Rental Property Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 39 posts · 20 votes
We just purchased a 2 bed 2 bath condo in the Galveston, TX area as a vacation investment rental. We are also in the process of purchasing a 1 bed 1 bath condo in the same area. We will be managing them ourselves, and marketing them ourselves. I should mention, we are not new investors (we have been investing for 3 years now), however we are new to vacation rentals. We currently have the condos on AirBnB, VRBO, and HomeAway. In the next couple of weeks, I will publish them on Booking.com as well. My question is, how do they stand out from the crowd? We are currently on facebook and instagram.
Rental Property Investor · Frisco, TX · Member since 2018 · 90 posts · 66 votes
7y
@Joe Rivera the basics like professional pictures, very detailed listing, and quick communication are some of the most important things since you do not have reviews yet. Many hosts fail to even do these things well.
Look for other vacation rentals in Galveston that are listed on Airbnb. Which ones have the most 5 star reviews and are consistently booked? Study what these people do with pictures, price, etc.
Rental Property Investor · Frisco, TX · Member since 2018 · 90 posts · 66 votes
7y
@Joe Rivera the basics like professional pictures, very detailed listing, and quick communication are some of the most important things since you do not have reviews yet. Many hosts fail to even do these things well.
Look for other vacation rentals in Galveston that are listed on Airbnb. Which ones have the most 5 star reviews and are consistently booked? Study what these people do with pictures, price, etc.
Rental Property Investor · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2019 · 57 posts · 26 votes
7y
@Joe Rivera My first recommendation based on your post would be to skip booking.com especially this early on. They tend to bring on the more problematic guests due to the lack of any verification system. Would wait to add it until you have your ops automated and can find better ways to verify the guest quality.
To make the listings stand out further, I'd do everything that Airbnb requires to receive the "Family Friendly", "For Work" and "Superhost" statuses. Guests often look for those.
Have also seen a recent study that says that 82% of guest prefer to stay in smart home enabled properties and that 60% are willing to pay more to stay at those so I'd recommend adding smart home devices (locks, thermostats, Roku TVs) and clearly market those in your listings.
Rental Property Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 39 posts · 20 votes
7y
@Emir Dukic I did not see those stats. Thank you for sharing. We have smart devices in the units. I have them called out but will do a better job of calling them out.
South Padre Island, TX · Member since 2018 · 81 posts · 69 votes
7y
@Joe Rivera I have a STR in South Padre Island. I bought a single family home (2b/2ba) knowing that 85% of the units here are condos. Having a different product really helps. Barring that, take a look at the primary photo of your competitors. I bet they mostly look the same. Down here 90% of profile pics are either of the ocean view or the condo pool. My photo of a bright red house makes me stand out from the crowd among a sea of turquoise. After scrolling past literally hundreds of STRs that all look the same, you'll need a reason for people to click on your listing.
Rental Property Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2016 · 39 posts · 20 votes
7y
@Jake F. Thank you for the tip. I am heading down there this week to take pictures. My thought is to tell the story, through pictures, of how relaxing and inviting the condos are.