My First STR: 29 Palms CA

[Brandon Carlson]

Hi BP,

I finally did it! After months of back and forth, I decided to pull the trigger and buy a home to become a STR. What an experience. Going into it, I thought it would be a breeze, and I couldn't be more wrong. It was difficult managing contractors, design, furnishing, and staying within budget, but all-in-all it was a humbling experience.https://www.airbnb.com/s/Twent...

Key takeaways

• Come up with a different design and or style. Don't copy your competition. If you do, you will be competing strictly on price.
• Add a 10% buffer to your construction budget.
• Construction may need more time to finish. For you to better prepare, add one month to your timeline.
• Know your numbers! I can't stress this enough. Before investing in 29 palms, I did a tremendous amount of research and spoke with a few locals in the area. I wanted to see the potential in the area and why a guest would visit.
• Get to know someone that is currently operating a STR in your market.
• Have fun and enjoy the ride.

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Brandon Carlson, using just AirBNB is like parking a car you want to sell at an abandoned lot on a dirt road. It could work OK, but you would get better results by parking it on a busy street corner where it gets much more traffic.

You should always use both platforms just like @John Underwood said. We are closer to 70/30 VRBO/AirBNB on our house. Some areas get way more AirBNB than VRBO bookings but why give away the major player in this space?