Thoughts on renting by room for a MTR for slow season

Member since 2021 · 36 posts · 21 votes

Hey all, I have a STR/MTR in Tucson, AZ which is 3 Bed 2 bath house (with no pool ) and my bookings have completely fallen off because of the slow season. I was wondering if folks have rented their MTR by room for slow season. What additional measures we need to take in order to rent by room ? Any gotchas to do the same

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Kyle Swengel

Rental Property Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2020 · 85 posts · 51 votes

All MTR demand has really dropped off in Tucson this summer. Even last summer was a lot better. Sounds like the travel contracts just aren’t being given out and there is way more options available on FurnishedFinder for travelers coming to the area.
I rented by the room for a little bit and what I learned is the location and the room to bathroom ratio was really important. Also little things like door locks, assigning cabinet space, parking, and noise control were important. Also, a room rental a lot of the time needs to have some luxury items that draw attention like a hot tub, pool table, nice entertainment area, etc.

I know a couple friends of mine that are also in MTRs are switching theirs to long term to get people in. It’s just not the same as it was the last couple years for the mid term people like us.

Hope that things change but it’s looking like we might have to pivot to different strategies if they don’t. Im working on setting up contracts with companies and improving my marketing to get ahead again, but let me know if you find something that works. Best of luck!

-Kyle

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Kyle Swengel
Rental Property Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2020 · 85 posts · 51 votes
3y
All MTR demand has really dropped off in Tucson this summer. Even last summer was a lot better. Sounds like the travel contracts just aren’t being given out and there is way more options available on FurnishedFinder for travelers coming to the area.
I rented by the room for a little bit and what I learned is the location and the room to bathroom ratio was really important. Also little things like door locks, assigning cabinet space, parking, and noise control were important. Also, a room rental a lot of the time needs to have some luxury items that draw attention like a hot tub, pool table, nice entertainment area, etc.
I know a couple friends of mine that are also in MTRs are switching theirs to long term to get people in. It’s just not the same as it was the last couple years for the mid term people like us.
Hope that things change but it’s looking like we might have to pivot to different strategies if they don’t. Im working on setting up contracts with companies and improving my marketing to get ahead again, but let me know if you find something that works. Best of luck!
-Kyle

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Aditya Kohli
OP
Member since 2021 · 36 posts · 21 votes
3y
@Kyle Swengel : great points, my intent was just to minimize the impact of the slow season and go back to STR/MTR after 3 months , but got great insight about the time commitment and additional amenities required. Will be in touch on how it goes .
Thanks again for the advice
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Andrew BoscoBusiness Member
Rental Property Investor · NH · Member since 2023 · 442 posts · 417 votes
3y
Get creative off season. Contact corporate housing and ALE Solutions, post it on AirBNB/VRBO, Furnished Finders, FB groups and offer Dynamic Pricing with Price Labs. That will give you max exposure - especially off season.
For rent by the room - make sure every bedroom has electronic locks and the entryway has their own code for each individual. I also provide toiletries and condiments to keep it easy.
[email protected]603-833-0951
Andrew Bosco - Candor Investment Group529 Reviews
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Elisa Michals
Flipper/Rehabber · Member since 2023 · 32 posts · 16 votes
3y
This is a great video to watch re: room rental :) Jesse Vasquez specializes in mid-term rentals.

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Bonnie LowPro Member
Lender · Asheville, NC · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
3y
It sounds like you're working hard and being creative to keep your property rented. As others have noted, it's really important to have keypads on each of the bedrooms if you're doing rent-by-room because your guests want to know their space is safe. How will you be handling cleaning? That can be a source of tension in a shared space as tenants disagree about who left dishes in the sink or didn't clean the bathroom. Weekly housekeeping is an amenity you could offer that might help you standout from your competition.
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Jamie Banks
Real Estate Consultant · Reston, VA · Member since 2022 · 513 posts · 521 votes
3y
The best bet in slow seasons is to be more proactive. Oftentimes to get the highest occupancy you have to reach out to corporations, agencies, and the like to be listed as a preferred housing provider. Renting by the room could work, however because everyone is on separate leases be very careful about timing. If you only intend to rent out the rooms for 3 months, for example, how will you handle guests that want longer lease terms or that want to renew? The issue with switching to rent by the room is that you'll have to wait for all rooms to be vacant again in order to switch back to renting the whole home out as a STR/MTR.
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Christian Rodriguez
Rental Property Investor · Tucson, AZ · Member since 2024 · 24 posts · 10 votes
2y
I was just brainstorming MTR for an upcoming investment but was overwhelmed with the quantity of Furnished finder listings in the Tucson, AZ area. Amenities and location seems to be the big differentiator but still have my concerns of how big is the offering in this area.
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