All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

@K.S haha no I think you misread the avg price which comes up at $119. I charge $160 on weekends and will raise rates next spring once I have a full year of booking metrics and more reviews. Appreciate the compliments!

Like that closet setup. 

Sounds cool! I like steampunk. My listing in Greenville SC is in a reviving industrial area so I've incorporated some industrial elements into my listing 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/788487343968059581?source_impre...

Agree with house hack, especially if you can segment off a self-contained unit in a basement or wing of your house. Rent it out as a budget STR or MTR for 1-2 people and you can easily cover your mortgage if you buy right.

If that's not practical for your situation a 2 bedroom STR is a good start as well. You can learn the game with low overhead/startup costs, and you have several exit/pivot strategies if things don't go as planned.

For both, location and unique amenities (walkable, views, easy access to fun places etc) is crucial. Be mindful of local regs as well. 

 This is the one I plan to put in my next property on each side of the bed. Slightly wider than a standard nightstand, no assembly (most nightstands require this) and kills 2 bird with 1 stone.  Dressers are by far the hardest thing to shop for, even moderately priced ones are marginal in quality. 

https://www.nathosp.com/product/et36f_c/hotel_guest_room_fur...

Agree with a queen, minimum. King is better. California Kings are great too because they are longer and only 4” less wide. Problem with a CA King and Full XL is that finding good bedding for them is a pain. Standard sizes make everything easier. 


Dresser outside of a room isn’t even worth having. Inside the closet is ok. You could do a mini dresser on each side of the bed in place of the nightstand, but sounds like you are tight on space already?

At first it came down to the metrics. The below national median home price allowed me to get in, and that combined with strong population growth made the appreciation upside strong. Revenue estimates were good enough relative to the entry price. 

As I looked closer I saw that there was a lot going on . ..  Hip place for young people/families, lots of new restaurants, art scene, universities, tier 1 hospital, sports complexes (traveling youth sports is big business), infrastructure investment, and large multinationals moving their headquarters into the area. I get a lot of guests from all over the Southeast.

STR numbers aren't amazing but the seasonality is low, good appreciation is likely, and if I had to pivot to MTR or LTR it wouldn't be an issue. There are regulations within the city limits but they don't seem to be enforced, plus I'm just outside of the city limits anyway.

2/1 in Greenville SC. $160 on weekends and holidays, $110 weeknights. Just started lowering the weekday ADR for those odd 2-4 day stretches between bookings by $15-20/night and it worked for this week.

October is at 87%, November 70%, December 42%. Each month has a 10-14 day stay, which certainly helps. 

The market I'm in seems like a year round market, or at least a strong 3 season. Lots of stuff going on and people travel there for all kinds of reasons. 

Maybe in the lobby. The room is often a different story. I’ve stayed in more updated holiday inn express rooms than Hilton rooms. This is a tried and true bait n switch tactic with big name hotels. 

I also think that the “need to be in the top 5%” is a bit hyperbolic. Too 25% is sufficient in many markets to do pretty well on the cash flow side. 

My next STR will be 4 bed bare minimum, preferably 5. Must have room for a game room as well, even if it's in the garage or basement. The increased returns are dramatic.

 Not worth tying up limited cash/capital just to make $1000/month at best on a 3/2 just like everyone else’s. You can only squeeze so much out of that.