Anyone Doing Long Distance Short Term Rental Successfully?

[Aldo Balatti]

I am in Canada and interested in having a vacation property in the US for short term rental in a long distance/far away market from where I am living. I am interested in having the STR property fully managed by a turn-key short term rental management company which takes care of everything and all the STR property marketing, bookings, maintenance, cleaning , etc. From my research, these turn-key STR management companies provide this full turn-key service for 20% - 30% of all the bookings.

Since I am living far away from the STR property, I am interested in knowing if anyone has had any success or issues with this type of long distance STR model? This could be with using a purchased rental investment property or using a STR arbitrage (sub-leased from a landlord) property. I am interested in knowing the pros and cons and what to look for or watch out for from people that have used this long-distance turn-key model.

Thanking you in advance and very much appreciated any insight and feedback you can share!

[Julie McCoy]

Everything @Jon Crosby said.  It is absolutely possible to manage your rental yourself from a distance (mine are 200 and 2000 miles away from me, respectively) with minimal time investment.  Generally speaking a PM is going to take the lion's share of your cash flow, so if you don't absolutely need them, the cost isn't worth it.  20-30% is a good estimate, but in my primary market 30-40% is the going rate - and the performance a property gets through a PM is not going to be as good as one that is self-managed!  

Definitely find a target market first and then start crunching numbers.  The majority of my properties are in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge, TN and it's fantastic for high occupancy and cash flow.  The area has been a mecca for vacation rentals for a long time, and the local economy and service professionals are completely entwined with the industry.  I'm happy to answer any questions you have about the market or logistics of operating there, if you like. :)