All Forum Posts by: Brandon Amdahl

There is a ton of great information on STR applications here as well as on youtube. As with most things there are applications tailor made for a business and then there is everything that falls through the cracks or must be customized to fit the specific processes/preferences of the business. In order to fill this gap I use SmartSheet. I come from a project management & process improvement background (Lean Six Sigma Master Blackbelt, PMP, Stanford Certified Project Manager) and have applied the lessons I've learned implementing SmartSheet solutions in a fortune 100 company to my own real estate investments and have found it very helpful.

Example SmartSheet Capabilities:

- Dashboards with charts and reports

- Workflow notifications and approvals

- Formulas

- PDF automation

- Gantt charts

Use Case Examples:

Deliveries - Given that I'm not physically present to receive deliveries I need to ensure a smooth handoff to the individual receiving the delivery, ensuring the furniture/appliance/amenity/etc. is in good condition, and staging it. To accomplish this every time I purchase an item I add the details (ETA, staging location, link to product description, etc.) to a deliveries sheet which is shared with my property manager. SmartSheet then provides automated email reminders to us when we get closer to the ETA and through using Zapier we also get text message reminders. The property manager then updates the status of the item (received, inspected, staged, damaged, etc.) when it's received. After it is staged I check a box and the row the item details are on is transferred to an archive page. If my property manager or I ever wonder where we got the couch from or how large is the television in the living room we can just follow the product description link in the archive sheet.

Recurring Activities - I have a template for activities I have to do on a recurring basis (weekly, monthly, annually etc), include instructions on how to perform the tasks and when they must be done. Automated reminder emails then go out as the date approaches. If I ever hire someone to handle a task I can just share a report with their activities and they can train up on them by treating them as desktop procedures.

Thank you Luke. It seems like there was a disconnect between my question and some of the responses I was receiving but your reply appears to directly address it. Bottom line, your opinion is that PMs are not likely to accept my ownership of the listing and that’s at least in part to due with how they sync multiple listings.

Unless your listing agreement specifies that you are the legal owner of the listing. It is like any other contract. In exchange for ___ you receive legal ownership of all listings created for your property. If it is expressly stated in the listing agreement contract law governs. Of course there can be practical issues in the transfer which could be influenced by the capabilities of the platform and their policies but that’s separate from what I’m asking.

I don’t see it as misnomer. I’m trying to call out a distinction.

The listing itself is a deliverable which has a legal owner and that is not necessarily who has rights to edit the listing. The ownership can be specified in the listing agreement with the property manager. I’m just trying to understand typically who that owner is, not the rights for any given platform.

Is it the industry standard with short term rentals for the property manager to be the legal owner of the listing(s), or is it the industry standard for the property owner to be the legal owner of the listing?

Thank you all for the great feedback!

I’ll read up more on self-managing, but I lean towards having it managed given my my schedule.

Yeah, I’m leaning towards bigger properties for the reasons listed above.

I don’t have any specific neighborhood in mind. I’ll look into around the Pearl. Thank you.

Thank you all for the PM and cleaning service suggestions.

I'm looking to acquire a short term rental in San Antonio, Texas that would be managed by a full service property manager with STR expertise.

1. Can anyone recommend a good STR manager?

2. What are some good resources for understanding STR ordinances in the area (zone maps, license requirements, tax requirements, etc.)?

3. What else should I consider when attempting to acquire the most profitable STR in San Antonio within the $600k-$900k price range?