All Forum Posts by: Benjamin Canyon

Quote from @Barry Young:

Hi there, I will be purchasing a rental property in Tulum early next year.

Does anyone have any recommendations for a vacation property manager?  thanks.

 Hey Barry! Depending on the property size, my company Nocturna Rentals might be able to help. We are only taking on properties with 3+ bedrooms at this time. Send me a message if you'd like to discuss!

Quote from @Juan Carlos Flores Garcia:

Does anyone know about a company or person with experience that can help me managing an apartment in Tulum ? 
thank you 

 Hola Juan Carlos - My company Nocturna Rentals can help with this depending on the property size. We typically only take on properties with 3+ bedrooms. Please feel free to send me a message if you'd like to discuss! Happy to help if we can. 

Hey @Joe Stout! I had basement flooding in my DC row house and used a company called Value Dry Water Proofing. Not sure how far they are from your part of MD but I was really impressed with their technician Russ. He installed a French drain in the basement along the problem wall with a sump pump and vapor barrier on the walls, so we didn’t need to do anything on the outside of the house. That was in 2013 and we haven’t had any issues since. Hope that helps!

Hey @Ryan McKay,

These are the services we help guests get at our properties in Tulum:

✔ Personal Chef
✔ Cocktail Service
✔ Daily Juice Program
✔ Private Yoga Classes
✔ In-House Massage
✔ Daily Housekeeping
✔ Professional decorator for special occasions
✔ Private Airport Transportation
✔ Private Chauffeur
✔ Bike Rentals
✔ Yacht Rentals
✔ Tours & Excursions

For me and our brand, it's always been important to position extra services provided by 3rd parties as...3rd party services we help our guests arrange. The just provide a concierge service. We make commissions on the services. But this positioning protects us from blame or a bad review if the guest doesn't like the service or if the service provided messes up somehow. But worth consulting your CPA as others suggested. Not sure if collecting commissions on 3rd party services changes anything, compared to providing those services yourself.

Hope this helps!

Hey @Shane Archer,

I recently put something like this together for a new STR construction project. The main difference is that I was bringing the money and the deal, and gave sweat equity to my friend who did all the project management and architectural and interior design. I spent a lot of time worrying about how to split things up, what would be fair, etc. Until I got some great advice that I'll pass on to you: don't worry too much about it, particularly if these are money partners you will want to continue working with. Find a yessable proposition for them, and make sure you don't feel uncomfortable with your take. Then once the deal is done and things are up and running, do an autopsy. See how you feel about it how everything went and how the split feels. Ask your partners how they feel. Then based on this experience, tweak the terms accordingly for the next deal. You can even frame this up front so your partners know these terms are just for the first deal, then you'll debrief and refine your agreement for the next deal.

Hope this helps!

Hi @Kyler J Sloan - You'll just want to block dates. This will keep your listing active and bookable by guests beyond the dates you've blocked off.

Hi @Alison Pidgeon - I'm a fan of offering king beds generally for my STRs because it feels more luxurious and more like a hotel—even in a small room. That said, I am also always thinking about the flexibility of my rentals and ways to increase max capacity to allow for more ppl to sleep there. So I think it's great you're thinking about families. With a two bedroom, I would put a king in one room and 2 full/double beds in the other room, even if it's tight. That allows you to sleep up to 6 ppl. Add a pullout or convertible sofa in the living room and you can sleep a total of 8ppl. In a scenario like this, I'd charge an extra $25-35/night per guest over 6 ppl.

Quote from @Joe S.:

I realize this question is going to be unheard of by some, but would you consider renting a short term rental without TVs?

We have a three bedroom two bath Lakehouse, that we are considering keeping for personal use. We had considered turning it into a short term rental for the time we are not there.. 

I do not have TVs in my personal home for personal reasons. It would pain me to put TVs into a vacation rental that I was going to be using much personally.

I love this question! I have one rooftop STR in Tulum without a TV, but it has incredible jungle views in all directions. Not a single person has ever complained. Granted, it only sleeps 2 people. In larger units, especially with families, ppl might want a TV to watch something all together, which is hard on a laptop. But I think if this is important to you, you could play it up in the listing: the idea of being remote, in nature, by a lake, etc. And make it clear there are no TVs and maybe even WHY there are no TVs (e.g. a chance to disconnect and be in nature). Then you might attract guests who are looking for exactly that.

A compromise could be only buying 1 TV for the living room and keeping it covered with a tapestry in a corner while you're staying there.

Quote from @Nicholas Williams:

Hello, 

I am looking for a mentor that can help me learn more and more about short term rentals process. I want to know how to go about getting my first one. Is there anyone out there who can provide me some direction?

Hey Nicholas - I've recently launched a coaching business about this and would be happy to give you a probono consult. Send me a PM.

Quote from @Tara Montgomery:

Hi, I own a few properties that I am turning into airbnb rentals. What is the best way to finance the renovations ? I don't want to refi the mortgage because I like the terms I currently have I just need to redo the flooring, paint, fix minor wear and tear redo the kitchen cabinets, etc and get the furniture. The first one is a Townhouse and the other is a single family home both are in Georgia. I have others in 3 different states but want to focus on the GA ones first but would consider including the others if needed. My debt to income ratio is not good and my score is low due to debt only so conventional would not work I need investor friendly

I agree on a HELOC could be a good option. But you could also apply for a credit card that has 0% interest for the first 12 months and use the extra income from Airbnb to pay it off. Lowes and Home Depot sometimes have cards like this that also offer discounts on materials.