First Smoky Mountains STR - Advice

[Orlando Ortiz]

Hey guys,

My wife and I are closing on our first STR in Waynesville NC next week. We are incredibly excited to get into a great STR market, but also an area that we enjoy and will continue to visit ourselves. A few specific questions below, but any general input/tips are all welcome.

- Can anyone speak to the Airbnb and/or VRBO debate, especially starting out, as far as which platform to use/focus on? Or has the ability to sync calendars made this a non-issue?

- How much does having a hot tub affect perceived value/experience for a guest, and how have you guys seen a hot tub affect your nightly rates? (If at all) I've gotten a lot of different opinions on this one. 

-  All things furnishing: we have bought 90% of our furnishings already, but as we've poured over hours of shopping to find a good balance between value and experience, while trying to fit into a budget, I'm curious what your real world experiences have been in this area. (Especially as we envision this being the first of several STR's)

Thank you all in advance for the insight and advice,

Orlando