Help going solo

[Phil Wrigley]

I hope this post finds you all well. I have been pondering a transition from using vacation rental management (Evolve) to independently managing my vacation rentals. While Evolve has been pretty reliable in terms of handling bookings and guest communication, I feel like I'm losing out on the potential benefits of having more control over my own management process. I feel like most of the guest queries they pass onto me anyway! The reason I started with them in the first place is that I have a full time job and needed someone else to take some of the heat. Looking now to leave my W2 income and manage our portfolio full time this seems like the obvious next step. I have been all over Bigger Pockets and am a regular listener to Short Term Rental Nation podcast.

One major concern I have is that by leaving Evolve, I would essentially be starting over. They own all of my guest reviews and rental history, making it challenging to establish my reputation elsewhere. This aspect has me feeling a bit hesitant about pulling the trigger on this change.

Therefore, I wanted to reach out to the blogging community here and hear your experiences with a similar transition. Have any of you left vacation rental management services like Evolve to go solo and utilize a platform like Guesty? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the process and if you encountered any hurdles with rebuilding your reputation.

Here are a few questions that come to mind:

1. How did you handle the transition of reviews and rental history from the management service to your new platform?

2. Did utilizing a platform like Guesty help you gain more control over your vacation rentals, or did you face any unexpected challenges?

3. Were there any significant benefits or disadvantages you experienced by leaving a management service and going independent?

I greatly appreciate any insights, advice, or personal anecdotes you can share! This community has always been incredibly helpful, and I value your expertise in navigating the world of vacation rental management.

[Collin Hays]

Evolve and Vacasa are management companies in name only.  They are basically slick marketing companies that will charge you upwards of 40 percent to "manage" your property.  Either find someone local that can truly manage it, or self-manage.  Evolve and Vacasa offer you the worst of both worlds, and a cursory review of either will tell you this.