All Forum Posts by: Jen Faulkner

HERE YOU GO!  

I created this exhaustive list a couple of years ago before we actually had STR's. It's still a pretty good list, but I've definitely added a few things along the way that are not on this list. It's in PDF form. If it doesn't show up when I post it, I will turn it into a JPG.

@Michael Kugler, I also own rentals in Branson!  Although it's a fun place, thankfully, we don't have to worry too much about anyone from Italy choosing Branson, MO as their vacation destination.  lol  Although, the guests who traveled the farthest for us came from Taiwan, but they were military and originally from the U.S.   :D :D :D 

Just don't use TripAdvisor!  I use AirBnb, VRBO, and HomeAway, and I'm in the process of building my own website.  I used TripAdvisor for awhile and got a handful of bookings through them, but their calendar has a tendency NOT to sync with the others, and I had two double-bookings in one week, for which they charged me $150 each when I had to cancel the bookings.  It wasn't even MY fault!  Thankfully, I caught the bookings before any guests checked in at the same time, but I still had the displeasure of canceling two bookings and getting charged for them.  Good riddance to TripAdvisor!

Yes, what @Luke Carl said.  Just rent it like it is, and fix it as you go and price it accordingly.  If you think it's something the guests would complain about or leave negative reviews about, just make sure you detail the repairs in your rental ad and let the guests know that's why the price is beyond reasonable.  From your ad, guests can decide whether they want to rent from you or not.  At least that way, you'd get some renters, rather than letting it sit empty for six months.  And in my experience, six months always turns into a year.   lol

We have a TV in the living rooms and bedrooms in our rentals, and we provide cable.  Maybe check your area to see what compares.  If most other places have TV's, you should get them too.  If you decide not to have them, make sure you're VERY clear in your ads that you do not provide a TV.  Post it in the body/description, and even post some text on pictures, just in case they didn't read the description.  If someone expects a TV, you will most likely receive a bad review.  

@Mark S., exactly!  We haven't even had the makeup cloths for very long, but when my son and and a couple of his friends visited one of our rentals earlier this year, his girlfriend was actually one of the people who used one of our white cloths to remove her makeup!  I was surprised, because I thought she would know better.  I guess not.

@Luke Carl, like someone said above, usually the towels wear out before they get "stained out."  

@John Underwood, that's pretty much what I do, too, but since you mentioned Marketplace, I was just curious.  VRBO is where most of our traffic comes from, with a handful through AirBnb, HomeAway, and TripAdvisor.  Every once in awhile, I will update Craigslist and direct people back to VRBO, but I don't keep up with CL very well.

@John Underwood, how do you represent your price on Facebook Market?  I don't like that it only allows me to put the monthy rent price, rather than a nightly rent.  And since most people aren't doing a search for the crazy monthly price that my rental would be if someone really were to stay a month, I have ours listed at $1 just so it'll pop up in the search results, but I really don't like doing it that way.  Do you have a different system for Marketplace?

I agree! We have never used anything other than white towels. White screams “Clean!” and the hotel industry knows this, and we have always tried to model them. Bleach is the cleaning person’s best friend, and we don’t have a problem with stains on towels or hand towels. We find that most stains come from people who remove makeup onto the wash cloths, and while we still stock white wash cloths for general use, we place three of these types of makeup-removal wash cloths on each bathroom counter so that the guests use them instead of the white wash cloths.

Sorry, this didn't really answer the "towel deal" question, but yeah, Wal-Mart and Costco are both good places.