All Forum Posts by: Rob Anteau

I agree with everyone here. List on VRBO and AirBnB. There is no reason I can think of not to be on both. Just sync the calendars and you're good. For the SEO it is key at the very beginning (first 30 days) to get your SEO results in a good place. There is a podcast I was strongly suggest you listen to. It gives some great insight to SEO. Its called Winning the AirBnB Algorithm Game by The STR Insiders. It is worth the listen.

1 Vote

Hello Everyone,

I'm going to purchase a log cabin in the mountains and considering the potential impact of professional interior design. I'm hoping to get some insights and experiences from those who have done this before.

Have any of you used professional interior designers for your short-term rental properties? Did you find it valuable? Do you believe it significantly enhanced the appeal or functionality of your space?
Do you feel it was worth the price? Was there a noticeable difference in your occupancy and guest ratings that you attribute to the professional design?
What are the estimated costs for professional interior design services for short-term rentals? I realize this can vary widely, but any ballpark numbers would be incredibly helpful.

I appreciate any insights or advice you can share!

Best regards,

Rob

1 Vote

Charlotte, North Carolina

Hello - in February, I will have a short term rental running in Toledo, OH. I'm looking for cleaners in the area.

0 Votes

Toledo, Ohio

Quote from @John Carbone:

Quote from @Rob Anteau:

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Rob Anteau:

Quote from @Luke Carl:

Quote from @Rob Anteau:

After five years of having STRs and dealing with multiple parties, I decided to turn off auto bookings back in April. Since then bookings have remained about the same, but I have had zero issues with parties.

Curious what other hosts do with auto-booking. Do you have it enabled or not?

Yes you will want to do instant-book on both airbnb and vrbo. It makes your life easier. You have to manage it though. It gives you options. Caveats. Choose the ones you like and keep an eye on things. ALSO you can cancel up to 3 instant books per year penalty free. Today is the last day before that resets so get to canceling lol.

I think the instant-book-off and the lack-of-parties -was a coincidence. There are plenty of old boring people using instant-book. In other words turning it off is not going to be a filter for Miller Lite.

In order to get rid of the parties you have to make yourself more clear. It's exactly like LTR. If you don't want someone under 600 credit, you don't take anyone under 600 credit. Simply tweak your listing and your messages to make it VERY CLEAR parties are not allowed at your property. In fact I wouldn't even use the word party. "this is a quiet family property" something like that. VERY FIRM.

Just one mans opinion.

Thank you Carl for sharing your thoughts. I think I have tried everything. My first rule listed is "> NO PARTIES OR LOUD MUSIC. We have a zero-tolerance policy to this rule and so we cannot stress it enough..." I even have this in my listings descriptions. I don't allow one-night bookings on the weekends. I've direct messaged guests I was suspicious of after they booked to remind them parties are not allowed, and still they disrespectfully threw a party. I realize that I will miss out on some bookings, but to me it is worth it.

Do you have exterior security cameras?

What about noise sensors?

I have exterior cameras at all my properties. Ring doorbell and camera on the driveway.

I purchased and used noise sensors at a townhome, but I thought it wasn't very helpful. It could have been the brand or I did not have the placement/settings right. I eventually stopped the service and just left them plugged in so people thought there was noise monitoring in place lol.

I agree with Luke, the additional time is not worth it, and you definitely will be losing revenue. I know I wouldn’t book a place that wasn’t instant booking. I think once I did a non-instant booking and in the time it took them to reply back I ended up finding another place I liked that had instant booking and I withdrew my inquiry.

have you tried including things in the initial “welcome” message after a guest books to get the point across? In my first message that’s automated after a guest books I mention things like “as mentioned in the listing, I have a steep driveway but it is maintained. There are no parties allowed this is strictly enforced etc etc if these are issues for you, you may cancel your reservation free of charge within 48 hours of now.”

I’ve had a few guests cancel immediately after, and if someone is going to cancel immediately after my message, I consider myself fortunate.

