All Forum Posts by: Wendy Schultz

VRBO and Airbnb have invested millions in advertising and SEO and people all over the world search for vacation rentals on the platforms. They are really inexpensive (3% for Airbnb and $499 for the year at VRBO) to leverage all of the advertising they've done. We have a website for our properties as part of our property management company but we still see most of our bookings come through the booking sites or social media. 

Be really cognizant of the regulations surrounding STR in that area. It sounds like there are some good areas that are STR friendly so be sure to stick with them. Do some research to find out what the expenses will be including mortgage, taxes, HOA fees, lawn care, pool care, STR insurance, cable/internet, utilities, furnishings and replacement costs, etc. Then you can do some research to find out on VRBO or Airbnb what similar properties are bringing in each night and how booked up their calendar is. That should give you a 10,000 ft view of the numbers.

@Karen Chenaille We charge $30 and the majority of people pay it without hesitation. It takes some coordination to make happen so it's worth charging for. 

@Mike Ko Some property managers will out perform the owners but that depends on how savvy the property manager is or how savvy the property owner is. We've found most owners undervalue their properties leaving a lot of money on the table. 

We offer early checkin and late checkout and charge for it. Another revenue stream for us! 

Hi Steven, we fit that bill. We are really focused on maximizing your revenues because when your property does well, we do well too. We have a case study where we took on two properties owned by the same person who were with a different property manager. Since they switched to us in May, we've already increased their gross revenues by over $18,000 YTD. Over 125% increase. Other property managers may charge less but do they maximize your revenues and consult with you on how to buy and furnish a property that will rent well? So many owners that self manage leave a lot of money on the table too or they get too controlling and lose money that way. 

A B&B doesn't operate the way it sounds like you want to operate one. Bed and Breakfasts are more like a hotel with high level service and a home cooked meal. If the caretaker is just a caretaker, it doesn't sound like they will be offering the level of service expected. 

However, you may be able to run it as a vacation rental with individual units being rented out and a shared space for them to make their own meals. Just a thought. 

We offer a service that may work well for you.  24/7/365 support. As you said, automation only gets you so far. We still get lots of questions that can't be automated and if you were to automate everything and not answer the individuals question, you won't get the best reviews on owner responsiveness. If you want to message me to see if it would be a good fit for you, let me know. 

REIA meetings are an awesome place to network and learn. There are a bunch out there so take a look on Meetup.com, Facebook, on here, and google search. I've made great connections by attending the meetings.

We've run into this and as others have stated, the cost of the furniture is often a separate bill of sale. One appraiser came in $20,000 less than the purchase price so we renegotiated with the sellers and ultimately ended up having to come up with another $7000 out of pocket.