All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

That's how I got started. The only caveat I would add is that you should be able to make the payment out of your day job salary, ideally with a bit of principal on top of that. 

 I always wonder how/why people find ancient threads and decide to reply to them . . .

What others have said- could work in the right niche, although you have to consider the opportunity cost. You would probably get more bang for your $10K with a hot tub and a used pool table. In general I would lean towards amenities that more people can enjoy simultaneously. 

On top of all that, I wouldn't want to sit around rewinding video to try and Perry Mason who the Hamburglar was, and then have to mediate petty disputes between strangers from afar. I avoid checking the cameras at all unless there is a specific security or guest concern that warrants it. I almost exclusively use the smart lock logs if I need to confirm occupancy/vacancy. 

Maybe people just aren't watching much TV at all? That's what I'm wondering myself. Less than 10% of the units in my market have cable tv on their listing. I haven't gotten a single call or message, which I'm sure I would've gotten if someone was dying to watch a game or their favorite show and couldn't figure it out. Has local channels, and with the Roku remote it is pretty simple and intuitive to find what you need. 

Horrible comparison. I don’t prance down a hotel hallway in my underwear, but I do expect to be able to do that in a kitchen of a house I rent. A kitchen or interior hallway inside a home is still a private space where I expect exclusive and private control over, whereas a hotel hallway is a shared space where privacy is not expected.

While I’m not a fan of a lot of their policies and priorities, I don’t think AirBnb is out of line with this one. 

With Charter Spectrum you can subscribe to the App-Only version of their Cable TV service (and I think this is true for other major cable providers?). I use this in my personal home and my STR property. It adds around $40/month to the cost of your internet service.

Guest simply needs to turn on the TV and go to the Spectrum app on the Roku (or any similar device), which I tell them on my "house rules/faq" sign right at the front door. Once in the app it looks just like any other Cable TV interface. Never had anyone call to ask how to use it, although to be fair, I'm not sure how many people watch TV. Either way- I prefer this for several reasons:

-Cable boxes are an absolute scam. The cable companies require you to pay extra for something that you probably don't even want, given that they provide no value and are also another clunky device requiring wiring, space etc. Cable companies have even lobbied congress to allow them to force them on consumers for each TV. 

-No clunky remote with 50+ buttons that hasn't been redesigned since 2003 that guests need in addition to 1-2 other remotes to perform basic functions. Even if it can be programmed to be a one-stop remote they are still confusing and unintuitive.

-Quick access to other streaming apps and the guests can use their own log in. I don't subscribe to any, but if they want to use them bad enough, they will dig up their password and make it work.  

Where I invest the bar is much lower, thankfully! I like being able to stand out by being a few notches above the median performing listing. All of that stuff sounds fun but also incredibly time and capital intensive. Would be interesting to see the actual numbers that those listings produce relative to the input. 

One thing that seems to be universal across markets is the ROI of the higher bedroom count. Makes sense, because if someone is searching for that and you have 4-5+ bedrooms it wipes out 90%+ of the competition in most markets.

This would be my guess as well, to harmonize across all of their platforms. Also gives them differentiation from AirBnb. 

Question is, how will guests rank your property? It's vague enough with the 5 star system, where a 4 out of 5 is the practical equivalent of a dumpy motel. Now guests have to give a 1-10 ranking? Seems confusing. VRBO is already clunky and dated enough, seems that this will just make it worse!

Great to see all the replies here and range of opinions. Seems that a lot of guests do expect a dresser, at the very least for the practicality, and even some guests who consider it an aesthetic component as well. 

With that I will probably do a hybrid where I put them in the larger bedrooms, whereas some bedrooms I can get by with the 3-drawer chest that will double as the nightstand. There are some bedrooms that are 12 x 11ish where the dimensions alone will make it tough to place a dresser in terms of movement/flow. .. .  let alone doors, windows, closets etc. I don't want to shoehorn one in just for the sake of it, and if it's in the closet then the aesthetic appeal is gone, so at that point you may as well do cubbies/shelves.

Again- appreciate all the replies and perspectives!