Should I hold off listing our Maui STR due to delayed reno?

[Orien Kuang]

Hello helpful community! We are closing on a great condo in southwest Maui in less than 3 weeks and I face a conundrum. Our condo is in servicable condition but do need painting, and new floor, light fixture and AC would be nice which would give us higher nightly rates. However, all good contractors (even the so-so ones) are booked out at least a month or two so to renovate it right after closing is out of the question. So my plan has to change, instead of renovate and get professional photos done to list on Vrbo, I will have to make do with some new decor and try to rent out at a lower rate, then renovate in off season--April/May or Sept/October and offcially list then. I plan to self manage for this time being since I have a great cleaner/repair service team who also does emergecy calls for me. My question is: would it be wise NOT to list on Vrbo etc. since I would not want the review of the non renovated condo to stay with us. What do you think? If yes, what other ways to get our condo rented? Thank you so much!

[Ryan Moyer]

The reviews will typically have more to do with expectations and the hosting so you could still nab some 5 star reviews.  If the reviews end up being bad you can always create a new account and re-list it fresh.