All Forum Posts by: Blake King

Thank you for your response John, i know you are doing things right in the same market as well, so that is good advice. While i dont want to be greedy, if i honor these prices i stand to lose close to $15k in revenue as i have calculated, which at my stage being 25 and owning 2 long terms and now 1 STR, i need that $15k. Its a tough balance, so i thought offering them a discount in between where i want it to be and what they paid was more than fair, since i dont need to honor any of them. For example a few people paid $225, i want it at $325, so i offered it to them at $275 which i thought was fair. I am a bit afraid that no matter how their stay is, they may leave a bad review just because i made them pay an extra $50 / night from where they might have paid... Its a tough spot to be, but i know if i can stick out the starting bumps, its going to be great, and trying to remember that.

 Thanks Jimmy, this is helpful. Ill check out Guestly!

With Pricelabs, i guess i just want to make sure i am not relying on it too much, however i am also only 3 days into managing this so far, so i havent given it the chance. In the back of my head, i just wonder "are these prices really what they should be?" and am worried about leaving money on the table, or asking too much and not getting bookings, its hard to trust a machine sometimes. But i suppose losing a few bookings right now in the slow season, is a lot better than charing what they were charging before ($200 less / night in some cases). Do you personally rely on Price labs completely for your pricing? 

Right on thank you. Heading to barnes and noble now to get the book, looos like they have it in stock. And yes we still have a Barnes and noble in seattle! 

@Luke Carl Thanks for the response, i actually pre-ordered this months ago, and realizing now its out, i think it got sent to my old address, buying a second copy now. But, do you mean we do not want to offer to all of these inherited bookings, or we do not want to raise the price on people that had things booked previously? Or perhaps you mean not to use Price labs? i realize there was a lot in question 1.

I have watched your Youtube video about the Enemy method multiple times, but do you go in and manually set the price for every week, based on enemy prices?

I really appreciate the help, you and Avery are a huge part of our inspiration in buying this property, and know that when we stick out the rough patches, this will be huge for us! 🤘🤘

Hello Everyone,

My wife and I jsut bought a 3 bedroom cabin from Avery's team at the Short Term Shop, and are very excited to take over a cabin that was poorly run, and turn this thing into a cash machine! This post may be better split into multiple, but here are some things I need help with, and turned to the only place i trust! Thank you for advance for your replies.

1 - We inherited over 50+ bookings, all the way into December of 2022, all of which are rented WELL below what we plan to rent it for. The previous owner sent an email out saying we would honor their booking and pricing, which i never agreed to, i only agreed to honor their dates. She apologized, and i sent out my email either way, offering them a discount from what we WOULD rent it for, to get them closer to what they a paid. A few people have understood, and a few have written some very strongly worded emails saying how this is "bad business." I do feel bad for these people, as i would be angry in their situation, but there is no reason i need to honor bookings, especially things that are 6+ months out, correct? Perhaps i just need some motivation to stick to my guns and do things for myself, its either their money or mine.

2- Does anyone have recommendations for programs that will help manage messaging, and syncing the calendar between VRBO and AIRBNB? I know @lukecarl has a video about syncing them with a calendar, is this the best way?

3 - I have setup price labs on the listing, and the prices seem to be all over the place, with some weekdays  being $199, and some weekends the same week being upwards of $400, does anyone have experience with price labs? And if someone books this, would they pay the different rate per day, or do they pay based on the start day of their booking? i know i am supposed to run things only booked out 14 days, but i am very nervous to loose too many bookings with having my price too high... Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you!!

Awesome thanks Torrell, just applied with them!

Hello Everyone,

I am looking to get a heloc on a rental property that used to be my primary residence, that i am now renting out. I have about $200,000 in equity over my mortgage. Looking to get a Heloc to purchase a new property. My local bank said 10 weeks to get approved as they have to get an appraisal on all multi families (its a duplex). Does anyone have any recommendations for companies that will do a Heloc on a rental property for a down payment?

Thanks a bunch @Taj Richardson, ill send you a PM about Oregon markets!

Hello beautiful BP community. 

My wife and I are looking for a STR on the Oregon or Washington coast to use as a vacation home / STR (mostly STR, but for the loan sake its a vacation property). Wondering if anyone has any experience in any of the following cities? I would appreciate any insight, we live in Seattle, so all of these are within 4ish hours if we needed to make it over.

Ocean Shores, WA.

Westport Wa.

Long Beach WA.

Seaside, OR.

Cannon Beach, OR.

Oceanside OR.

and Lincoln City Oregon.

We have visited all of these towns personally and often take road trips on the weekends. Appreciate any insight and help, and excited to connect :) 

I have recently been looking into this as well, and am looking into getting a "second home" mortgage, which requires 10% down, but MAY open up the possibility for renting it part time (i likely would rent it full time, but we will see).