All Forum Posts by: William Beck

You have to peacock to stand out. Ask yourself, "Why are they going to spend money to stay at my place?" What makes you book a vacation rental? 
There are the basics: Kitchen- granite, stainless appliances, high end pots/pans, premium range. Bathroom, fluffy comfy towels, attractive lighting, nicer shampoos/soaps. Bedrooms, Nice mattresses, good linens, TV's. All areas - interior decor that makes it feel comfortable and inviting. Game room with arcade games, pinball, pool table, shuffleboard, darts & Big Screen TV's
Then there are the peacocking elements (Things that catch someone's eye and make your place unique): fire pit with custom octaganol bench swings around it, a tee pee on the grounds, yard games, swimming pool with a water feature or LED Lighting. 

When your guests leave the property and you yell with your best Russell Crowe impression, "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?" Knowing full well you've got a product that's better than anything else out there, that's the place to be. That's where you'll get bookings. That's the secret sauce.
*Also, increase your capacity to the highest # you think would be comfortable so you show up in more search results. 

@Michael Smith

You'd think Texas would be so owner-rights oriented that they would be allowing vacation rentals Airbnbs/VRBO's but not the case in City of Austin. Definitely agree with @Rick Reeder's thoughts regarding the regulatory compliance stuff. 

Costa Rica vacation rental sounds like the absolute best. I don't know if I'd have the guts to own with international real estate law and being so unfamiliar with it, but would be pretty kick butt to have a beach home to get away from it all. Plus the locals rock. Good Vibes  on this idea for sure!

@Tyler Smith Certain markets will be easier to get someone's 2nd home or vacation rental with all the belongings than others. Many turnkey vacation rentals will have future bookings that convey with the purchase so it's a great way to get some money from the start!

I Just relocated to Branson to work specifically with vacation rental investors. This is a top market and it's just a matter of inventory at this point. Prices aren't as insane as they have gotten in other areas, but they have definitely gone up. I've seen quite a few P&L's from sellers where the #'s still work really well. 

Be aware of management company options out there. I know they are pretty limited to begin with since it's an island chain and not a huge population to draw from and could potentially stick it to you with mgmt fees. Just heads up. 

Airbnb - you can't generally transfer the reviews because it's reviews earned by the 'host'. The host owns those reviews.

VRBO - you can generally transfer the reviews on the property, with or without the sellers consent. The property owns those reviews. 

Buying a VRBO with 50+ reviews and strong business already running is huge. Buying an Airbnb that someone was raking in money with and was  superhost, if you start from scratch, there may be a ramping period. Just some thoughts. 

@Nick Troutman I was a Home Buyer Consultant for Evolve Vacation Rental, nationwide management service. The company had a LOT of data. Data showing how much $$$ people were making, and in some cases how much $$$$$ and other cases how little $. I wanted to soak that up and know where get the best real estate investments in the whole country for personal interest reasons and I learned quite a bit. Here's more info on the team there: https://evolvevacationrental.c...

I decided to go the realtor route so I could get closer to deals and broaden my experience. So far so good!

I answered this question and analyzed vacation rentals almost every day for the last 3 years in my former job. Right now I would consider the following places to look.

My personal top 10:
top 3 investor markets - Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg, TN (Yes, it's hard to get something there); Poconos, PA; Branson MO.

Then the rest:
Broken Bow, OK. 
Hot Springs, AR. 
Destin, FL. 
Cape Coral, FL.
Blue Ridge, GA.
Alma/Fairplay, CO.
Phoenix (*Do a hybrid play where you Vacation rent in winter, then short term lease to corporate renters or traveling nurses Summertime) 

I personally would like to own in the above mentioned areas as a portfolio and that's my plan.

Honorable Mentions:

Hilton Head, SC

Myrtle Beach, SC

Massanutten, VA

Killington or Southern, VT by ski areas

Granby/Grand Lake, CO

Lake Travis or Lake Granbury TX

Lake Havasu City

Cocoa Beach, FL

Traverse City, MI

Black Hills, SD

Island Park, ID
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Echoing what Justin said, Vegas = No go. New Orleans = also a No Go. 

I would argue that Disney World area is getting crushed with oversupply and investors should avoid.

@James Carlson What's the HOA situation there? Any neighborhoods, communities, condo complexes explicitly Anti-Airbnb?