All Forum Posts by: Theresa Holl

Great points by Chad. I think you're better off doing STR if you know how to put a plan in place. You might want to start by running some numbers on AirDNA and checking how local hotels do on Hotstats.com. Those are some of my favorites. Also, if you do elect to allow someone to do arbitrage, get decent legal help first with any contracts.

Definitely get comfortable with the tech stack. Also know that changing your PMS is a huge pain so buy with the future in mind.  Here are a few automation tools to consider:

Smartbnb. It is an all-in-one solution that can help you automate your guest communication, reviews, and syncing calendars across different platforms. With Smartbnb, you can create automated messages to greet your guests, manage your reviews, and even synchronize your prices with market demand. It also offers a unified inbox that aggregates all your messages from different platforms in one place. This saves you time and helps you provide better customer service.

NoiseAware: NoiseAware is a smart monitoring solution that helps you protect your property from parties and excessive noise. It is an excellent tool for managing multiple properties since it can monitor all of them from a single dashboard. With NoiseAware, you can set custom noise thresholds and get real-time alerts when there's a potential issue. This feature helps you keep your guests happy and your neighbors even happier.

BeyondPricing: BeyondPricing is a dynamic pricing tool that helps you optimize your rental income. With BeyondPricing, you can set custom pricing rules that adjust according to market demand, seasonal trends, and your competition. This tool can save you time and eliminate the need for manual pricing adjustments. It also offers analytics that can help you track your rental income and adjust your strategy accordingly.

Properly: Properly is a smart cleaning and turnover management tool that can help you streamline your cleaning process. With Properly, you can create and manage checklists for your cleaning staff, get alerts when a cleaning job is complete, and even schedule cleaning appointments. This tool can save you time, reduce the chances of errors, and help you maintain a high standard of hygiene in your rental.

Your Porter: Your Porter is a smart guest management tool that offers various features to improve your rental efficiency. With Your Porter, you can automate your guest communication, manage your bookings, and even create customized guest guides. It also offers integration with various platforms such as Airbnb, Booking.com, and HomeAway. This feature helps you save time and manage all your rentals from one dashboard

Check these out too

Booking Website Builders

• Hosty is most recommended by homeowners
• Wix and WordPress are good if you have a bit more experience or tech know-how
• Notable Mentions: LiveRez, Lodgify, Lodgix, Wix, Guesty

Content Creation

• Canva is great to make a consistent post template or text overlay with property website. Also where I make most of the blog post title images.
• Social Pilot is great for scheduling your posts
• Jasper is great for creating blog posts
• Apollo is great for creating cold emails for your blog posts- shoot for retreats, wedding planners, event coordinators, local traffic, etc

Accounting Software

• REI Hub is a smaller company with great customer service, best for 2-20 home range
• FutureStay and Bookerville are a bit more all-in-one, but great tools

Thermostat and chargers

• Nest is great for remote control of the settings, even if just to turn off between guests or alerts for certain temps
• Thermostat locking containers- some like this. Or if you have charger theft issues, can lock remotely. 

Digital Welcome book/ Guide book

• Hostfully all the way.
• Have a comments book physically available (coffee book style) for guests to write their own recommendations and favorite things
• Have a physical book when can, photo albums and scrapbooks work great.

Managing your Maids and Handymen

• Breezeway hands down. Love em.

Booking Website Builders

• Hosty is most recommended by homeowners
• Wix and WordPress are good if you have a bit more experience or tech know-how
• Notable Mentions: LiveRez, Lodgify, Lodgix, Wix, Guesty

Content Creation

• Canva is great to make a consistent post template or text overlay with property website. 
• Social Pilot is great for scheduling your posts
• Jasper is great for creating blog posts
• Apollo is great for creating cold emails for your blog posts- shoot for retreats, wedding planners, event coordinators, local traffic, etc

Accounting Software

• REI Hub is a smaller company with great customer service, best for 2-20 home range
• FutureStay and Bookerville are a bit more all-in-one, but great tools

Thermostat and chargers

• Nest is great for remote control of the settings, even if just to turn off between guests or alerts for certain temps
• Thermostat locking containers- some like this. Or if you have charger theft issues, can lock them as well.

Advertising and Social media 

• Find local city Facebook groups and promote your stay with specials and giveaways
• Boost posts, have off-day promos for influencers to pop in, share blogs on city highlights that link back to your booking site

Digital Welcome book/ Guide book

• Hostfully all the way.
• Have a comments book physically available (coffee book style) for guests to write their own recommendations and favorite things
• Have a physical book when can, photo albums and scrapbooks work great.

Managing your Maids and Handymen

• Breezeway hands down. Love em.

Channel Mgr and direct booking site for sure.  There are tons of benefits to doing it this way.  Convenience, growing your own brand, security (you can get suspended from the big players for bad reviews or even shadowbanned), and last but not least: data! With your own site and channel Mgr you can learn about your guests. Who are they? Where are they from? Demographics, etc... With that insight, you can run targeted ads to attract your ideal guest, which means they'll be happier and give better reviews.  

The fact that Airbnb is actively promoting your competition to your potential guests should make you pause. :o

https://www.getfloorspace.com/best-vacation-rental-channel-managers/

Hi Connor - here is one you didn't mention.  

Maybe check out Smartbnb. It is an all-in-one solution that can help you automate your guest communication, reviews, and syncing calendars across different platforms. With Smartbnb, you can create automated messages to greet your guests, manage your reviews, and even synchronize your prices with market demand. It also offers a unified inbox that aggregates all your messages from different platforms in one place. This saves you time and helps you provide better customer service.  Good luck! 

Have you checked the specific region you've got in mind on Airdna and Hotstats.com? These are some of my favorite resources and objective data often paints a different picture than anecdotes do. Best of luck!

Have you checked the specific region you've got in mind on Airdna and Hotstats.com?  These are some of my favorite resources and objective data often paints a different picture than anecdotes do.  Best of luck!

Another way to stand out is to include outstanding drone footage with the photography.  It can make a big psychological impact when you're up against a million listings with the same old real estate photography.  I have a friend who's pretty good, if anyone wants his info, give me a shout.

Have you thought about building your own brand? It reduces the dependence on airbnb and you can better maximize profits. I would also set up smart pricing and a personal booking site to help manage the multiple channels (Airbnb, vrbo, etc). That way, when you run ads on google, you get the traffic straight to your website (without competitor recommendations!). I also try to get the info from the guests with an in-house guestbook to stay in touch for future stays. Some other options include Facebook ads, instagram giveaways, booking affiliate marketers to take and share content of your place when you have in-between days left unbooked. 

Prioritize guest experience over getting stuck in a race to the bottom with pricing.  

Basically, getting a mentor or hiring an STR marketing firm (even if just for some consulting hours) is going to be the fastest route to success! Best of luck!