All Forum Posts by: Jon Martin

I am very close to listing, maybe 1-2 weeks out. Directly across the street from my place is a massive condo complex, which is an old textile mill that's been renovated into high end condos. Most of the residents look like millennials and young professionals, and they've seen my place transition from something quite unsightly into a very nice place. I'd like to create a mailer/flyer with the URL for the direct booking website and a "good neighbor" discount because I imagine that many of them have friends/family who would like to visit and be super close but would appreciate not having to share the same space. 

I went into the leasing office and it was no dice. They won't place mailers for me, which is no surprise. Is there a way for me to get the names and unit numbers of the residents? 

Thank you all in advance for any feedback. 

Would it cover an august smart lock wifi bridge (2.4" square by 1.5" deep)? 

Quote from @Lauren Kormylo:

And I told the guy what his main problem was.  He only has the next 3 months open on his calendar, and Airbnb doesn't like that.  They give preference to listings open a year or more out.  He never responded, and he hasn't changed his calendar, I just checked.  

 Yes, and i appreciate that tip as well, I would've never thought of that. And the multiple photos of the same pieces of cliche motivational word art . . .. ugh. The fact that he never replied suggested that he was just in a panic and vent mode, but maybe he will take the advise given. Or not. 

I saw a post where the guy stated he had no bookings and provided a link. Half of the first photos were of prints on the bedroom walls that had fancy sayings but didn't show the room or the bed. Not sure why he thought showing marginal art work would get him a listing. 

There was one indicating how close he was to 3 major freeways. Doesn't sound peaceful or restful to me. Convenient perhaps, but I have no idea why that was so important to him over the amenities of the property.

I think the 2 sentences above might've been the same thread/listing. House was in AZ and had an anchor & ship wheel on the first page .. .. Seriously?! 

Those kinds of threads give me hope, because I can see the blatant mistakes that a lot of hosts are making.  The fact that they got away with it for so long is actually quite impressive. 

Coastal California and Hawaii are pretty hard to beat weather wise. STR Regs and Price are the challenge.

Quote from @Jeff Langley:

Quote from @Nathan Harden:

Yes. If you have a beach front property down in San Diego, you want to stick with that theme. Don't try and make it what it's not, people are in your STR for a reason, they probably don't want to feel like they're in a log cabin when they're at the sunny ocean.

Vise versa as well, people don't want a beach house if it's in the middle of a mountain, they are going up there to get that log cabin type feel.

 I disagree with this. I have a mountain cabin that is no where near rustic and is a top performer when the market is saturated with the “rustic” vibe. On the other side, i know people that have a compete rustic cabin design in the middle of a metro area that do well. 

Know your audience and chances are the top performing properties are doing something right. 

You can still have a design that is classy and fits the mountains vibe without going all Smokey the Bear and Paul Bunyan everywhere. I cringe when I see a print of the tropics in a desert or mountain house, it's just weird. 

Agreed with everything above. I'll add that proximity to attractions, restaurants, coffee shops, bars etc is a big one. Bonus points if walkable. Most of us drive enough already in our daily lives so it's nice to be able to walk to a restaurant or beach without having to get in the car, deal with traffic, parking, and then worry about getting pulled over on the way back after a few drinks. 

I also used google street view as a screening tool. If the neighborhood looks too cookie cutter, cramped, across from a trainyard, busy street etc I eliminated it right away. You don't want your guests feeling deflated on the drive in because the surroundings aren't what they were expecting. 

End of the day you need to be able to create something unique in order to stand out. 

Quote from @January Johnson:

I checked out your listing, and it could benefit from professional photos and better staging.  I would have a decorator come in and make a few changes to make it more appealing to women who book most rentals/vacations.  The place is very spare with no cohesive decor colors or theme.  Your coffee "bar" is too basic to be interesting.  Frankly, it just looks boring. The photos of the nondescript artwork and the poor night-time photography aren't helping the appeal.

Just my $0.02.

Agreed, especially in regards to the artwork. There is no reason to have a beach photo or an anchor/sailboat wheel when you are a full day drive to the ocean. It's disjointed and out of place. You have some nice desert landscapes pieces, which are perfectly appropriate given your location, so keep with that theme and maybe compliment with some decorations that have a closely related secondary theme (southwest Native American art, cowboy, western movie etc). The word art is also cliche and way overdone, especially given that you have multiple shots of the same pieces. I don't really care to wake up to "winners never quit" or whatever when I'm on vacation. 

I also think your price is too high. A quick search for the following weekend shows homes in your area with pools and/or more upscale kitchen and bathroom finishes (backsplash, undermount sinks, granite countertops, tile shower etc) for $100+ less per night. I think that with the help of a designer and a small budget for extras you could really spruce it up because the bones of your place are clean and functional. You could even change it up seasonally with some baseball related stuff during the spring training months. Good luck. 

I imagine that you all got the host survey in the last few days? Had a lot of questions on it regarding host-to-guest interactions and how hosts felt about the support (or lack thereof) from Airbnb in regards to setting disputes. The fact that this has been sent out at least shows that airbnb is aware that there is an issue. Whether they improve the situation for hosts is another story. 

On a related note, I had a booking with VRBO as a guest in 2019. The host asked me to go off site for payment at a discount and I refused. Overall we were good guests and left the place clean and didn't give the host a hard time about anything. Only thing I can think of was that we left some empty  plastic water bottles (not a place with drinkable tap water) on the counter because the trash cans were full. 

When I got my guest review, host gave me 1-2 stars in every category!!! I emailed her to ask her why and she said that her daughter was messing with her phone and must've done it . .. . mmm kay lol. Even then I still could not get VRBO to remove this guest review. So maybe VRBO favors hosts more? 

Quote from @Chris Henry:

As a follow-up, how do you manage the bedding for sleeper sofas? I’ve thought you’d want a thicker mattress than can fold up, and not sure you’d want the sheets and blanket just folded up in there for however long.  so was planning on keeping a topper and the linens in the closet. Thoughts? 

You can find some with storage compartments. This is one I have saved to my email if/when I go this route: https://ztozz.com/products/pro...

That said I have no first hand experience with this specific product.