Looking for advice from an expert STVR manager

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Looking for advice from an expert STVR manager

Andy Whitcomb
Investor · Black Diamond, WA · Member since 2016 · 123 posts · 127 votes

Hey guys! I have owned and managed STVR's since 2015 and have developed a pretty decent nack for it. I've leveraged my background as a furniture designer to create unique and beautiful experiences for guests, and they pay top dollar to stay at my properties. I've been a superhost for years, and we have been 95-100% occupied since long before covid.

My business partner and I currently have 3 cabins, and we really want to scale up to buy more. We have incredible returns and plenty of investors wanting to jump in with us...

But..

The management of these properties is killing me. It was no problem when we had one cabin, then we had 2 and it was still manageable, but once we added the 3rd cabin it get exponentially more crazy. It seems like every day something is going wrong! For example, the other day one of the jets on the hot tub broke. Not a big deal, except then all the water drained out and our guests couldn't use the hot tub overlooking the river, which is a huge selling point. I had to refund them $300. Then, since I couldn't the part to repair it for 2 weeks, I had to message every guest who was coming in and either give them a discount, cancel their reservation, or try and reschedule to another date. These are cabins in the woods, so we have issues like power outages, neighbor's construction noises, internet outages (a big deal when people are planning to "work from home" at the cabin), guest thought they reserved two nights when it was only one, cleaner forgets to show up... all sorts of things that add up.

It seems like the littlest issue gets compounded into much larger issues that cost us lots of money. I'm sure I'm not the only one who deals with these things. So, my question is: What are professional STR managers are doing to keep operational, maintenance, and cleaning issues to a minimum and everything running smoothly? 

And, a second question... If I were to hire this out to a manager, would they actually be able to do a better job then me or would it be worse because they aren't as invested?

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Collin HaysBusiness Member
Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
5y
Originally posted by @John Underwood:

I doubt most PM'S could do any better. No one has a better interest in your sucess than you.

They would not be able to get a hot tub part any faster than you.

Just get a good handy man that can order the part and install so that you don't have to spend too much time on problems.

Sounds easy enough.  We recently took on a client for this very reason - a hot tub issue.  Apparently the hot tub was giving problems and it took forever to get someone out to look at it.  And finally, when they did, the repairman told the owner "this will cost more money to repair than to replace."  

Have you tried to buy a new hot tub lately?  6 months wait.  

So after weeks of angry guests and refunds, he joined our program.  Before he even signed his agreement, our manager went to his property, torn down and rebuilt the motor, repaired the circuit board and 2 leaks, and it was working that day.

Lots of sunshine pumping on self-management, whilst tossing shade on PMs, that isn't quite accurate.

[email protected]806-672-7102
SMOKY MOUNTAIN FALLS INC.51 Review
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  • Paul Sandhu
    Investor · The worst town to live in, KS · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    I do everything myself (except run a sewer snake).  3M talent.  Mechanic, Magician, Mindreader.  

    2 phase electrical, carpentry, plumbing, appliance repair, HVAC, try to learn something new every day.

    0Reply
  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    Andy, I own a property management co. in eastern TN.  I self managed for a number of years, but I just didn't have time - or capability - to mess with a lot of things that came up.  This forum is mostly self-managed property owners, BUT, most of them are also living near their properties.  It's easy to say "oh yeah you can self manage", but if you are hundreds of miles away, the reality of that is a bit different.

    In terms of our homeowner clients, all except one live outside of the state of TN.  A number of them have self-managed previously.  We have some homeowners who have literally never even been to TN, much less seen their property.

    We have a lady in TX who bought two cabins a couple of years ago who has never even seen them first hand.  Both of them 1 bedroom + loft, both of them chugging out $75-80K a year combined.  She keeps 75% of that, and she paid around $510K for both of them, so she's sitting pretty darn good!  She gets her monthly checks and that's it.

    As to your question, yes of course a good property manager is going to take good care of your properties.  But...as trust develops with them, you are going to have to allow them to do their job.  The worst client is the one who pays you to manage their property, and then micromanages the heck out of you, so that you can't really do your best job for them.  

    We have one client who won't let us spend past $20 to fix anything.  We've lost a lot of rent with this property because of that.  Penny wise, pound foolish.  And he always wants to tell us how to price the rents.  Yet this is our expertise - we do it all of the time.  And then he had a chair broken, which was a $100 fix, and then he wanted to start charging everyone a $500 damage deposit.  We advised him against this, but it's ultimately his cabin, so now his annual income has dropped $10K because that deposit chases away so many potential guests.

    We have had to "fire" a few clients, because they won't get out of the way so that we can do our jobs. 

    I am always an advocate of self management, if you want a part time job.  If you don't want a part time job, you'll be miserable.  

    But...if you hire a PM, LET THEM DO THEIR JOB.  Try to shift your mindset, that since you are hiring a PM, it's more like an annuity.  Let them take care of all of the day-to-day grind, and enjoy your monthly checks.  With the new spare time that you picked up, you can spend finding yet another good real estate deal!

    Good luck.

