All Forum Posts by: Ken Boone

 Maybe it’s location based but I am in 100% agreement with @John Underwood s take on VRBO and Airbnb. 

I put a tcl Roku tv in every room. They are cheap and gives guests options while they are staying.  You don’t have to but I do and would recommend it. 

In my market it is not uncommon for guests to ask for a discount.  Some of them are simply savvy shoppers in which case their thinking is - it doesn't hurt to ask, and in other cases, they are just cheap.

It is not uncommon for guests to ask if we provide military discounts, senior discounts, first responder discounts, last minute booking discounts, etc..

So the asking doesn't bother me and you can choose to answer however you want.

If the guests is what I call the cheap guests then it is a problem.  They don't want to pay your price, they don't get the discount but they think they are still entitled to stay at your place at a discount.  They book at full price anyway and then nit pick away at every little thing they can find to complain about the cleanliness, condition, etc.. about your place, in hopes of getting a big discount back either from you OR form complaint to the OTA.

The first thing I do is acknowledge their issue and then let them know I will send someone over to take care of it.  What I have found is that if it is a legitimate issue, then they will say yes that will be great.  If it is not legitimate and they are just trying to milk you for a free or discounted visit, they will say they are trying to take a nice relaxing vacation and have had enough problems since they got there and they don't want to be bothered.  - In other words they are lying and don't want you to send someone over to see that they are lying, and that they snuck a dog in there, and that they have been smoking in your place etc.  Never give a discount without having someone go onsite to either attempt to resolve the issue or at least verify that there really is an issue.

If the guest doesn't get what they want they threaten with a bad review.    If I detect I have a bad guest I will offer a discount if they check out that day because I want them out of my property.  However, they don't ever take this offer, because it really isn't as bad as they claimed.

Odds are, they will give you a bad review but if you do a good job keeping everything good at your place, your 5 star reviews will outshine a lone bad review that will obviously be very different from all your other reviews and people can spot that kind of stuff when they read them.

Fortunately these types of guests are few and far between, but they do show up from time to time.  Hope things end up working out for you.

Right on the money! 

 The main panel goes out. It’s like $150 to replace.  Pumps motor dies.  Several hundred.  Leaks might occur. Repair sub $100.   Heating element needs to be replaced.  Sub $100. That is what is typical and it happens every now and then. I mean a hot tub is nothing but a shell a pump a heater and pipes.  That’s it. 

Wow. I am on the same path you are on.  Renovation now due to my frozen pipes from  Christmas Eve.  My insurance company told me that once we are finished with all repairs they want me to submit what last years income was for that same time frame to provide them a basis of how much lost income they will cover for me.  So not sure yet how that will turn out but that sounds much different than what you are hearing from your ins company. 

 I get it, but in our market they are used by just about every guest and they are drained and cleaned after every guest.  And in our market it is a must have amenity.

So let me put this out there about warranties and Rentals.  Many times they are not worth having.  Let me explain. Hot tub is a main amenity.  It’s in your listing guests expect it.  Let’s say the motor dies in 6 months under warranty.  You have a week stay booked for the following day.  Local shop can get a new motor installed same day but it’s gonna cost.  The warranty option is gonna take 3 weeks. What are you gonna do?   Pay to put the new motor in, at least that is what I would do which means my warranty didn’t help out a whole lot.  Just something to think about. 

 I wouldn't be too concerned in that situation then, however, you can get a brand new Dr Wellness X-3 Spa that is a 6 seater with 51 jets brand new for $4699.. right up the road in Johnson City.  Of course you have tax and shipping and setup to deal with.. But that is brand new with warranty.