All Forum Posts by: Luke Carl

This is a small community of jaded (maybe thats just me) VR hosts. No one on here is going to have a cleaner for you unless they happen to be in business in your area which isn't likely....

Here's what I did in my market and it worked for me!  

When I was first starting out I went on Airbnb and found properties that are near mine (or where I thought mine would end up being because I didn't have one yet) that appear they might be self managed (self managed is difficult to find in my market so look closely). Find as many self managers as possible and cut and paste them all the same message. 

"Hello I'm new to this market and looking to dive in to my first vacation rental (in my case cabins in the smoky mountains near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge) I'd love to pick your brain about this and get some insider information from a pro such as yourself. Feel free to write me back here or555 ring55 me55 any55 time. (You have to get sneaky when sending a phone number because it's not allowed. In this case you're not trying to make deals one the side and take money away from the platform so I wouldn't worry bout it)"

I probably wouldn't ask them about a housekeeper right out of the gate because you're less likely to get a reply. "Oh this dude just want to steal my systems why should I waste my time" 

Send this message to 50 hosts and hope you can get 2 on the phone. Then ask them 100 questions and earn their respect as a local guru. You'll need their knowledge to make you business better. 

If you're lucky you'll walk away with a couple of phone numbers. Maybe a handyman. Maybe a cleaning person. It will likely be a cleaning person that the host didn't see fit to use themselves but why not give them to you, you're new after all. 

Over time, through networking, you'll build your crew. Your first cleaner probably won't last long and that's fine. Just keep an eye on your business and listen to your guests. "Hello! We've just hired a new housekeeper please don't hesitate to tell us if you see one speck of dust or dirt" . I send this message to guests in cabins that I've had the same cleaner for a long time. I take the guests response with a grain of salt but when you're managing from afar you have to get creative. 

This method also works when it comes to review side of things. If an OCD guest was thinking about dinging me because they saw some dust in a corner, the new housekeeper bit gets it out of their system before they even get to the review. Instead of no communication for the duration of their stay and a review that says "4 Stars. There was dust in the corner" the person will write me back on the app and say "We did notice some dust in the corner but it doesn't bother us". Then I can say "Oh my goodness which corner?! I'll make sure housekeeping is promptly aware of this situation!" I would then Screen shot the app message to my housekeeper at which point she would be mortified because she's good at her job and I've solved several problems in a matter of minutes. All this being said I wouldn't drop this message on every guest. Most guests just want to be left alone. If you get one that's chatty I'd try this on them and see what you think. 

Turn 4 star reviews in to 5 star reviews before they even happen. That's how you make it in this business.  Psychology. Keeping in mind that dust in the corner is not acceptable and you shouldn't get 5 stars if this is the case... I'm simply saying that you have to keep on top of everyone including your housekeeper and your guests. 

I got off on a tangent as I usually do but to continue with my original story...... my exterminator has a person for everything. If I need someone to do a job for me and I don't already have someone that does that job, I can call him and he'll have someone out to my property in an hour. I no longer use this method because his guys/gals tend to over charge big time and I've got my own guys/gals at this point. But he's still a great bug guy and I have him on a monthly rotation. 

Again..... all of this is specific to my market and specific to someone managing from a distance. In your market perhaps you can just go on craigslist or next door. If you do that in my market you're going to get burned big time. My market doesn't even have a next door yet. 

Of course if you're getting in to my market.... you just call me. Because I have everything you need and I love sharing it with other people and I'll talk your ear off for hours. That's one of the many reasons Avery Carl's phone never stops ringing with new clients. Of course you could just ask her about this stuff in my market she's easier to talk to than me. 

So.... Find yourself a local guru and you'll be well on your way! 

Update. I took the high road and messaged the guest about the floors and included a picture of the damage. He denied it. 

It's been 3 days. I'm guessing he won't leave a review and I'll just move on. With my gorgeous floors scratched to crap by some idiot I tried to deny in the first place. 

Welcome to the wonder world of vacation rentals! 

Well. I sent him a message trying to take the high road. I asked him if his suit case wheels were broken perhaps. He said no. Which is the first time he’s responded to me in several messages. The plot thickens. This is an AirBnB. We had a situation when he checked in with a swimsuit from the guest before left behind the bathroom door cleaners didn’t see it. They rushed over and removed it and I refunded him $50. Keep in mind this was a $200 reservation so I’m losing money. On initial contact I denied him because he could not figure out the platform and asked 20 stupid questions and I could tell he wasn’t worth it. After I denied he figured out how to instant book. So I’m opening myself up to a 1 star review here. I hate that AirBnB holds the reviews over my head. “You got a bad review because you had a crappy guest? We’re taking away your super host” Even if I walk away from the $200 (which is what everyone I’ve talked to agreed should be the number) he can still kill me on the review and I’m left losing money with damaged floors.

Hello super hosts. Had a guest check out today and the scratched the crap out of my gorgeous hard wood floors with what looks like broken wheels on a suitcase if I had to guess. Do I file a claim for this or is this what I get for not having fake floors? How much would you charge? No way to fix it without refinishing the whole place I’m guessing. What do you do in this situation?

I use iPhone to manage my vacation rentals. It cost me $1100 up front but it gets the job done with just a few clicks a day. It currently manages 5 vacation rentals while I also have a full time job. 

This question is asked several times per month and my answer will always be the same. Do it yourself! Otherwise you'll lose money. 

Good luck! Happy to talk to you about self management should you choose that long and winding road to early retirement! 

Airbnb is the best platform. Hands down. VRBO does a few things better than AirBnB such as allowing you do upload a rental agreement and charge the guest occupancy and sales tax (the sales tax situation is going to bite airbnb in the butt before too long). I can't get behind the OP because to me tripadvisor is a total joke and waste of time. 

It really boils down to whichever platform works best for you and where you make the most money. Some people are airbnb people some people (usually older in my market) are VRBO people. We use both and airbnb used to smoke VRBO until recently as far as bookings but these days it's closer to 50/50. VRBO is spending money on marketing and it's working. 

Anyone can "Co-Host" on Airbnb without a license. (VRBO does not offer this). 

If you are touching the money or it's passing through your bank accounts.... you have to have all sorts of permits and licenses as per your state regulations. 

@John Underwood Here's an interesting article about claiming under 7 day rentals on schedule C but not paying self employment tax if you don't provide services. 

Everyone seems to have a different answer to this question. 

click here

Tim Schroeder I have 5 and I’m very happy with my numbers! Don’t over think it just dive in. You’ll be on to your next one before you know it. Also.... don’t spend too much time looking at the rental history in this market. I’ve been able to increase their numbers anywhere from 10 to 60% It’s not such a PITA I do 5 with a day job. Working on a 6th!

@Cosmo Iannopollo I’m always happy to hop on a call and run you everything I do and know. DM me