All Forum Posts by: Michael Greenberg

I've had both NEST and Sensi thermostats.  The NEST works well because it senses when people are not home and you can also lock min/max temps.  The Sensi is a little more basic but I set a schedule for it to reset every 2 hours, so if a guest changes a setting manually, it reverts back after two hours.  I also put the minimum temp at 72, as I've seen guests in the past turn it all the way down to 50!  I recently setup a Google Calendar to email me daily so I can double check them remotely and adjust them accordingly, though this isn't working out very well as it's too much manual intervention.  My places are in Arizona and the highest I've seen is about $250 for month and I thought that was absurd.  You could also consider solar, I did but the power company requires a $50 monthly fee (yep pathetic) for "maintaining the infrastructure" and that kills the financial advantages.

@Sid Payne like to learn more about Intherma, costs and requirements?  Website looks VERY interesting.

Mike

The TV's are not the expense, the cable/satellite companies are the real monsters.  So here, is what I've done (so far) and it's not perfect but I'm crystal clear in my descriptions:

I spend a bit more for higher speed internet and have either ROKU TV's or ROKU connections to all of the TV's of which I have in all bedrooms and entertainment areas.  I have a family subscription to Netflix and provide it free to use for my guests.  In the past I have had guests requests local stations but it is VERY rare and I am not considering other streaming services that can provide local programming (HULU, YouTube TV, SLING, Directv Now, etc.... and will likely add the functionality to the TV's as well.  I advise my guests that they can use their own Directv, Dish, COX, Comcast account to enable other streaming functions if they desire.  I have never had a bad review because I didn't provide cable or dish service - likely because I describe what I do have available.

Mike

Similar to @Jon Crosby I think ADR's and hotel financial tracking and the like are over-rated.  As a multiple property owner/operator I'm not interested in what I like to call ANR, Average NET Rate.  Like the old adage "what we lose in profit, we'll make up in volume" makes no practical sense.  As a result, I do track ADR but only to use it to calculate ANR, which is my daily rate, less expenses (i.e.,  fees, cleaning, expendables, etc...).  It's not 100% precise as some of the smaller expenses vary, but it's pretty darn close.  These calc's provide me with some details as to how to price my rentals in following years, but other than that, they too are not of great value to me.  I think our industry needs a set of KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) of its own; asking ourselves "what are the most important items we need to track so we are as successful as we can be" and use these numbers as a benchmark for performance, comparing them with like minded owner/operators.   Food for thought.... and happy to discuss further.

Mike  

Hi Chris,

I do, PM me and I can send you the details. Two sisters that are excellent take care of all 4 (soon to be 5) of my places.

Mike

Amazon for 5% rebates and AMEX Everday Cash Card are my two go-to's.  

And why is it that the guest who pays the least demands the most and is rude?  Just recently I had a couple and their son stay in one of my places.  They stated it was unsanitary because the drains were slow.  I take all complaints very seriously and had my plumber clear all the drains from the main line (>$200), and they then complained about noises, smells, etc....  Never had anyone complain about these things.  I let them check out early and gave them $$$ back for the days they didn't stay.  He stated he was going to send me his healthcare bills for the unsanitary conditions.  What a nut job.  He filed a complaint with HA/VRBO (this was the only good experience about this guest as HA/VRBO had my back) and then posted a 1-star negative review.  Funny thing, I found them on FB posting photos of how great a time they were having.  Lucky that I have enough positive reviews that it hasn't affected my ratings much.  I stated the facts on my response.  

I have a friend doing this but he's not active on BP.  His name is Andy and you can find him on his website emeraldquarters (dot) com

@Sara Abernethy - one other to take a look at is Tokeet, but the bigger question to me is "how active vs. passive" do you want to be with this process?  If you want to remain active, then it can still be done manually.  If you're looking for a passive solution (or wanting to unload pieces of the process then technology is your solution.  Some of the solutions you mentioned are not management software, but only a piece of the solution.  

The ones I have heard of/tested are as follows:

Beyond Pricing, PriceLabs - are automated pricing tools

Lodgify - is strong in website development (if you want to drive direct bookings) but from what I viewed are not as strong in the management tools

YourPorter - Cleaner communication tool

OneRoofTop - decent tool set, heavy lifting, questionable sustainability

MyVR - expensive but decent tool set

Bookerville - their customers love them, their technology appears to be old school (so does their name)

I too am on the hunt for a solution because I want to become more passive, moving away from the daily grind of working "in" my business so I can work "on" my business.  Love to hear what you decide to do and why.

@Paul Sandhu - impressive

@Luke Carl - TMI

@Ethan Cooke - great tip

@Sid Payne - You're not the first to state the same, really like it with some learning curve

Another idea is that ABB will accept a GIF image, which is not really a video, but it can be a short movement.  From my understanding this has increased bookings for some hosts. 

@Tim Schroeder this is a good idea, but as you stated, tread lightly so as to not create an issue with ABB.  

Hi JP,

I am have been invested in STR's in Scottsdale for 4 years running now and it has been quite fruitful though the population of STR's has exploded. Competition is hot especially in the 1-2 bedroom condo's and I recently purchased two higher end homes that are not as price sensitive. That said, it is still a great market to invested in. If you want to connect with me and send me your email address I can send you some additional details on how my 2 bedrooms are fairing.

Kind Regards,

Mike