Transferring existing bookings to new STR owners

[Ben Bradley]

Hi All,

I am under contract for my first STR property. The existing owners asked to transfer the bookings over (and I believe chapter 42 of the NC laws state I have to accommodate that). However, I am curious if anyone has done this and has tips on how to best do it. From what I took away in the Avery Carl STR book said - we should have the existing owners tell people they are canceling their bookings and that they need to rebook with me and provide my URL. This way refunds are issues on the platforms and everything stays clean.

Is that the best/smoothest way? 

Would this impact my future search rankings, if I come out of the gates with a summer's worth of bookings immediately? 

Tips, hints, and suggestions are welcome!