over it. 

You Get To Respond!

     I'm giving away one of my tricks here. I've been a super host on Airbnb for years. 2000+ 5 star reviews across 3 platforms. I have the longest self-managed log cabin in the smoky mountains and I'm about to give you one of my biggest tricks. RESPOND TO ALL REVIEWS. Not just the bad ones. 

    I have my assistant do this for me daily. Just a simple "Thanks for your stay" goes a long way for future guests.  BUT when it comes to responding to the bad reviews... This is where you get to shine.  Spend an hour or two cultivating this response to really nail the bad guest. Don't respond right away when you're dealing with the initial upset. Don't wait too long or you'll forget because you're too busy analyzing the next property. 

I'm sure there are other excellent reasons and this is a forum so I'd love to hear yours -but I've got to get out the door for my morning run. After I respond to this 2 star real with terrible grammar.  

Happy Renting! 

@Parker H Matson building is going to take forever and involve way more details id forget about that idea and just do a second home loan on a beach or up a mountain in an area that has proven cash flow.

You’re thinking too hard

I want to know more about the Snowbird part of the equation. If you like Florida just move there. No reason to be stuck on the part time idea. Life is short. 

The hardest part of life is figuring out what you want. You want out of Michigan. Just go. Family is over rated. We can be neighbors. Sometimes. 

Hum. So you want to fund a project you have no experience with and you've got no way to personally back it? Sounds like this one is going to be a tough gig. 

ANYHOW... It'll be a lot like funding a long term rental new construction. 

BiggerPockets #364

 Another vote for Dave Foster