All Forum Posts by: Michael Greenberg

Hi Angus,

As @Jon Crosby indicated I do have properties in Arizona, residing in Colorado.  It is a "learn by fire hose" business but it can be done.  My requirements are to be within a 2 hour flight of where my properties are located.  I have a great cleaning crew, an emergency handyman, and have sourced the usual other resources necessary over the past 3 years.  One of the first things I do before even considering furnishings, is update the utilities that are bound to fail, especially if they are old.  Water heaters, A/C, Laundry, Appliances, etc...  If they are old, get them out.  It will save you money and aggravation in the long run.  I am also looking to rip out all of my carpet from all of them.  Guests drag their dirty suitcases and walk with dirty shoes without regard (no matter how much you ask them to not do so).  You'll spend more maintaining your carpet than just replacing it.  As soon as low season hits this summer, it's out and I'm going with laminate or tile in all of them.  As for furnishings, I am lucky enough to have a huge furniture store here in CO and can have it delivered in AZ.  I measure each room carefully, then pick out the items I need.  Don't skimp on beds, guests rave about comfortable beds in their reviews.  I am also fortunate enough to have a designer friend who will help me put a nice touch on my places just for having them join us for a long weekend.  We spend a day running around buying the items, then they leave, I stay and arrange them all as she instructed.  I currently have 5 properties (one not ready yet), and travel about 4-5 times per year to check on things and inspect.  Hope that helps.

Mike

Hi Marc,

I use BeyondPricing during the off season and then self manage during high season.  Have you checked out VRBO's new Marketplace feed?  It's a little clunky still but it has already helped me launch bookings on a new property I just added to my portfolio, and at a higher rate than I would have listed in the first place.  I believe they have a vision and strategy that might differentiate them from Airbnb (instead of trying to be Airbnb).  That aside, @Luke Carl is a rock star managing 6 remotely, I currently have 5 and my phone chirps a lot so I'm considering other options as well.  Thanks for the update @Jon Crosby on Evolve - good stuff but not sure what I could do with my days - LOL!  @JJ King I was also going to engage Guesty and I've also heard good rumblings about Orbirental.  I have yet to see one tool that can do it all, pricing, communication, management, financial, calendaring, cleaning management, and all the other little things this crazy business requires.  

Best of luck and welcome to the mayhem.

Mike

75% Occupancy across (3) properties for 2017

Thanks @Jon Crosby and good points from @Paul Sandhu and @Phillip Bicker. Yes, I'm a Colorado fan like Phillip but my experience with CO doesn't extend to Colorado Springs. I know the rules and regs of the Denver Metro area are not favorable to STR's (why I'm not invested here) but I'm not sure about Colorado Springs. My initial thoughts are: "Wow, those are very different locations to live". I wouldn't say the Springs are "emerging" since they've been emerging for the past 25 years and have yet to emerge :-). However as Jon indicated, your margins will be higher and certainly your cost of living is a LOT less. If these were my two choices, I would likely pick the Springs as I am focused on cash / margin / cost. If it were about lifestyle, weather, and occupancy I would head to the Islands.

Hope that helps, keep us posted on what you decide or if you have any additional questions.

Mike

That is a super broad question Michael.  I would take a look at @Jon Crosby's app called Click2Flip and start there.  Vacation rentals is NOT what it appears to be, it's hard work and takes time to learn the business.  if you want to really commit yourself to this model, dig in and drink from the fire hose as there is a LOT of devil in the detail to get yourself dialed in.  It's not a passive business, it's an active business which can be fruitful for the few, painful for most.  Your profile photo of wearing a life preserver is perfect for this business :-)

Best of luck and we're are all here to help.

Mike

@Charles Kennedy I don't use WIFI connected locks, not yet anyway.  I  use electronic keypad and rotate combinations between guest stays, then change them about once a quarter.  Never had an issue.  Keys become an issue when you have more than a few properties.  I do use WIFI thermostats (NEST and Sensi) as my summer season is VERY hot and EXPENSIVE for utilities.  I can make sure to adjust and lock the thermostats remotely.  You can use tools like Everbooked, beyondpricing, or wheelhouse if you're concerned about missing event opportunities, though none of them are perfect.  I've also started using Homeaway's Market Maker tools for pricing and adjust just nearly every day.  Part of the business and if you're "in the business" and it's not a "hobby" it has to be a daily duty.

I agree with @Luke Carl, no need for a management company especially if you're covering everything that you listed. What are you paying for? Reservation management? Get some electronic door locks, find a cleaner on Nextdoor and spend about 10 minutes a day per property adjusting pricing and managing cleaning schedules. Or, you can even off-load these duties for far less without a management company. Don't forget HOA's (can't stand them). All of these things you should be able to get historical data or be able to estimate very closely.

@John Underwood I knew you would weigh in and interesting comments and would be even more interesting to learn more about their road map for future development.

@William Leahy to your point, I don't disagree, HA is on the heels of Airbnb but as John indicated, how can we turn a deaf ear to higher returns?  That said, it appears that Airbnb is becoming stronger in your market, while weaker in mine.  Had you asked me a year ago that I would be in HA's camp I would have said "no".  But something has changed and it hasn't been my listings, reviews, photos, etc....  

Both players concern me and I believe we will always be looking over our shoulder as long as we are beholden to them.  The good thing is that they both exist and are formidable competitors.  

Thanks for weighing in!

Mike

For those of you that are proponents of VRBO / HomeAway (including me), and have worked with their new toolset, what is your opinion?  Personally, I am testing it and it seems to work very well and provides some very relevant information and help.  So what's the "gotchya" I ask myself?  My obvious thought is price erosion of our market.  While it's nice to know the details of a competitive landscape, could they be providing too much information and creating a commoditized marketplace?

On the flip side, is this in response to Airbnb's tools?  Are the rumors true about Airbnb, that your rankings suffer if you're listed on other sites?  My gut is telling me yes and yes to both.  I've seen a spike in VRBO/HA requests and bookings - including higher rates and returns - far too great to ignore.   in turn my Airbnb has gone a little silent and my rankings are down for no apparent reason.

Let me hear you BP community.  

Thanks,

Mike

First of all Aaron, thanks for your service!

I too would like to find a solution to this and I know others that would as well.  I've been analyzing tools to do some of this automated work, email, follow up, cleaning schedules, but there are times as you mentioned when human intervention is a must.  I would be curious to hear additional responses from other BP members.  My biggest concern is having an individual I trust to respond as I would.

Mike