All Forum Posts by: Villy Ellinger

@Joshua Larson I'm not sure what you should do. That is only for you to decide based on your finances and your financial goals. But.... here are some of my observations:

1) The location of your property is really not optimal. Very far from the beach and the main tourist attractions. PCB has plenty of beachfront condos and single family STRs that are very close to the beach. 

2) Airbnb is a great advertising site, but if you are not listed on VRBO, list there as well. Also, your particular property may benefit from being listed on a direct website of a rental management company and being marketed directly to their prior guest base. A person randomly searching for a property in PCB will not think to look that far out from the beach unless there is a specific attraction associated with the property or a specific reason to look at that particular property.

3) Considering the location of your property your pricing seems high, especially for the current slowing down in the STR market (post the Pandemic peak). I only spot-checked a few dates in February. The price per night comes up at $350. When you add the taxes, the cleaning fees and the Airbnb fees on top of that, the property becomes very expensive. It says it sleeps 12, but that is how many can sleep in a number of other properties much closer to the beach, including some 3 bedroom condos on the beach with bunks beds, etc. If you look at other properties and their pricing, you will see that $350 in Feb is high regardless of the property location. I can't see your pricing for later in the year because the later months are not open for rent.

4) The property is nice and the space is great. The Florida room is definitely a great bonus. That said, it is pretty dated, especially the bathrooms. You will be competing with much nicer properties, so pricing needs to reflect that. 

5) I glanced through the rules on your Airbnb listing. I'm not sure if you've read those yourself. I'm guessing they are based on your manager's requirements. Allowing pets is an excellent idea for the property. However, some of the other rules, like don't spray sunblock inside the house, don't sit on the furniture with sunblock on, extensive quiet hours, etc.... make your rental unappealing. It is unreasonable to expect that a family with children would rent a place not only far from the beach but also where they have to worry if their kids sit on the furniture with sunblock on :-). Yes, sunblock ruins the furniture. It's cost of doing business. There are very nice washable couch covers that can be put on the furniture cushions. Amazon has some that don't really look like couch covers at all.

Overall, tough call here. It's not really a great time to sell either. So... if you can find a niche to market to that would be your best bet. Find out if there is a specific attraction near your property. Honestly, I've never sold that far away from the beach in PCB to be very helpful in that respect, but look for gold courses, nature activities, other things. If there is a gold course, may be offer some sort of discounted package for that. Or if fishing/boating is an option nearby.

Good luck!

@Tina Chau I completely agree with @Sergey A. Petrov . Yes, you can definitely automate as many of the menial tasks as you can with good PMS. Scheduling, accounting, etc all these can be "farmed out" / delegated to others. Lots of software out there. Btw, none of it is free and all of it requires some time investment to set up and become familiar with it. Getting actual human or virtual assistants is a good option too. But ... every time you higher another team member you don't necessarily make your business "hands off", you just shift the the focus of what you do. Do you directly deal with guests or do you deal with the people you hired? Hiring more people to be part of your business does add a different kind of work for you -- supervisory work. You are responsible for the work quality of all the people who work for your business. If they quit, get sick, mess up, you are responsible to the guest. As for automation -- it only goes to a point before it starts to affect guest experience and from there your rentals. Sending automated greeting messages or instructions is great. I do it. However, if a guests has a specific question and he/she gets a reply of "we'll be with you shortly, your call is very important to us", lol, that is no longer appealing to them. I own and manage vacation rentals because I actually enjoy owning my own hospitality business. So I'm a bad example, lol. I actually like that all the reviews on Airbnb mention me by name :-). 

So, back to what kind of business you are trying to build. At some point, the cost of software and additional hired assistants, etc might approach the cost of a full-service management company. Same with the guest experience when the "personal touch" is gone. There is nothing wrong with using a full service property manager. For some people the "hands off" part is worth the expense. You will pay someone either way :-)

@Carrie Foley Yes, yes, yes and 100 more yeses!!! If you have a lot of time on your hands one day and decide to read the ENTIRE section of TERMS of Service on the Airbnb site, which basically defines all their obligations to you as a HOST, you will find out that most of it protects Airbnb, some protects the guests and you, the HOST, are basically left naked in the wind in most cases. The whole "damage protection" shpeel basically requires an act of Congress for you to get anything. So.... even if you never plan to try to uphold a rental contract in court, just the fact that the guests know you can is a great deterrent. And if your repairman walks into your property to repair a toilet and finds 2,3 or 7 people over the occupancy limit, the guest have no excuse of saying they "didn't know". They signed contract. Most of them don't actually read it. But that's not your problem. My software sends it out automatically. They sign electronically and get an emailed copy as well. 

