All Forum Posts by: Collin Hays

 Overall, we are pacing up as well. Feb is down, but February is always slow, so I guess context is important.

Doing a bit of elbow grease homework can pay dividends. Sometimes your best choice is the decision not to do something.

Fascinating read. Thank you for sharing!

 I agree on the College Station area. That said, I live in Texas, and I have found that the property taxes and insurance are prohibitively high to make a short term rental work here. Hopefully your results will vary!

 We have some cabins that are in the same shape as yours for March; this is an average of all of our properties.

I get asked fairly often "How are things in the Smokies right now?"  Here is the answer.  Our year actually begins on December 1, because those revenues are not booked until January.  We also have a "Pace Report" (PR), which tells us where we are at in revenues for various months, as compared to where we were exactly a year ago on this date.  

So here are our results and pace report so far:

December (2.5%) actual

January +2.6% actual

Pace:

Feb  (17.56%)

Mar  (11.9%)

Apr +13.4%

May +41%

Jun +7.6%

Jul  +14.9%

Aug  +9.9%

So as of right now, it appears that 2025 will be below last year in Q1, but is pacing to be above last year for Q2 and Q3.  Obviously, things can turn quickly if there is some sort of black swan event (pandemic, war, deep recession, etc.).

Hope this helps you guys!

 I am not an insurance expert, but the main point is, you want to be certain that the policy is not a standard homeowner's policy, nor standard landlord policy. You are operating a business. A mini hotel.  So you need a commercial policy. The policy must specify that it covers risks for overnight, or short-term, rentals.  A typical policy for short term rentals is going to cover most, if not all, of the perils you have listed.

But if it is a homeowner's policy or standard landlord policy, the insurer may well deny claims, since the property is being used differently than what is described in the policy. 

Two thoughts:

1. Some realtors may have ethical problems with this.

2. Real Estate Commissions in some/many states may prohibit this.

The cleaning fee is a pass-thru item. You need to charge whatever you are having to pay, and that will vary by market and cleaner.

I wouldn't get too worked up about one review. Just say "we are so sorry to hear that you had issues with the sofa bed" and leave it alone. It's not the end of the world.