Launched our First STR!

[John Elerick]

Hi BP Family,

This is our first post on the BP forum and we figure this is the best time to go for it.

My wife and I launched our first Airbnb in our Northglenn house May 1st. It's a separate entrance basement suite with 2 beds/1 bath. We're very happy with the turnover so far but this brand new for us and would love to learn more from some veterans (you guys!) We're going to list a couple things below we're interested in learning more about.

1. Airbnb Cleaning... We're currently cleaning ourselves but would love to change this. We feel our cleaning price is on par with other local Airbnb's but the cleaner quotes we're seeing are almost double what we charge. Is this common?

2. Cohosting... We manage this property ourselves but we also love camping. What do hosts do when they still want to manage their property but also like a couple days off?

3. CPA... This is our first house and rental income. We've usually just used TurboTax in the past but we want to learn as much as we can about what we can write off and how much to put aside for taxes.

4. Maintenance Tech... We usually take care of most of the repairs but we'd like to have someone on call in case we're not around to fix something.

These are the main topics we've been discussing but we're sure there is plenty more we want to know. If you have some free time and would like us to buy you a drink we'd love to chat.

Thanks,

John & Hannah

[Ryan Williams]

Hi @John Elerick! Love what you and your wife are doing! My wife and I are doing the same thing in Denver and it's going really well so far.  

1. I had a very similar start with our airbnb by cleaning it myself, and wanting to find a cleaner quickly after a few weeks of doing that! lol.  Initial quotes were higher than cleaning fees in my area just like you mentioned, but I networked with other airbnb hosts in my area and found a cleaner they were already using and she had a better rate than commercial cleaners and others on site like turnoverbnb. Good rates and good cleaners are out there, you just have to look hard! 

2. Like the others have mentioned, automating and having a good cleaner, can solve a lot of the issues and allow you to be essentially hands off barring an emergency. You can have a friend act as a cohost when you're gone and hopefully they would only have to do something in an emergency, or you could hire a manger to look over things and handle communications on your behalf while you are gone. 

3. Definitely talk with a CPA, they will help you out a ton, and there is a lot you can write off with STR's

4. Having a good handyman on call that can do most things is a big advantage.  I know my handyman pretty well, he can do almost anything, and I trust him.  When issues come up I just coordinate with the guest in necessary, make a code for him from my phone, and he goes in and fixes the issue. 

I hope this is helpful!