How to remotely manage an Airbnb?

Question

I'm interested in getting an Airbnb property in an area that is out of state from where I reside, looking for more information on how to remotely manage the property and how to handle all aspects of taking care of the property from cleaning up after guests leave to seasonal maintenance.

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Ken Latchers, well the trip cost me about 80 dollars in fuel. I pack my food so zero as I eat when I am at home too and I got a 30 dollar AirBNB for the night.

I did a full service on the furnace and the A/C unit in April before the season started. Everything checked out just fine so I had no reason to think I wouldn't get another season out of the units. I am all about preventive maintenance and being proactive, but I am not in the habit of spending money to replace something just because it might be beyond it's estimated service life. I don't drop factory new engines in my cars with over 200k just because it should have died by now.

In North Idaho, we get hot temps for a max of 3 months a year so the unit is dormant most of the time and it never gets terribly hot. 97 was the hottest day so far this year with 30 percent humidity. Certainly not 110.

I take the advice of people who know and the York units have a excellent service life, usually over 20 years in most estimations.

All this has done is sped up the replacement which I was planning for this spring so it didn't really impact my planning. Temps are dropping quickly now. 70-80 expected then into the 60's. Leaves are already turning on the aspens.

Still have 5 stars across all platforms. The guests affected gave 5 stars due to my speedy communication and willingness to drive over to see if I could get if fixed for them.

I will keep doing what I am doing as it works.

Paul Sandhu · Answer

@John Underwood I know there are all sorts of people reading this thread and scratching their head, wondering "What is a capacitor?"

Ken Latchers · Answer

They resist having the capacity to know

John Underwood · Answer

I also had my starting capacitor go out. I thought I had a spar one at home but couldn't find it. I tried using the capacitors on my air compressor motor but they didn't do the job as they were both a little different in size.

I have gotten pretty good about troubleshooting the basics on heat pumps since I have over 20 of these things. I knew what it was especially after taking the capacitors out and testing them. It broke on a Sunday of course. Luckily I have 2 units so we just slept upstairs till I got it fixed.

Paul Sandhu · Answer

The run capacitor on my own central air unit went out on Thursday too.  It was a 20 minute fix.  $29.50 in parts.  It was less than 15 years old.

Luke Carl · Answer

@Eric Laakso It’s about the same as managing it from right next door. Unless you want to fix toilets. I decided a long time ago I don’t want to be a plumber I want to be an investor.

I’m writing a book on this subject it’ll be done soon.

Michael Baum · Answer

Hi @Eric Laakso, welcome to the board. You need to give more info. Where is the property? What type is it (house, condo etc) and any other info so we can help.

@John Underwood is on the money. You need to have a good cleaner and handyperson ready to go. Otherwise you will find yourself in failure town.

For example, the AC unit at our STR just went out on Thursday. Capacitor failed, which shut down the cooling fan which in turn overheated the compressor. It was 22 years old so it was ready, but still...

My cleaner and handyman were out of town so I had to drive 370 miles to the house to meet the repair guy. He was there for 20 minutes and told me I needed a new unit. Sounds like a box of rocks in there.

TL:DR, bottom line is even with the best planning, you might need to head over to deal with an issue. So let us know more.

John Underwood · Answer

VRBO and Airbnb make it pretty easy to remotely manage.

Key is a great cleaning service to handle turnovers.

There are many posts here on BP with much more details on this subject.

How to remotely manage an Airbnb?

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