All Forum Posts by: Dado Vucak

I'm about 60/40 in favor of Airbnb over Vrbo. 

Hey @Alan Asriants I own one STR in CDA. It is quite seasonal as others have mentioned but it shouldn't be something that deters you from the market.

Here's a glance at the performance of my one property. I've had list listed on Airbnb and Vrbo since Jan. 2023 - I've been very happy with the performance thus far.

Also worth noting - I'm just a few blocks away from the hospital - I'm sure these numbers would look much better if I was in the heart of downtown. 

Property details: 4 bed, 3 bath, sleeps 10

FWIW, I own a STR that I manage out of state. My wife and I also both work full time. Oh, and we have a 6 month old.

It’s not rocket science. I guarantee you can figure it out. It just takes work ethic, determination, and proper prioritization. 

Quote from @Adhirai M.:

Hello all, I am looking to invest in STRs out of state (from West Coast to East Coast). My biggest concern / worry is how to self-manage the property, considering that I am brand new and I have no experience in any sort of real estate niche. I want to hire a property manager but the 20-30% fee messes with my numbers. 

I've read other forum posts and looks like most people successfully self-manage from out of state. My main question - What happens if there is an urgent issue with property and my handy man is not available to get there immediately? Also both my husband and I work full time jobs and we have a toddler who keeps us occupied as well. 

I really don't want my venture into short-term rentals and real estate investment to turn sour. Please advice how you all successfully self manage STRs from long distance.

To answer your main question - if it’s truly urgent, you’ll find someone. You pay someone enough, they’ll get the job done. 

There are plenty of folks on Craigslist, task rabbit, etc. that are always looking for work. I’m sure you can find someone in a pinch without having to pay them an arm and a leg. 

Aside from that, continue building relationships with the folks that are already on your team - your cleaner and handyman in particular. Get to know them on a personal level. Send them birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, give them a bonus. Do something they’re not expecting but you know they’ll appreciate. 

When an urgent issue comes up, you’re no longer just a customer, you’re a friend.

I posted something similar last night. @Alexander Knox

Here's my list:
STR Performance Dashboard (biggerpockets.com)

Hey all -

I wanted to share a cool project I’ve been working on the past few months - my STR Performance Dashboard.

Here’s a link to a quick video walk through displaying the functionality of the dashboard.

STR Performance Dashboard

The other neat feature here is that you can get Power BI on your phone so I can see how my business is doing in real-time.

What metrics and KPIs are you all tracking for your STRs?

Here’s my list:

- Total Bookings

- Occupancy Rate

- Total Revenue

- Revenue per Night Booked

- Cancellation Rate

- Booking Lead Time

- Average Guest Count

- Total Bookings by Platform

If you have any suggestions on potential improvements or other features to add - please let me know! 

Quote from @Christina Cryer:

Wow, this is goals! I’d love to know what channel manager you are using? 

 HostTools

Quote from @Patricia Andriolo-Bull:

Quote from @Dado Vucak:

@Patricia Andriolo-Bull late response here but I've been using HostTools for around 6 months now - I love it! 

I have the Pro plan so it integrates with my August smart lock. This was critical for me since I wanted the code generation for the guests to be fully automated. I've also leveraged their webhooks to automate additional things on my end like setting the thermostat to the appropriate temperature an hour before the guest check-in and turning it off after they check out. I didn't want to have to remember to do that myself every time. I've also leveraged that capability to build some pretty cool dashboard on my end to occupancy, revenue, and cancellation rates across all platforms. 

It's worked out great for me so far and I'm very happy with it, especially at the price point ($10/month). 

My only critique is the VRBO integration. It seems to me that whenever I get a message or booking from a VRBO guest, it takes it a little while to show up in HostTools whereas airbnb bookings seem to be instant. 

 Are you still using HostTools? How are you liking it?

 Hi.  I very much like HostTools.  VRBO is having a bit of a glitch right now and loses connection at times.  It forces me to call VRBO to reset the account but luckily they are easy to get a hold of and fix.  I'd love to learn more about how to use Webhooks.  Is it easy to set up with Nest thermostats?

It’s not the most simple task unfortunately - definitely requires some technical skill.

It requires using a home automation platform (I use hubitat), creating an API, and creating some rules within the automation platform. 

I’ve been meaning to write a blog post on how to do it - I’ll eventually get around to doing it. @Patricia Andriolo-Bull

@Patricia Andriolo-Bull late response here but I've been using HostTools for around 6 months now - I love it! 

I have the Pro plan so it integrates with my August smart lock. This was critical for me since I wanted the code generation for the guests to be fully automated. I've also leveraged their webhooks to automate additional things on my end like setting the thermostat to the appropriate temperature an hour before the guest check-in and turning it off after they check out. I didn't want to have to remember to do that myself every time. I've also leveraged that capability to build some pretty cool dashboard on my end to occupancy, revenue, and cancellation rates across all platforms. 

It's worked out great for me so far and I'm very happy with it, especially at the price point ($10/month). 

My only critique is the VRBO integration. It seems to me that whenever I get a message or booking from a VRBO guest, it takes it a little while to show up in HostTools whereas airbnb bookings seem to be instant. 

 Are you still using HostTools? How are you liking it?

I use HostTools - I highly recommend it. It’s simple, straightforward, and it integrates with my Smart Lock for automated code generation. Best of all though, it’s only $12/month!

HostTools also has the ability to send webhooks (triggers that fire off when some event happens) that can then fire off further automation. This does require some technical skill but know that it is possible. One thing I’ve done is create a trigger that fires off two hours before the guest is set to check in which automatically sets my thermostat to the appropriate setting. I have another one that does a similar thing when the guest checks out.