All Forum Posts by: David Bergmann

No professional photos.

Photos not staged properly (clutter, beds poorly made, etc.)

Underpriced, especially for events and holidays.

None of the small things that folks notice and mention in reviews, such as bedside chargers, noise machines, well stocked kitchen, local coffee & snacks, etc.

You should do it with your first one. YourPorter & Pricelabs are good picks.  iGMS is another good channel manager to consider b/c I believe they are still free for 4 or less properties.

@Anusha Udas I'm a big fan of Hostaway.  I switched to them about 2 years ago after using iGMS & YourPorter, and haven't looked back.  Guesty seems good, but it's about twice the price ($50+), but I don't feel the features justify the difference in price.  Hostaway directly integrates with our other software solutions (Breezeway & Pricelabs), and it has been working great for us.

@Ryan Copeland I would recommend using the built-in task management in the PMS system to start.  If you've just got a few cleaners, you can also get them to connect their calendars via ical. If you get to 8+ properties then I would recommend consdiering the switch to a dedicated task management system.  I personally use Breezeway and its great for us. 

Everyone has a different tech stack and it is really going to be dependent on your needs and what you value.  Our stack is Hostaway (PMS) / Pricelabs (Pricing) / Breezeway (Task Mgmt).

AirDNA does have data from both OTAs (Airbnb & VRBO).  They have an algorithm to determine which properties are the same between the channels and join the data together into a single listing.

I'm not sure what specific data points you are looking at, but I have been using PriceLabs market dashboard they launched last year and it's actually pretty decent.  It definitely doesn't have all the features that AirDNA does, but its useful that you can pinpoint any location and define a radius around it and get the data.  AirDNA doesn't work well in my market because their are so many bordering counties and zip codes that you would have to pay $120 / month ($40 per county) to get the data you need. The PriceLabs dashboards are only $10 a piece and really tends to have what we need.

I would consider the following (which you may have already done):

• House rules say no gatherings (penalty of $X per person if violated)
• House rules say quiet hours are 10:00 PM - 8:00 AM
• If profile has no reviews / not verified, require they confirm the # of people who will be at the property & ages
• Use a noise monitoring system like Minut or Noiseaware (disclose in listing)
• Use exterior cameras to monitor driveway (disclose in listing)

But at the end of the day, there are still bad guests who will get through and sometimes you just have to file a claim, kick them out, apologize to neighbors, and get the place ready for the next group.

We've been using a Travelers Landlord Policy with a short term rental endorsement.  The product isn't quite as comprehensive as Proper but it is significantly cheaper and I feel comfortable self-insuring the gaps with our own emergency funds and relying on AirBNB & VRBO claims.

My wife is an architect also and we are doing something similar as an additional service for property management clients / investors.  There is definitely demand for someone to be able to go from empty house to furnished nicely and ready for Airbnb.  If you can do this for them and then onboard them as a client, it could work well for you.  Feel free to PM me and I can share more details.

Did the place have reviews?  Were they good?  I think going with established credible listings is a good way to avoid such a bad experience on AirBNB.