Smokies State of the Union

[Collin Hays]

Regardless of what the talking heads are saying, the U.S. is in a recession.  I haven't seen a May this soft since the financial crisis. The calendars for our properties are filling up decently, but it is taking daily work on rates to get that done. I have done a cursory look at the May calendars of many VRBO and Airbnb listings, and it isn't uncommon to see NO bookings for May whatsoever.  There are luxury cabins sitting out there at $89 per night, with no bookings.  

I've lived through a couple of these before.  If you are self-managing, it is imperative that you are staying on top of rates; your property has to be market competitive to get bookings. And if your property manager is asleep at the wheel, fire them and do it yourself.  I took a look at one PM that is more Cosby-centric.  35 properties, and only 167 nights booked for all 35 for the month of May, or about 5 nights average per property.

That's a disgrace.