If You Are Asking These Questions About Your STR, You Are Already Failing

[Jonathan Greene]

There are so many new operators in the STR field now, and the questions about certain things are mind-boggling. STR is a hospitality business first, and a for-profit business second (if you want to succeed). Your guest is your priority, not your profit. When you focus on your profit, you ask for a bad review and harsh treatment from the algorithm. Here are some things I have seen people asking that make it clear that they are already failing in this business.

1. Do my guests really need a (insert item for the home here)? If you know to ask, someone has told you you need it. While there are some limits here (you don't need a pasta maker), asking about having a plunger in each bathroom closet is insane. They cost $1. If your bottom line is so tight that you are hand-wringing and making forum posts asking about a second colander, the problem lies with you.

2. Should I spend money on professional photos? If you are asking this, quit. Professional photos could cost as little as $150, but you should pay more to get experience shots, golden hour, aerial, and video. This is your product, and you are branding it for maximum consumption. When you shoot seven photos on your iPhone, you tell the guest you don't care. P.S. - you don't care if you don't hire a professional photographer.

3. Can't I let automation handle all the questions from guests? Why are you entering a hospitality business to automate your (im)personal responses when guests have an issue? Using automation can certainly help at scale for easy things, but if you have one STR and can't be bothered to respond promptly to your guest, I can guarantee this business will not go well for you. @Garrett Brown and I were just talking about this. You want your guests to know there is a person behind the curtain.

4. Why do I need to tell people where to go and eat when they have Google and Yelp? You are missing the point. Katie Cline (listen to her episode on the Rookie podcast) and I were just talking about this. Google and Yelp in some towns could rank Applebees as the best restaurant. Your guests want to know the secrets. You have to know the secrets. Remember, this is a hospitality business.

5. Someone left early and asked for a refund; should I give it to them? Yes. The guest is always right, even when they aren't. There are limits to this as well (when someone stays the whole time and doesn't say anything while there), but if someone chooses to leave early or right away, give them their money back before they drill you with a 1-star review. If you are new, it will take you a year to recover from a 1-star review.

I have been staying in timeshares and short-term rentals my whole life. I managed STR with my sister twenty years ago before Airbnb existed. Technology has changed significantly, but this has always been a hospitality business. You don't have to have a pickleball court to win right now, but you do have to be a professional and personable operator (or have a team that is).

What did I miss?

[Bruce Woodruff]

Good points @Jonathan Greene ! 

I would only add these two: 

FIRST - people constantly ask which algorithm to use to get their prices set. Whereas I (and others) continually urge them to stop being lazy and do their own research....go on VRBO and ABNB and look at the competition. 1) What are they charging? 2) How booked out are they? 3) What amenities are they offering? 4) What do their places look like, how do they feature their professional pictures?

SECOND - In the same vein, newbies ask which programs they can use to manage their listing. My take is that a Host should be personally involved as much as possible. I personally don't like getting a lot of automated messages when I rent a STR, I'd rather have some more personal contact.....(maybe that's just me?)