@Brent H. I see above that you already got plenty of answers on the easy part of your questions -- the yes or no part, lol. I'm guessing you're more interested in the how :-)

1) I don't offer military discounts or first responder, or teacher, etc. When someone ask about it I thank them for their service or the work they do and tell them I appreciate it. Then I tell them that I strive to price my units fairly and competitive considering the quality of the accommodations I provide. Most people are fine with that and appreciate the response. Some people are just fishing for a "deal". You don't want those anyway. In those cases I politely thank them for the inquiry and suggest that there might be some other similar properties that might offer the discount they want :-).

2) I don't offer late check out either. That said, if the guests text me that they are running 15 to 30 minutes behind, I'm generally not gonna freak out (unless the cleaners are already there and ready to go). If people what to stay until he late afternoon and they request a late check out at the time of booking, I tell them that they need to add the next night as well. Most decide not to and end up figuring out what to do during the day. If they ask for a late check out the night before (like afternoon check out), the answer is no. I explain to them that the cleaning crews have a schedule I don't control and they are not able to clean the unit if the guests check out late, which in turn would mean the next incoming guests cannot check out. I explain that with traffic in our area there is no easy way for cleaners to rearrange the pre-set schedule for the day and they have a tight timeline AND that good cleaners are extremely difficult to find and they work very hard. When faced with the realization that their request will make other people's work difficult, most people are understanding. Yes, occasionally some people are a$$holes. Such is life. 

3) If they actually refuse to check out on time then my rental contract (which they are required to sign) says I can charge them a late fee. Airbnb allows that too. 

4) I use Google maps to measure distance if someone asks. I prefer to give them several options for transportation like Uber, some shuttles that I tell them to look up. I try not to "recommend" per se, just in case they don't like their Uber driver and it's somehow my fault, lol. I do provide recommendations/suggestions for shops and restaurants but make sure to tell them these are ones I like. I also have an partnership with TripShock (if you are in Destin you should get that), with links to local activities they can book through my website link or QR to TripShock. They get discounts and I get some commission, and it saves me on having to answer questions about fishing charters or how to get to Crab Island.

@Don Konipol STR is not an investment for everyone. The fact that you are realistic about your time availability vs the requirements of the particular investment type, and decided it was not appropriate for you makes you a smart investor. I don't invest in options even though I got my MBA in finance, because, frankly, I don't understand them well enough, lol. STR is one of the least passive real estate investment options. Even with a lower management fee (let's say 20%) you will still be getting less cashflow than if you self-manage, and your investment performance will be at the mercy of your manager's skill set even if you bought a killer property in a killer market :-). And if you have to hire out for all and every minor expense, it will eat most of your profit. I say, good for you for realizing what is right for you and good luck with long-term rentals. All I do is STRs because I on the other hand didn't like long-term rentals when I tried them :-). I felt I had no control over my properties. To each his own.

@Bailey Kramer all of mine is automated, but the guests are required to sign an online rental agreement with all the legally required language. I have a maximum occupancy stated for each unit and in the rental agreement they initial that they will comply. (Do some occasionally sneak in an extra person? I'm sure they do. But they will do that anyway even if you ask.). All booking platforms generally ask them that as well. My listings strictly indicate NO Pets and the rental agreement does too. It also makes them acknowledge that they will be evicted without refund if we find a pet there. Same if they are found out to be under the minimum age for the unit rental. However, if they are bringing a legitimate service animal, you cannot refuse that.

Asking what brings them to the area can be ok and can be a friendly conversation with a guest if you have the time. Again, I have other units and mine are automated unless the guest has a specific questions. The issue I see is that this questions does not help you any. If the person is coming to the are to rob a bank they will not tell you that. If the person tells you they are coming to "party", all you can do is tell them not to party in your property. You can't prevent them from going out to party :-). 

Someone above mentioned not to rent to locals or people looking for a job. That is illegal. Also, those could be some of your best guests. If someone needs a place because their house flooded or if they need a place because they are in the area interviewing for a week, those are actually guests who would not party.

I have the ID requirement checked on Airbnb. So only guests who have provided Airbnb with a government issued ID can use the instant booking. Also, keep in mind that if a guest booked instantly, per the Airbnb terms, you have the right to cancel them penalty-free (up to 3 per year) stating the property is not a good fit for the guest. (You know, like if you have a small condo and their service animal is a miniature horse that you cannot legally turn down, lol).

@Robert Willard excellent post to ruffle the feathers in the forum! Love it!