    [email protected]806-672-7102
    SMOKY MOUNTAIN FALLS INC.51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Andy Whitcomb
    OP
    Investor · Black Diamond, WA · Member since 2016 · 123 posts · 127 votes
    5y

    @Collin Hays Thanks for your response. I think at this point I do want to continue to self manage, but maybe bring in a 1099 employee to help us manage, as well as an on-call maintenance person who lives close to our properties. So I'm hoping to gain some tangible insight on how to deal with the assorted derailments that come with a rural STVR property. Maybe there aren't any tricks, it's just about dealing with it. If that's the case then I'll just keep going like I have been. However, I believe there are things we could do better by improving our systems. 

    Eventually, if we choose to scale to several more properties, we may choose to take on an outside PM. And when we do get to that point, I'll definitely make sure to stay out of the way and let the PM do their job. As long as the PM is experienced and professional, I'll be more than happy to give them the reigns. 

    0Reply
  • Andy Whitcomb
    OP
    Investor · Black Diamond, WA · Member since 2016 · 123 posts · 127 votes
    5y

    @Paul Sandhu Maintenance and repairs are only about 40% of the issues I'm referring to. For example, even with my hot tub issue, I will be repairing that myself but I have to wait two weeks for the parts. Even though I have the skills and desire to do maintenance, that is not really the direction I want to go. Our properties are 1.5 hours from where I live, and I'm trying to create a streamline business that has the ability to scale. 

    0Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    5y

    I doubt most PM'S could do any better. No one has a better interest in your sucess than you.

    They would not be able to get a hot tub part any faster than you.

    Just get a good handy man that can order the part and install so that you don't have to spend too much time on problems.

    0Reply
  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y
    Originally posted by @John Underwood:

    I doubt most PM'S could do any better. No one has a better interest in your sucess than you.

    They would not be able to get a hot tub part any faster than you.

    Just get a good handy man that can order the part and install so that you don't have to spend too much time on problems.

    Sounds easy enough.  We recently took on a client for this very reason - a hot tub issue.  Apparently the hot tub was giving problems and it took forever to get someone out to look at it.  And finally, when they did, the repairman told the owner "this will cost more money to repair than to replace."  

    Have you tried to buy a new hot tub lately?  6 months wait.  

    So after weeks of angry guests and refunds, he joined our program.  Before he even signed his agreement, our manager went to his property, torn down and rebuilt the motor, repaired the circuit board and 2 leaks, and it was working that day.

    Lots of sunshine pumping on self-management, whilst tossing shade on PMs, that isn't quite accurate.

    [email protected]806-672-7102
    SMOKY MOUNTAIN FALLS INC.51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
    2Reply
  • Nancy Bachety
    Rental Property Investor · North Fork, NY · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 631 votes
    5y

    @Andy Whitcomb You might want to find a @Collin Hays in your location from the sound of your frustration. It could be worth it to you. Connections are worth it much of the time. 

    0Reply
  • Ali Horbach
    Real Estate Broker · Sarasota, FL · Member since 2020 · 39 posts · 8 votes
    5y

    @Collin Hays do you have any STR opportunities for sale? I would be interested in taking on something there and having you manage.

    0Reply
  • Collin HaysBusiness Member
    Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    5y

    We do not sell real estate, but occasionally we hear from a homeowner client who is interested in selling.  I am happy to pass these along for anyone interested.  As of right now, we don't know of anyone that is interested in selling, but that can change on a moment's notice.

    [email protected]806-672-7102
    SMOKY MOUNTAIN FALLS INC.51 Review
    WebsiteView Page
    0Reply
  • Michael BaumPro Member
    Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    5y

    Hey @Andy Whitcomb, we self manage our Idaho lake house on Lake Coeur d'Alene. That is about 360 miles from us. The key, IMHO, is maintenance. We have our furnace and A/C serviced 2x a year. Water heater is drained and flushed once a year. We don't have a hot tub so I am not sure what needs to be done with that.

    It is especially important to have a good handy person available to work on things that happen. We have a guy who has a broad background. We had a guest who thought the fridge was failing as everything was melting. Our guy has a lot of appliance experience. He went out the same day and found a build up of ice on the seal due to them spilling water while filling up ice trays.

    Our cleaner keeps a keen eye on things when she is there and we have a great neighbor who keeps me informed.

    We are 36 miles down lake from any major town. Hwy 97 winds it's way along the lake shore so it take about an hour to get to our house. Getting good people out there can be a chore, but for the last 4 years there hasn't been any problem. 

    0Reply
  • Andy Whitcomb
    OP
    Investor · Black Diamond, WA · Member since 2016 · 123 posts · 127 votes
    5y

    @Michael Baum Yes, you are correct that regular preventative maintenance is key, as well as having a good local handyman. We have a handyman who lives next door, and actually originally built our cabin years ago. He's great, but he's getting old and doesn't have the energy and attention to detail that he once had. I'm currently looking to find someone to replace him, or at least supplement him. Our cleaner is his wife, and we also have two other cleaners who live locally. 

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