MTR Operations + Lessons Learned

[Jamie Banks]

When I started my MTR journey in January 2023 I would never have guessed that less than a year later I would manage over 20 MTRs and have over 80 MTRs total in my company's network. As I've grown my MTR business, operations has been my focus point. Here's a few tips that I've learned along the way:

- Invest in automations and technology. Having MTRs that are equipped with the tech you need (like keyless locks and cameras) helps make management easier. Whichever PMS (property management software) that you use make sure it integrates with your lock. I use Owner Rez and the Schlage Encode integrates so that the lock automatically assigns a code to each reservation and includes it in the check in instructions. Automations make managing easier and helps eliminate human error. 

- Stay on top of your bookkeeping. From day 1, I have been using Baselane. Baselane is a bank that has bookkeeping and property management capabilities that are included for free. With Baselane I can set up a virtual account in about 30 seconds for each property that I manage that helps me stay organized and automatically tag transactions from each property's account to that property.

- Hire a great team. I operate in 7 markets and in each market we have a quality control manager or runner, a cleaner with at least 2 backups, and a handyman/woman. I also have at least 1 investor in each market who has MTRs in that market. Collaboration has been a huge tool for growing my business and having other investors to pass MTR leads to is very important. Especially when getting leads from insurance relocation companies you never want to say no!

Are there any others tips from fellow MTR operators?

[Allen Duan]

You're rocking it Jamie!

This year my big takeaways include:

-Hire overseas talent. Any modern business today should have some of their workforce overseas. The basic admin tasks that all of us have to do can take up a lot of our time, keeping us away from the high value work we should be focusing on. For me that's client acquisition, marketing our properties, and empowering my team.

-The need to keep my eyes on the right numbers and metrics to ensure I'm making the best decisions. I'm investing in accounting services with Ximplifi to do this as well as building out the reports I need to see daily. One immediate result, I've let go of some of our rental arbitrage properties that aren't worth it.

-My goal for 2023 was to network as much as I can. And it's paid off immensely. Not only have I met so many cool people and enjoyed the relationships I've built, it's also led me to clients, potential partners, and people I've learned so much from. I'm going to increase my networking next year as well as getting my branding and social media machine going.