All Forum Posts by: Trent Reeve

Trent Reeve has started 26 posts and replied 578 times.

Just send it to your cleaners.

I agree with John. Also, depending on where you are at in Florida, if it is a high STR area, cleaners may already supply soaps, etc. But if you arent using a company and have a consistent cleaner, I would talk to them about shipping directly to them.

4 Votes

Quote from @Corby Goade:

Quote from @Trent Reeve:

Quote from @Corby Goade:

Why would you give them anything less than five stars? They told you up front who would be staying there, you approved them and they proactively told you about damage and are paying for the repairs? Sound like great guests to me.

Stuff happens.

would you second guess renting to someone with a past history of damaging a property? even if they did pay for it each time?

Obviously that's not what's happening here. If there was a "history" of damage, the OP wouldn't be posting here because they wouldn't have accepted the guest. They'd have poor reviews and a one star rating. One mistake doesn't make for a "History" of behaviors. Things happen and it doesn't hurt to give people the benefit of the doubt.

I'd give them five stars and in the narrative, include a simple explanation of the incident and mention my appreciation for them taking responsibility for the door.

And yes- I'd definitely rent to someone who accidentally damaged a property, proactively reported it to the owner and paid for repairs. I like working with ethical people.

not if no one else called them out because they paid to fix any damage

0 Votes

San Antonio, Texas

Quote from @Corby Goade:

Stuff happens.

would you second guess renting to someone with a past history of damaging a property? even if they did pay for it each time?

0 Votes

San Antonio, Texas

Quote from @Joseph Sauer:

I'd leave 5 stars. You can be upfront about the him/her breaking a door, but owned it and offered to pay.

Things happen. Ppl make mistakes. In my experience, people that do this don't often own up to it, let alone pay for it.

Bigger picture: if you're planning to be in the hospitality business for a long time, I would learn to forgive but not forget. I'm not saying roll over and allow chaos, but there's a clear line of a guest obviously not caring and a guest who made a mistake. I've seen too many host deal with one difficult guest and then change all the rules and now everyone booking their place is guilty till proven innocent. Don't be that host. It'll show in everything thing you do and will hurt your business.

i agree. When i first started, my cleaner gave me great advice. I told her I dont know what I dont know. She said first of all, dont take any of this personally. Things will happen, things will break, dont take it personally. Im not completely sure I would rate them a 5. they could have damaged something that would take more time than just replacing a door. Yes, they owned up to it and said they would pay to replace it, but also it was obvious damage that would be noticed right away. Not something they could hide.

1 Vote

San Antonio, Texas

as mentioned, you still wont be in STR. And most rents dont make as much money as a STR will. I personally would rethink the purchase

0 Votes

not sure all the duties your cohost provides, but it sounds like its something that they need to learn up on real quick and find a company that can do the cleans.

1 Vote

Cleveland, Ohio

well I will be different than the thread so far. I used OwnerRez with my 1st property. I liked the ease of use, 1 spot to manage everything. I have email templates and triggers set up for constant communication with the guests, management of door codes, etc. And it allowed for direct bookings with family/friends. Yes, there was a small cost associated with it, but it was negligible compared to the peace of mind I felt with being able to use 1 spot to manage it all.

1 Vote

Quote from @John Henry:

Congratulations on your first listing! A few things I’ve noticed with new vacation rentals:

Visibility matters – listings with reviews tend to get more exposure, so early traction can be slow.
Photos & description – clear, high-quality images and detailed descriptions make a big difference.
Pricing & perks – discounts help, but consider small early-bird perks like waived fees or free cleaning to attract your first bookings.
Tracking & data – I’ve found that keeping a simple Excel tracker of pricing trends, comps, and cleaning costs really helps when evaluating potential listings. Investors I work with also benefit from having access to reliable, verified leads, which makes it easier to focus on the right properties rather than chasing random opportunities.

Regarding cleaners, for a 1–2 bedroom fully furnished unit in Panama City Beach, rates typically range $50–$80 per turnover depending on the scope of work.

Hang in there—most new hosts see slow bookings at first, but the first few reviews usually kickstart interest.

John, sorry, but nowhere in PCB are you seeing $50-80/clean on a 1-2 bedroom. and if they are charging that, I would wonder how clean it really was. unless you are self cleaning, which the OP is not.

1 Vote

Panama City, Florida

Quote from @Jonathan Snider:

Quote from @Trent Reeve:

I am in the PCB market also and you have some good feedback. The back deck, painted and get rid of the mildew, especially in the pictures. Also, I would not personally advertise for 8 guests, no one vacationing wants to share a 1 shower for 8 people. ( is it really 1200 sq ft, it doesnt look like it? that is the size required to have 8 guests). I agree with Lisa, i would probably take out the bunk beds and change to a king bed in there also, if it will fit. People on vacation want to sleep in bigger beds. You could keep the sleeper sofa if you want though it still seems tight.

Decor is okay, but doesnt scream beach and doesnt do anything to make people remember it when searching for properties. You are also competing against places that have a pool, unless you have a complex one that you didnt post a picture of. I also agree with Lisa on the recessed lighting in kitchen. Current lighting just doesnt fit. You place needs to jump out at people as you dont have a beach view, amenities, pool, that many other places have and people have to cross a busy street to get to the beach (families with little kids dont like that). Places across the street are always 2nd choice to beachside properties. I have one and you can do well, but you are 2nd tier to the beachfront places.

And being new, you need reviews. It might hurt, but you should lean into the "new property" discount to get people in there. Also, Fall Break is mostly families going on vacation and your place leans more to a young family of 4 or two couples going to the beach. rough estimates on your place rental wise is around $24k/yr gross rent.

and its out of season right now, everyone is hurting for bookings. I am seeing many 2 bedroom beachfront places $200+ less than your rates right now. Here are examples of your competition right now for fall break with similar pricing to you if not a little less

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/587623172568722024?check_in=202...

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1108789319491087774?check_in=20...

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1126459652561939061?check_in=20...

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/928348452740243346?check_in=202...

Hey Trent,

Thanks for the feedback! I am curious how you came up with the 24k gross rent number. The seller claimed they had 57k gross rent last year. If it's only 24k, I need to sell immediately.

I looked at Awning, Rabbu and AirDNA. And being in the market, unless they lived on complete repeat guests (and charged high), there is no way they did $57k last year, not being across the street. I know plenty of beachfront 2 bedroom units that were around $50-60k and were very updated. Those estimation services can sometimes guess low, but I would say as it is right now, the best you might get would be $30-35k.

0 Votes

Panama City, Florida