All Forum Posts by: Wendy Schultz
Wendy Schultz has started 10 posts and replied 333 times.
Post: Newbie with STR's can anyone help!
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
As others have said, STR is a different beast. It's expensive to get started and run. And if you are planning to manage this using automation and software, you would likely not receive the benefits from only one property. The economies of scale that make the software implementation, maintenance, and cost will only occur after managing multiple properties. If you are planning to manage just the one, I'd recommend going directly through the platforms. As @Lauren Havens said, outsourcing is a good option if this won't be your main focus.
Our company owns and manages STR's for ourselves and others. I have a free recorded webinar if you're interested in hearing a presentation I have been doing for various REIAs. It discusses which properties are more likely to succeed, how to get them set up, the things you'll need to do to get permits and licensing, mistakes to avoid, etc. Message me and I'd be happy to send it to you.
Post: Are you prepared to do what it take SURVIVE this business?
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
@Pat L. We haven't had that experience thankfully.
Post: Are you prepared to do what it take SURVIVE this business?
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
I don't have what it takes to evict.. That's why I do vacation rentals.
Post: Renting to friends ? Yes or no ?
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
It depends on the friend but I've had great luck with it. We do short term rentals though so it could be different if it was long term rentals.
Post: Outfitting an Airbnb; economics vs. convenience
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
I echo the sentiments of others. Short term rentals don't work in every market so do your research to see what will draw people to it. Also, if you're going to have to price it low and turn it a lot, it's not worth the work involved.
Post: Airbnb fights back against Boston!
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
There is so much rhetoric in comments made here but seems to be based in hear say and prejudice rather than fact. AirBnb may have started as a crash pad, couch surfing, frat party crowd but it is not that way now from my experience. Sure, there is still probably some of that out there but to say that as a blanket comment is purely out of touch with how it operates today. It's not a downgrade to the hotel experience. In many cases it's an upgrade. Half of my bookings come from AirBnb and they are families, couples, people with discretionary income paying over $200/night. These are folks seeking a different type of experience from a hotel and are not direct competitors to hotels. They want the comforts of home and this is just how they travel. Most of the time our guests are paying higher to us than a night in a hotel. I'm all for playing by the rules to make sure that it's safe for guests (health inspections), permitted, abiding by city ordinances, and paying room taxes and the sales tax that all the other industries have to pay. Rather than restricting they should be creating regulations around how AirBnb's can be operated within reasonable guidelines and then enforcing those guidelines. They should be looking to other municipalities that are doing this well. It's a good source of additional revenue if they let it be. This is especially true when demand for lodging is high (i.e. Boston Marathon). I spoke to our local REIA the other night about vacation rentals and one of the biggest things I run into is that people don't know they aren't operating legally. In one county we operate though, they watch the platforms and contact owners when new listings come up. They help owners become legal and get their tax revenues in the process. Restricting STR is not a winning situation for anyone and is really small thinking.
Post: Hardest Lessons Learned from Short Term Rentals
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
Originally posted by @Angelo Wong:
Biggest lesson is to never, ever get complacent with your team when you outsource stuff. And don't get complacent with yourself.
Background: We do a lease-sublease model (we pay landlords rent, then we furnish it and sublet it back out for the spread). But 3 weeks ago, some tenant installed a hidden camera in one of our unit's bedroom.
Airbnb banned all 14 of our units and overnight all of our winter vacancies were cancelled. We're responsible for about $30k/mo in rent (losing about $1k/day). So that's pretty great.
Lessons learned:
- Just because your cleaners do very well and make everything spotless in the beginning doesn't mean they will in the future (found some trash left behind a cleaning in a post mortem checkup)
- Comb your place for hidden cameras and other things your guests can leave behind. It sounds paranoid, but if you're dependent on a platform like Airbnb to do most of your bookings like we do, the .1% of time these things happen can and will completely wipe out your business. Overnight.
- Don't rely on one platform. We got a ton of bookings thru Airbnb and we stopped marketing as hard on the other platforms. We got complacent.
- Don't be complacent. Every little detail matters. People are entitled and selfish in general, so make sure your last cleaning is as meticulous as the first cleaning when you still cared a lot.
Wow, such good insight. I hope everything turns around for you quickly!
Post: Hardest Lessons Learned from Short Term Rentals
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
Originally posted by @Mike Shemp:
Biggest lesson learned is to have pictures of your TV and DVD remote controls on your phone, so that you can reference them when trying to explain to a guest how to use them. Also, create pages in your Welcome Book that have pictures of the remote controls and explain exactly the sequence of buttons to press to use cable, DVD, or the game system. After you create the instructions in your Welcome Book, have a couple of friends try it out to ensure you did not miss any steps. This will save you many hours on the phone walking people through how to use it.
Mike
Great tip!
Post: Hardest Lessons Learned from Short Term Rentals
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
Originally posted by @Tim Schroeder:
I learned Julie's lesson about WiFi passwords quickly. Stick with defaults.
HVAC systems are a pain in the ***. If it's old, replace it the day you close.
I thought people would like my fancy touch-screen Ecobee thermostats but they have trouble with them and they're not as easy as Nest. I'll buy Nest next time. But I do like the WiFi remote-control aspect. I also have remote-control door locks, cameras, and motion sensors. I love them all.
Linens are expensive, and you need three sets
Guests are hard on linens, you'll be replacing them on a regular basis
Guests will call the "Emergency Number" a.k.a. my cell phone, for stupid stuff like "how do I use the spa?". I learned to use Do Not Disturb on my phone very quickly.
Your cleaners are your best friends. Get a good one and treat them well.
It's not "passive income" like they say. It's a hospitality business and it's a lot of work in the beginning -- like several hours every day after work for months, then it settles down then takes maybe 3-4 hours a week. But if done right, the returns are WAY more than most people make on LTR's.
Lots of truth to this!
Post: Hardest Lessons Learned from Short Term Rentals
- Property Manager
- Wisconsin and Florida
- Posts 346
- Votes 227
Originally posted by @Joe Garvin:
The learning curve for AirBnB and VRBO and the different customers who use those sites. We initially set up our VRBO accounts to Instant Book which didn't give us the opportunity to properly vet renters. Also we found that AirBNB customers seem to always try and negotiate terms and then those are the renters who cause the most issues. Also not staying up on local regulations of STR market.
What process are you using for vetting renters? How often are you turning away potential renters through that process?