All Forum Posts by: Brian Barch

If you could only pick one type of location to invest in STR's for the rest of your investing career, which type of location would it be? Near the mountains(Like Gatlinburg), near the beach(Like Destin), or in a city(Like Vegas) and why?

*Doesn't have to be the locations I used as an example just wanted to give an example!

beach, from statistical perspective, beach STR is 100% occupied and I'm a proof of that LOL

Maybe some others here could also chime in to share their experiences with mountain STRs in the off-season because I am in a beach town so my market stays occupied year-round easily as well. I really want to purchase a mountain property (Western NC) but I have no idea what to expect there in the November-March months.

I’m in Clayton GA mountain market. It has very good year round appeal in my book.

There is no month that is below 65% occupancy for me. in general, June and July are strong, along with Oct/Nov/Dec due to fall colors and holidays. August is the slowest month because 8/1 is BTS in Georgia.

That said, there is no dry period as people like the winter mountain coziness, yet it’s still warm enough to go on a waterfall hike. I have a smaller cozier place (as opposed to a huge 5 bed), so it also holds appeal in Jan/Feb/Mar for a quick getaway.

0 Votes

Do these markets matter so much because this will be your vacation home? Or is this purely an investment?

id follow others and invest in a $300k market. Find a home for $250, put 10% down, and put $50k of interior/exterior design into the place to make it the best place in that market.
then learn for a few years. Start small and build equity. Then leverage for your next place. Long and slow game here….

3 Votes

Southern Appalachians. Year round appeal, driveable to cities, no condos

2 Votes

I think it’s tacky to specify how they need to rate you, that would be off putting to me as a guest.

I do think it’s wise to say you strive for 5 stars, you would love for a review to help your business, and to let you know of any improvement opportunities privately

1 Vote

Quote from @Lane Kawaoka:

Just wanted to mention that STRs are discretionary spending items and don't do that well in recessions. We are selling a couple hotel assets in New York.

I don’t believe so. Most data I’ve seen supports that even in a recession, there is little variability in vacation spending

0 Votes

Quote from @Carlos Ptriawan:

If I do manual data search for booking Sevierville for future 30 days booking in July for host that has the highest feedback:

This home has 8 days booking only
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5...

This cabin has 6 bookings only
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/2...

This cabin has 13 bookigs
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6...

It seems to more Reventure data is more accurate, how could superhost only have 40% future booking in summer is beyond me but I guess the answer is the double inventory, that's the key!

I wouldn’t go cherry picking a few cabins out of an entire vacation destination to determine how the overall market is doing. There could be 1,000 reasons why these cabins don’t have more bookings (location, price, decor, etc)

1 Vote

Quote from @Luka Milicevic:

I've seen this circulating the web and have noticed a consistent theme here....

All the comments on BP, Facebook or instagram that I've read are from actual STR owners and they all say the same thing "I haven't experienced this at all"

This was posted by Nick Gerli using some source called AllTheRooms which is not a reliable authority on STRs.

He also predicted the Nashville market will crash 34% in 2023. We only have about 40% to go in the second half of the year!

He has the same credibility as Peter Schiff. They have predicted 25 of the last 2 crashes.

Agreed on all fronts. He admits he’s a Peter Schiff understudy. And obviously he makes money on predicting bad news whether or not it comes.

0 Votes

While still useful to see an understand, as a forecaster for a profession….I would never advise someone compare to an anomaly year, whatever the reason much less a once in a lifetime event like COVID.
id love to see the data relative to 2019 though…

5 Votes

Quote from @Caleb Miller:

I bought a cabin earlier this year in the smokies at a "terrible time" to invest with a terrible interest rate but am still cash flowing a little. I crunched numbers for months and finally found something that still made sense during a tough time in the short term rental market. You can make money at any time during any market, strategies just have to change. I am not focused on instant cash flow in year 1 but focused more on the 5-10 year outlook.

Agreed. I knowingly bought at a terrible time in the NE GA mountains. The time was right for me, I have the interest and the money and it serves as a family getaway.

the sellers got nervous the city was adding (reasonable) regulations so they panicked and sold.

it rents great and makes us money. I bought for the long term 20+ years. It would have been silly to ask someone “is now a good time to buy in this market…”

0 Votes

Quote from @Michael Baum:

Well, personally I don't mind ponying up a couple of days to someone doing Gods work.

Especially seeing as someone I kinda know and trust like @Nathan Gesner is mentioning it.

I have given out free days to people who had to cancel due to major health issues. We had an older couple book with their family. The husband had a major stroke and could no longer navigate stairs. They had to cancel last minute (after the 14 day cutoff). I refunded them completely.

I then hosted them for 3 days free a year later after he was doing much better. It was more off season as we are solidly booked for 5 months a year but it was early fall. They spent so much of their retirement on medical bills they could no longer afford any kind of getaway.

I was happy to do it. They were great guests. This is not a toot my own horn type of post, but one that realizes that sometimes it's good to provides something to others.

My 2 cents, as per usual.

Wait a minute….

are trying to suggest a host should be…..hospitable???

0 Votes

Salem, Oregon

All Forum Posts by: Brian Barch

Brian Barch has started 3 posts and replied 268 times.

Post: Beach, Mountain or City location?

Post: Price of entry too high?

Post: Beach, Mountain or City location?

Post: Do you ask for a 5 star review?

Post: AirBnB Revenue Collapse? Near 50% in some areas......?

Post: AirBnB Revenue Collapse? Near 50% in some areas......?

Post: AirBnB Revenue Collapse? Near 50% in some areas......?

Post: AirBnB Revenue Collapse? Near 50% in some areas......?

Post: Is now a good time to invest in the Smokies?

Post: Pacific NW - Anyone willing to donate a couple nights to a missions couple?