All Forum Posts by: Trent Reeve

I joined back in August when my sister started my interest in REI and STR. I read Avery's book and a few others. Wife and I researched and ended up buying a property in Panama City Beach last October. We remodeled a 2/2.5 townhome into 3/3.5. soft launched with some friends while re-model took longer than expected (big surprise). Then some delays getting inspection, permit and licenses. But we officially went live on Airbnb/VRBO Thursday Feb 9th around 10 pm. Not going to lie, we did re-think our purchase after the 3rd mortgage payment, one that is more than our primary residence, and we still hadn't been able to rent yet. By the end of that weekend, we had 3 bookings.

Our first booking gave us a great public review, and also sent an email saying that they did love our place and love all the extras we put in there (beach toys, cooler, cart, sandwich bags, foil, etc.) but also that our brand new floors didn't feel that clean, coffee pot had some coffee marks and dishes were left in dishwasher previously. I apologized and thanked them for letting me know and said i would address it and sent the info to our cleaners. But they didn't put any of that stuff in their review, which i appreciated.

Now 2 weeks since launch, we have our 2nd renter finishing up tomorrow. Half of March is booked, 20 days in April, 1 week in May, 1 in June and 1 in July. I will say, we only have 1 booking from Airbnb, all the others through VRBO.

I definitely feel better prepared reading thru all the many posts, and they have helped educate us on many things we would not have thought about.

Thank you for the group and the group info. Hope I am able to give back on any of my lessons learned.

www.sandpiperretreat.com

 so i will say, im very new myself. purchased property in PCB in October, did remodel and officially went live about 10 days ago. We live in Kennesaw (5 hours away) and manage remotely. We did a nest thermostat to put a top and bottom limit on temps (didnt want a $600 power bill with someone running AC at 60 degrees) and i can even turn it in ECO mode when not rented. Our PMS (OwnerRez) connects to smart lock which codes it to the guests last 7 of their phone number (easy for them to remember). I have a Ring camera at the front door. I like the messaging and triggers with OR and it also is super easy to set up a direct billing website. They also enable guest digitally signing rental agreements and collecting ID. As you mentioned, i just have cleaners and a handyman on call.

As i said, only 10 days truly live, but everything is going good so far. as someone new to this whole business, i dont feel overwhelmed and a lot of great information on this site.

 well, he didnt get a permit, so there is extra trouble running a "business" without a permit

i also read where you said "i would bet if STR hosts dont inform their guests that their TV is watching them, they are in violation of privacy laws" but as i mentioned, there are not any "privacy laws". so which contradiction am i supposed to monitor?

to each their own, i have smart TV's in every room and will keep them there.

 well, 1, my tv's dont have cameras. so the most that could be done could be reviewing data of what you watch. that data is already being sold. also, if you are that worried, dont use a smart phone, the carriers watch and sell that data. oh, and dont use the internet at home, that data is collected and sold too. you can drop way down a rabbit hole regarding this. and if i remember right, there isnt a privacy law. there is a privacy act of 1974, but technology didnt exist like it does now. so dont expect those lawsuits from TV's to happen anytime soon

 My day job is IT security. nothing in there is new or surprising. All your data is already out there. You can configure to block a lot of stuff, and some extras to lock it down further.

 i would just say, for rentals its not what YOU want, its what the renters want. though you did set expectations with your advertisement/description. 

 not everyone wants to watch the same thing. also, some people might want to watch some TV as they try to sleep. TV's are so cheap now, its not a major investment. We have a 3 bed townhome by the beach. most time would be spent at the pool and beach, but we still put a TV in each bedroom.

Also, very few people want to watch TV on a 4x6 inch screen for their "fix"

i think it depends on the area, time of year and the properties. there is no "one answer" to it all. I have some people already reaching out to me for November thru March of next year, yet also have next week open and 2 weeks in March and April open.

 i have a 3/3 and 1 room is on the small side. We put in a twin over full bunk bed and a dresser. we did a pocket door to take up less space