All Forum Posts by: Brian Barch

I prefer awning.com

the rabbu numbers for my markets are 30+% below airdna/awning 

Really great, objective info. My takeaways:

Demand and supply both grew YoY, but supply outpaced demand by about 5 points.

Due to inflation, ADRs were up about 5%, essentially keeping overall revenue flat.

Some data is pointing towards stronger demand for nearby, hunker down with the family during flu season types of destinations versus out and about beach vacations (when compared to prior year) as winter settles in.

Growth for future bookings is still positive, but slowing

I would use awning and airdna to research market potential. No tool is perfect, but one can reliably understand if the cost/market potential ratio makes sense to pursue.

is this purely an investment for you? Also personal use?

The STR market is at an inflection point where many cities/counties/HOAs are learning what ordinances need to be in place, so please do not take this risk lightly.

a condo association can simply say “no maś” and you are effectively 
screwed. 

There are all sorts of mentalities out there around blue chips markets being tried and true/over saturated, etc.

If it were me, I would research which markets had the best potential based on your budget and proximity, then start reaching out for STR specific realtor contacts in those markets in this forum

I remember in the restaurant industry, tired of paying tips, customers demanded they wanted “all in” pricing.

So restaurant’s started charging more…and guests still left tips and were still unhappy.

So restaurants went back to lower prices, with an added 3% charge called out for health care costs….

You guessed it, people still complained

Navigating STR insurance is still the Wild West a bit.
Proper is known to be the most comprehensive, however they were also double the price at about $2200/year, when other quotes were in the $900-1200 range. This is for a small, 3 bed mountain cabin. 

We are NOT in Virginia FYI

Appreciate that!! We are coming up on 6 months with our Georgia mountain cabin as our first STR, but HH is next in our sights (for personal use selfish reasons mostly!) will reach out as soon as the funds are back up

No go. Love the revenue, but expenses are too high. 

I’d love if you got your feet wet on a smaller property.

the higher the purchase price (risk), the higher the potential reward needs to be

 Well, the reset is that customer service jobs are going away. People don’t want to work them, and customers would rather order through a device and get consistent results. 
I prefer ordering counter service vs waiting on mediocre table service in a climate where restaurants are understaffed. Same is going to happen with door dash. Do you really want to pay $25 all in for a meal that arrived cold and soggy? Not unless I have to

Maintaining good cleaners

Debating whether to stay in the cabin ourselves for holidays, or rent as those days are lucrative.
having to pay for a cleaning crew for personal stays. Yes we could clean ourselves, but elect not to with 3 young kids.

In general, all the things that could go wrong for a guest, things that are unacceptable when paying as as a guest (internet outage, clogged drain, etc)

The anxiety of managing to positive reviews in the early days when one bad review can do you in

Unknown and changing legislation