Ok, to the matter at hand. STR is my bread and butter and I strongly believe it is an excellent investment and business strategy IF DONE RIGHT. Short-term-rentals/vacation rentals are a subsection of the hospitality industry. Airbnb DOES NOT equal or represent the STR industry as a whole. Airbnb is just one TOOL that travelers can utilize to find and book vacation rentals. Even if Airbnb completely went away, others will take it's place. The demand for non-hotel lodging is here and here to stay with a vengeance. I'm living it right now here on the Emerald Coast of FL. That does not mean that hotels are going to go away. Hotels are also evolving as is the STR industry. In many ways hotels are copying some of the features provided by the STR accommodations. And YES, some people prefer hotels. And yes, some people hate Airbnb and the experience of staying in an STR. Some people also hate steak. But, steak restaurants still do well :-).

I do agree, however, that there was a period of exaggerated hype over STRs, which attracted people to the field who were ill-suited or ill-prepared for it. Of all real estate investment options, STR is the LEAST PASSIVE one. Especially if you self-manage, which is the best way to maximize cashflow. People who had no time or no desire to learn about the industry bought in, did it wrong, got burned and decided STR is no good as an investment option.

If you're interested in STR, yes, definitely read online reviews of travelers. But be fair. Get on VRBO, or Airbnb and check out all the listing and the bazillion positive reviews. There's a passenger for every train, and the STR train has lots and lots of passengers :-).

@Susan O. several people here already referred to the article that came up first in Forbes and then circulated around, about high-net-worth individuals/families disproportionately moving to the Sun Belt with Florida being top on that list and Texas second. No state income taxes, warm weather, more affordable than East Coast and Cali, blah blah... So, if you are strictly looking at where the money is moving to and so demand with it, then that would be your answer. I'm in Fort Walton Beach, FL on the Emerald Coast, so super partial. Although we're getting overcrowded a bit, lol. Several others above mentioned the same area. I've lived in Memphis for 20 years. Someone mentioned that too. Great investment market if you are willing to work with the "Memphis situation" -- high crime, corruption, did I mention crime? It's why I moved. But great potential for profit too.

But... I'm actually going to strongly second what @Ryan Kelly said above. Because to me that seems the best answer :-).

Good luck!

@Sean Wilkinson a few years ago I had to rehab a house for a listing client prior to selling it. It was literally a hoarding situation (crusted feces on the walls type thing). My point is, I KNOW for sure that it is possible to get rid of the smell. You've done most of the work. I totally agree with those who suggested cleaning out the ducts. Also, YES, you need to literally spray and wipe every surface. I would suggest use Odoban concentrace (the eucalyptus scent). Get it online. That IS actually cat pee remover. It is the cleaner that they use in animal shelters. It actually kills the smell producing bacteria.

I would also suggest that you investigate and determine specifically WHERE the residual smell is coming from. That might be a hands and knees exercise, but will save you unnecessary labor and expenses. In the house I mentioned, we had missed one spot where some sort of rotting liquid had dripped through a crack between the kitchen counter and the wall into the cabinet back underneath. The smell was coming from that cabinet back particle board. Once we removed and cleaned out the area, the smell went away. Maybe there is a spot you missed. Under a baseboard or in a cupboard. Do a smell test of everything.

Good luck! I feel your pain.

@Daniel Murphy I can't speak to the specific set up you have, but I agree with some of the above posts that Airbnb has an automated algorithm that picks up emails, phones and key words sometimes. But mostly contact info and links inside the message body section.

What I do when a guest asks if they can book directly is: I make a point to respond that per the Airbnb rules I am not allowed to provide them with direct booking information or with the link to my direct booking site and that I always abide and respect the Airbnb rules. (I make sure I put that in the message in case Airbnb ever came after me.). After that I tell the guest that while I cannot provide them any information, they are free to look up online my rental company, my direct site and my credentials by googling Up At Sunrise Vacation rentals. I also cannot prevent them from researching and comparing prices for the property that might be available there or on other sites. (Airbnb can't prevent them from doing that either). At that time if guests want to book direct they find the site on their own and book there. 

Keep in mind that if you don't book anything through Airbnb and are successful in directing all to book directly, you will actually not get to be Super Host and will lose search positioning on Airbnb. So it's a balancing act. 

As for guests that have already stayed with me, I capture their email address when they sign my electronic rental agreement (a requirement of my house rules). Once I have that info, IF I liked them, I send them info about how to book directly next time if they would like to do so. On the other hand, if they were crappy or dirty guests, I don't send them that info, lol. My software automates those emails as long as I flag the ones I want to exclude.