Advice for a newbie in the short term rental space?

[Meghan Reed]

My husband and I are under contract on our first STR in Old Saybrook, CT. We have two standard rental properties which we've owned for 5 and 6 years but feel like we have a lot to learn on this new venture. I'm trying to research as much as I can as quickly as possible to try and help our cash flow this year. Does anyone have advice they'd like to share?

Our plan is to furnish the property ASAP after closing (early Feb) then advertise the property. We have renovations that we'd like to do to really get the property in tip top shape but plan to do them over next winter to avoid being out of commission during the warmer months.

I'm not sure whether to use AirBNB or market it elsewhere. We're really trying to reduce the marketing and turnover fees as much as possible since we know we'll be in the red for a bit.  We live about an hour away from the new property so my husband and I plan do some of the management.

Thanks in advance for any guidance you'd like to share!