All Forum Posts by: Matt Mertz

First cabin we built in 2021, all-in including land, construction and furnishings was $286/sq ft.  No way we can build the same thing today.

We're grateful we built the big one first and can still build a small one.  It's our only 2 properties in the Smokies and we're hoping it will bookend both ends of that market.

I think the greatest advantage of building is that you can custom build something that stands out from the competition, which is becoming increasingly more important.  The Smokies is a great market for that because there's a large inventory of cabins that look the same.

We built one cabin in 2021 (sleeps 16) on a burn lot and it's doing great. We purposely designed it for STR life.

We're building another cabin now on another burn lot (1 bedroom) and we have hopes that it will appeal to couples.  That's clocking at about $386/sq ft but it's small and has a giant deck on it.  Some trades charge a minimum for their work despite the small size of the house.  So probably not the best metric to estimate other builds.

There are other cabins in the neighborhood but I think we stand out so I hope that helps when we go live.

October looking pretty good but November and December still lagging.  Thanksgiving and Christmas not booked yet.  We still have time.

This year has been tracking like the prior 3 years, except for Jan/Feb 2025 which was absolutely brutal which we attribute to the snowy weather.

September is very light but historically that's been a problem for us.

We're netting almost 20k on our SFH 3bed/2bath (advertised as 4bed) in Pflugerville (just outside Austin). It's an MTR renting for $3200/mo but it has no mortgage. We're happy but illustrates how tough it is to turn a profit. Property taxes are the highest expense for us in TX.

Genuinely interested in your experience being on 15+ platforms.  We're on Airbnb, VRBO and our own direct booking site.  We're considering booking.com.  What has your experience been on multiple platforms?  Surely there must be a point of diminishing returns on the smaller ones.

Thanks for the info @Yitzchok Carmen.

Honestly there's a few factors that make security deposits good for us:

1. When we started, the second guest we had deliberately scratched and ruined all the pots and pans in the cabin.  Airbnb denied the claim and said it was normal wear.  That was a very disappointing and eye opening start with Aircover.

2. We custom built the house.  Lots of love and time went into it so we're protective.

3. We don't have to sweat guests with no reviews.  My answer to my wife is always, "We have a security deposit."

4. I think people tend to behave when they know there's a deposit on the line.

What you're saying is encouraging, and I hope the trade off to removing our security deposit will be more bookings.  Perhaps some people are scared off by it.  But then you wonder why are they scared off by it?  Anyways, we'll continue to adapt and I appreciate your perspective.

We didn't build a community but we built one cabin.  This worked because it was on a lot with an amazing view of the Smokies.  And we purposefully designed the house to be a great stay for families and to stand out a bit from the competition.  So far so good.

I recently heard some investors switching to the community model in order to classify the whole property as a commercial business.  For example, if you try to sell a little cabin that crushed on rental income as residential real estate, your comps are important, not the revenue generated by the property.  However if you try to sell your entire tiny-homes-in-the-mountains vacation community, you can price it based on its revenue. 

One of our common charges is shipping and handling of items mailed back to guests.  But those are variable based on postage, so hopefully Airbnb won't have a problem with an open-ended amount in the "optional add-ons" in our listing.

We'll have to go through a list of every odd charge we ever made and make sure it's represented as an optional add-on.

Regarding security deposits, our contingency plan was to offer a guest insurance add-on through our PMS (OwnerRez).  But that won't work either since that payment isn't handled through Airbnb's resolution center.

Just got an email from Airbnb and everything looked fine until I got here:

"Security deposits can no longer be collected, with limited exceptions."

Ouch.  We use security deposits for peace of mind because when we started, Aircover denied us on deliberate damage by the second guest we hosted.  Not a great starting experience.  

Today, we don't even care if a guest has no reviews because the deposit is there.  We believe it enforces mindfulness from the guest and it's been great for us.  Guess we'll need to figure something else out.

The rest of the changes:

• Mandatory fees that guests need to pay, such as utilities, pet fees, and resort fees, must be included in the nightly price or “Additional Charges” in your calendar’s price settings.
• Any mandatory fees not included in a listing’s total price at checkout are no longer allowed.
• Optional add-ons, like paid parking, can be offered to guests but must be stated in listing description or house rules and processed through the Resolution Center.
• Any reservation changes, such as dates or number of guests, must be made directly to the booking by selecting “Change reservation” in the reservations details page.
• Security deposits can no longer be collected, with limited exceptions. To address damage or accidents that happen during a stay, Airbnb offers top-to-bottom protection through AirCover For Hosts.
• Payments for all fees must be processed through Airbnb with limited exceptions.

We were 50/50 Airbnb and VRBO for the first three years.  So far 2025 we are 100% Airbnb which makes us pretty nervous.  We're 1% cheaper on VRBO.  Not sure how to correct this.  We are in the Smokies market.