All Forum Posts by: Michael Greenberg

@Teddy Smith I agree, do your homework, however I am receiving north of 40% returns per annum, that's after ALL expenses.   @Aaron S. I have a good friend who owns and operates rentals in Pensacola and is doing quite well.  If you private message me I can send you his contact information.  He's a seasoned veteran and I'm sure would be happy to chat with you.

Airdna.co (not .com) but buy their raw data, not the report, by zipcode(s).  You can then sort it a number of ways.  Worth the every penny!  Then take that data and find your top 10 or so competitors and their rates & occupancy.  Then run a cash over cash analysis to find your monthly mortgage nut, factor in furnishing, cleaning, maintenance etc... Happy to send you a small spreadsheet I created to do this, just PM me.

Yes, pathetic that I don't know my design styles @James Carlson.  Please forgive me - LOL!  I spent $13k on a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath condo that sleeps 10 and $10k on a 2 bedroom 2 bath that sleeps 6.  That's  inclusive of all furnishings, linens, kitchen stocking, patio furniture, etc...   

@Michael Rutkowski  It's been about two months Michael.  I'm just ignoring them now because I've replied multiple times.  It's not a lot of money but it's the principal of the matter.  I think they tried to fit their hotel peg in the vacation rental hole - doesn't fit and they've got significant work to do.  

@Tim Bergstrom Shaby chic?  That's a new one to me.  I'm a believer that good quality, not great pays off and since your first impression (photos) are going to differentiate you from the pack, I would spend a few extra bucks to make it pop.  The other thing is that many of the "staging" items I have in my listings (flowers, books, magazines, vases) were things I borrowed for the photo shoot.  No one remembers exactly what the photos look like, but they do recognize the space, and likely the furniture.  I didn't skimp on beds because guests like good beds and bedding (Amazon Basics is inexpensive, holds up and is very comfortable).  I have consistent rave reviews about the beds - that's HUGE for future guests.  Same goes for decent towels, but I view them as basically disposable and replace them at least once a year.  I found a LOT of good pieces of furniture and furnished my entire kitchen at IKEA (if you're willing to assemble).  We all know how affordable it is but it may not be the look you are going for.  I also found furniture and some cool inexpensive "art" pieces at a place called American Furniture Warehouse but I don't think they are in your neck of the woods.  I've also been through a store called Nebraska Furniture Mart a number of years ago and I believe they are expanding into other states, just now sure about Tennessee.  

@Tim Bergstrom I think a lot has to do with where your places are located, the vibe you are trying to create and the desired demographics of your guests. Can you share a bit more about the location of your STR's?

@Phillip Vaughan Yes you can.  Follow this link for instructions and select Add using a link.  You'll need to create a Google account first.

https://goo.gl/mMBoqD

Michael, you couldn't have written a better description!  Their fees are exorbitant, their support horrific and their platform has a lot left to be desired.  They also provide no information or details about the guest.  I also had issues with their calendar sync and two reservations had double booked and a third never paid.  However, they continue to send me an invoice for these reservations - which I am refusing to pay.  I have since terminated my listings.  It's unfortunate because they are very big and there was a lot of activity, but they need to iron things out.  Besides that and what you described, they're perfect (Ugh!)

I use Google Calendar to consolidate them into one view.  I've never experienced a delay nor had a double booking because of this.  

Hi Neil,

I use both sites and Airbnb gets the majority of my bookings.  VRBO has changed their fees and I'm not a fan of how they go about their business, but it has worked well - mostly for longer term guests.  I recently posted this message for another group of private investors....  My thoughts are consistent with some of yours....  And I think all "channels" put us at risk....  Would love to hear your thoughts....

"1. Airbnb's recent announcement and acquisitions are placing them too close to what I believe are MY guests. I view Airbnb as a marketing tool to bring me guests and once they are MY guests I want to own that relationships and provide additional offerings. Post reservation I capture my guests information and market to them, but so does Airbnb. Who do you think owns the Guest?
2. Pricing, pricing, pricing. Third party apps promising higher rates but I've tried BeyondPricing and Wheelhouse - not a worthwhile gain. I purchase Airdna data on occasion - seems to be a good tool but heavy lifting to sort through it all. houghts? Ideas?
3. Where else do you market your properties? I use HomeAway/VRBO and they have brought me many of my longer stay clients, but IMHO their fees are excessive and they have no clear direction. I still get stronger bookings with Airbnb. HomeAway's recent announcements concern me as well - they are removing contact information from OUR view. I tried Booking.com - weak interface and really poor customer service. They're huge but I feel like I need to take a shower after dealing with them. I used TripAdvisor as well - wasted effort.
4. How do you feel about building your own brand? Is this a worthwhile investment? I've build thejetsethost.com but scratching my head on pushing forward with more effort and expense to really build out a marketing plant. 

OK, that's probably a bit much for now but would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, suggestions, frustrations, etc...."