New to Short Term Rentals - Banner Elk, NC

[Rachael Wood]

Hi! Let me start by saying I'm completely new, out of my comfort zone, and scared to death. HaHa! We are under contract for a log cabin in Banner Elk, NC. This cabin will serve as a family getaway but also as a short term rental. We are looking to rent it enough to cover some --> all of the expenses of owning the cabin. It's a 2 bedroom 2 bath with a large loft. It's not fancy, but it's a nice log cabin. The property has long range views as well as a creek. My newbie questions are below:

1) This cabin sits at nearly 4000 feet in elevation. It does not have central air conditioning. We have the option of putting in a split unit if needed. For those who have short term rentals in high elevation locations, is air conditioning important in the short term rental world? 

2)  Pricing the nightly rate for this is stumping me. I've looked on Airbnb as well as VRBO for rentals in the Banner Elk area and the prices seem to vary wildly. We want to price the rental in a way that's attractive enough to keep our calendar pretty full but also not so low that we sell ourselves short. Any advice on pricing strategies? I did listen to the Avery Carl podcast and will review her suggestions - just wanted to see if I could gather more thoughts here. 

So far those are my burning questions. Thanks! :) 

Rachael 

[Paul Cox]

Hi @Rachael Wood

I'm a newby STR investor as well, also having worked with Avery and her Team in the Sevierville area. @Avery Carl and @Luke Carl and their team have really been helpful in steering me in the right direction with our cabin. We purchased back in Nov of last year, basically knowing no experience in the STR world other than that which we had read on the STR Forum. I also follow some STR sites on Facebook and have learned some good things there as well.  We self manage from Virginia. Is the cabin coming furnished or do you have to furnish it?

Our's came unfurnished, but we were able to negotiate a 15K furniture concession from the sellers at a local furniture store there in Pigeon Forge. That was Fun as the cabin was a blank slate and we got to furnish it with all high quality commercial grade furniture that should last for some time. 

Once you have it furnished or decorated to your style, do yourself a HUGE favor and get professional photos taken. I cannot overstate the difference it makes. We were having a booking slowdown after the low cost stays for the first 5-10 reviews were completed. I reached out to @Luke Carl to get his opinion of our listing on AirBnB and he so eloquently stated "Paul, your pictures suck" :) That motivated me to go ahead and hire one of the recommended local photographers for about $250 to do a photo shoot and WOW, what a difference. It has paid for itself and much more!

Check your competition in the area or as Luke says, check what the enemy is doing around you with regards to similar size cabins being managed the same way you plan to manage yours and then price accordingly. We haven't gone with dynamic pricing yet as we just do what I was told to look at and price that way. It can be a chore and maybe we'll look at that once this first year is under our belts.

We list with AirBnB, VRBO and Houfy.  99% of our bookings come from AirBnB which is why we put up with their current site management style for the time being.

We always honor our pricing on the sites even if we made a mistake and missed an opportunity to raise prices. Truth in Advertising if you will. Maybe Dynamic Pricing will help us avoid mistakes like that.

Your cleaners will be your Godsend, so choose wisely. Interview as many as you can and go with your gut and the recommendations of others. They will be the ones that get you to Super Host!

It's been a blast learning the business, even with the temporary bump from Covid...We're ready to get another cabin because this has been a Cash Machine!

Good Luck and yes to what everybody else has said as well!

Paul