I have it in my listing, I have it in my rules, I have even sent a direct messages to guests. You've never had a party at one of your places? I don't know what I'm doing wrong, because I've had six that I can think of off the top of my head in five years.

0 Votes

Charlotte, North Carolina

Quote from @Leslie Anne Morris:

Flexible hosts get preference in the algorithm. This is straight from Airbnb. Definitely customize when you will allow it and when you won’t. For example, if they don’t have a government ID uploaded.

I know this hurts my search results, but have not seen seen a decline in bookings. My personal preference is less headaches for a few less bookings a year.

0 Votes

Charlotte, North Carolina

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

I have always used instant booking with no regrets. As of yet, knock on wood....

@Rob Anteau Do you allow last minute bookings, like same day? I make guests book at least 2-3 days in advance. This seems to avoid those last minute partiers.....

I'm honestly glad you haven't had to deal with parties, but they are awful. I actually allowed a last minute booking yesterday from a couple that said they were coming in town for their 6 year old nephew's birthday party. If they decide to throw a rager at my home for their six year old, I guess they fooled me lol! :)

0 Votes

Charlotte, North Carolina

Quote from @Patricia Andriolo-Bull:

Curious, what do you do to verify a guest to ensure no parties? I have instant book on and have had no issues but even those that require me to review (e.g. new user), there isn't much I do to make sure there isn't a party. I may ask a question or two but I find it very hard to truly know what a guest will be up to. That said, I have a minimum 7 night stay so this alone might be helping me out.

There is no way to ensure there is no party, but it seems that if a guest needs an approval they are less likely to book for a party. I'm not in a vacation type spot so a 7 night minimum isn't an option, but I wish I could because I think no one is booking for seven nights just to throw a party. :)

1 Vote

Charlotte, North Carolina

Quote from @Villy Ellinger:

@Carrie Foley Yes, yes, yes and 100 more yeses!!! If you have a lot of time on your hands one day and decide to read the ENTIRE section of TERMS of Service on the Airbnb site, which basically defines all their obligations to you as a HOST, you will find out that most of it protects Airbnb, some protects the guests and you, the HOST, are basically left naked in the wind in most cases. The whole "damage protection" shpeel basically requires an act of Congress for you to get anything. So.... even if you never plan to try to uphold a rental contract in court, just the fact that the guests know you can is a great deterrent. And if your repairman walks into your property to repair a toilet and finds 2,3 or 7 people over the occupancy limit, the guest have no excuse of saying they "didn't know". They signed contract. Most of them don't actually read it. But that's not your problem. My software sends it out automatically. They sign electronically and get an emailed copy as well.

Villy, what software do you use to send your rental agreements? I just use DocuSign, but I always have to modify the contract and setup each one in DocuSign. More manual effort than I would prefer to do.

0 Votes

Greensboro, North Carolina

Quote from @John Underwood:

Quote from @Rob Anteau:

Quote from @Luke Carl:

Quote from @Rob Anteau:

Curious what other hosts do with auto-booking. Do you have it enabled or not?

Do you have exterior security cameras?

What about noise sensors?

I have exterior cameras at all my properties. Ring doorbell and camera on the driveway.

0 Votes

Charlotte, North Carolina

Quote from @John Underwood:

I turned off instant booking during covid.

I like the extra control and I don't plan on turning it back on unless bookings start to drop and they haven't. We are staying booked up so I see no need to turn it back on.

I agree John. The extra control has been great.

0 Votes

Charlotte, North Carolina

All Forum Posts by: Rob Anteau

Rob Anteau has started 5 posts and replied 28 times.

Post: STR do I need to learn SEO to maximize my listings?

Post: The Value of Professional Interior Design for Short-Term Rentals: Experience and Cost

Post: Cleaners for Short Term Rentals

Post: Allow for Auto-Booking?

Post: Allow for Auto-Booking?

Post: Allow for Auto-Booking?

Post: Allow for Auto-Booking?

Post: STR contracts - do you think they are necessary on AirBnB?

Post: Allow for Auto-Booking?

Post: Allow for Auto-Booking?