There was a great conference this past week STR Wealth Conference in Nashville, over a 1000 attendees and some great speakers in the STR industry. A lot of insightful conversations and speakers and despite the rough market (rising rates, dampening economy, etc.) tons of energy and excitement.

Sharing some takeaways and curious to hear if anyone else on BP attended and had other takeaways or agree/disagree etc.

-Data Data Data - one thing I consistently hear everywhere relating to Short Term Rentals is the number one separator of success and failure is embracing the data available for the industry, particularly a pricing tool. This theme continued here where you constantly heard how when people first started out, their biggest mistake was manually pricing deals (instead of using software) and that led to them consistently leaving money on the table. Consistent theme is their properties and investing experience took off once they made the switch. Also as "hot" markets become overheated, how important it was to examine the data to uncover the next "hidden gem" markets

-Platform Risk - A lot of talk about setting up booking direct and how to market that to reduce your exposure to AirBNB and to a lesser extent VRBO. A lot of STR owners are taking a lot of risk, especially with the bigger changes AirBNB can announce, like the recent "categories" that changed the game for some people. As owner, no real control over this, so having at least direct marketing/booking knowledge is key

-Financing - the 2nd Home policy changes announced by Fannie/Freddie April 1 really hurt the 10% down 2nd home loan as an option for AirBNBs. There was a good presentation on the pros and cons for different financing types, but one emphasis is that DSCR loans that have the greatest flexibility in qualifying and the least hurdles to get deals done in the near term.

-Also interesting presentations on tax strategies, interior design and furniture strategies (and how big an impact those seemingly minor choices can have on pictures and success) as well

Any other attendees here, other takeaways?

Robin Simon

[email protected]

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