All Forum Posts by: Sarah Kensinger

We operate in the Hocking Hills area so feel free to reach out if you have any questions! 

On the regulations aspect it depends on what county you're in. Hocking County only requires a tax registration and then 6% of all booking revenue is paid to the county at the end of the month. Your property is probably in Vinton County, so I'm not sure what is required there. It could be similar to Hocking County or have nothing at all and be unregulated. You're in luck though, because we have a new client in the same county and I'm about to dig into county regulations next week, so I can pass on what I find out to you.

Quote from @Jack Lindstrom:

Quote from @Sarah Kensinger:

@Andrew Steffens answer is the best way to handle payments from clients. You don't want a fixed rate retainer because depending on the seasonality of a property, you could be under cutting yourself and then other months overcharging the client. Cleaning fees are a pass through from the guest, so you would be receiving the payment from the guest within a short time after check-in and then you can directly pay the cleaner with the cleaning fee you received. There shouldn't be a need to pay a whole month's worth of fees, before you have the cleaning fees in hand. 

 Hi Sarah, 

Yes that is what I have been doing with the two properties listed on Airbnb. My concern is I can't figure out how to get those instant cleaning fees for bookings on sites like Vrbo and booking.com. Once I integrate to a channel manager like Hostaway, how do I collect the fees from Vrbo & booking.com? 

Airbnb is straightforward because I get the automatic payments. I am unclear how to proceed with the other two platforms. Thank in advance for any insight!!!

Oh yes, you need to become the merchant on record. Lynnbrook is a great option since they understand and were built for STR hosts. Stripe is ok but has been a complete headache the last year holding payouts, etc. But Lynnbrook would handle your money just like Airbnb would and payouts come within 2 days of check-in. But it would be your responsibility to make sure the guest has paid in full before check-in.

You need to create a "money listing"! What you're experiencing is the new listing boost and then drop after that boost is over. If you want a good example of a "money listing" DM me. 

To maintain a listing, one of the following should be done once a week. Just pick a day and every week that's the day you work on listings.

~Change hero (first) photo and rearraign photos

~Change title

~Change up description, even if you just trade a sentence or two around.

~Adjust pricing...this can really help!

~Learn the best SEO keywords for your area and change as needed. Best place for this is Rankbreeze, and then you can also keep an eye on where the listing is ranking on Airbnb.

~Add or take off promotional offers for guests....like book a weeknight for a $10 coffee gift card, etc.

Really the options for changing up a listing are endless, but there's a few ideas. And I would also agree it would be worth the hundreds to hire a professional architectural style photographer, with a splash of lifestyle to take photos. That style is the best to capture a STR due to the wide-angle shots to give guests a feel for the home, and then also detail shots to give them a feel for what they could experience at the property.

Quote from @Tim Mahoney:

The owner would potentially be taking the property away from me.

It all depends on your contract with them. If possible, finish the bookings or have the owner call the guests to cancel and rebook on their listing. If your contract states the percentage you get from future bookings...usually it's 10%...take that and have the owner move all bookings to their listing.

If you don't have a contract, I'm not sure what to suggest except to split ways peaceable, even if you lose money. And from this time forward, use a good contract for all other clients. 

Start by checking into regulations. Those alone can kill a market idea any investor has! 

NYC has pretty much banned STR, but there may be some nearby areas you could check into.

@Andrew Steffens answer is the best way to handle payments from clients. You don't want a fixed rate retainer because depending on the seasonality of a property, you could be under cutting yourself and then other months overcharging the client. Cleaning fees are a pass through from the guest, so you would be receiving the payment from the guest within a short time after check-in and then you can directly pay the cleaner with the cleaning fee you received. There shouldn't be a need to pay a whole month's worth of fees, before you have the cleaning fees in hand. 

I think gym equipment in the property would be more of an interest than a membership. But you would want to evaluate the guest avatar your property draws, to decide if a guest would even be someone that uses gym equipment/membership.

This new post would be very helpful for you to read....

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/530/topics/1191880-how-...

So long as most of the bookings come from VRBO or Airbnb the data is pretty close! But for those listed on other sites as well as Airbnb and VRBO it can be a little off. I have found that those with the proper knowledge in how the software works, and of course know how to use the software, would agree with your post, including myself! 

Where are you drawn too and where can you see yourself visiting? Answering those questions is an excellent start to where an investor should purchase a STR!