All Forum Posts by: Andrew Steffens

Unsure about STR regulations in Charleston but I would advise you to search "arbitrage" on this forum and read up on the hundreds of pros and cons responses here before diving in to any market using the arbitrage model.

I am not an expert on your market but I will give you some advice that should apply well tov most any market:

1. Do everything right: To include but not limited to pro photos, professional quality design, durable furnishings.  Don't skimp.

2.  Look where to add value.  Again I am not an expert on CA ski area but I imagine hot tubs are popular amenities.  See what the most popular listings in your area are doing and emulate it.  You do not need to reinvent the wheel.

3. Get on at least Airbnb/VRBO.  There are other platforms you could do to boost but at least those 2.  Take advantage of their boost feature to raise visibility in exchange for discounting new guests.

4. Pricing - If you cannot check your competitions price and adjust yours daily you may want pricing software (PriceLabs probably best for single listing owners/operators).  Most markets are competitive and a mere $10 a night could cause someone to book another property over yours which could cause vacancy and loss. You also do not want to be too cheap and leave money on the table.

If you do all of that you will be well on your way to being successful.  Good luck! :)

IMHO Pricing software is near useless without human supervision.  For someone managing 1-5 properties you may be able to get away with checking up with it weekly.  With 65 units, I have a revenue manager who is checking it daily.  It can be a useful too, but nowhere near set it and forget it.

Being on 15+ channels including Marriott Homes and Villas, Booking.com, VRBO/Homeaway Airbnb of course, Homes2Go etc etc

Keep in mind STR guests will be rough on plumbing. You will be facing refunds and bad reviews during backups.

Absolutely despise them as they are 100% guest sided.  Unfortunately most of us have to deal with them.

I agree with @Collin Hays its a trust issue.  You can always ask to see the reservations.

 Depends on your market and competition.  If you have a truly superior and/or unique product it will be easier to not have to compete with price.  I am in Tampa and it is quite competitive and I often have new properties that are nice but not necessarily superior.  We do some initial discounting and ramp up the price as reviews come in.  Me having several thousand good reviews help, but personally I would not book a property with 0 reviews.  Offering a maybe 10% discount will help grease the wheels and the cost is small.

There are probably more experienced people on this type strategy who will hopefully chime in.  I have some experience here, and my answer will be it depends.  Before you commit I would talk to banks, probably local banks are better than regional or national.  I would also talk to local brokers.  Get you ducks in a row before committing.

Also, not an expert in that area, but I cannot believe that a cabin double the size will do the same revenue.  Are you just using a number like AirDNA provides or have you dug in and found comps?