All Forum Posts by: Julia Ferris

 My opinion: It is not hygenic, and would not go over well in most US markets. You would constantly get questioms/complaints asking where the top sheet is. Imagion a woman going through menopause with hot flashes. How would she be comfortable. The edges of the duvet cover would discolor fairly quickly, due to people's sweat (even if you wash it in between each guest). Some guests would take the insert out of the cover, and use the cover only because they are hot. Hotel common practice is to triple sheet (sandwich blanket/comforter/etc. in between two top sheets). Not something I would reccommend.

I would not take the stairs out.

I am looking for a second home HELOC lender in Michigan. If you find anyone, let me know.

There is a Facebook group for Pensacola AirBNB Hosts that is very active. You won't be able to join if you are not a host, but you can contact the moderator, and give her your information to pass on. I also, suggest that you think your business model through, as cleaning for short term rentals is different than other cleaning. You might want to think about having a new client in-take sheet with a lot of questions to ensure that the Hosts expectations and your service are in line. For example, will you be cleaning grills, and outdoor furniture? What about windows, ovens and oven hoods, vents, ceiling fans, etc.? How will you report maintenance issues? Will you take care of small maintenance issues? Test and change lightbulbs (including outdoor lights)? If a guests complains at check-in that something was not adequatly cleaned (whether real or imagionary), will you drop everything, and fly over there? What about laundry? Can you take it home and bring it back, or will you have to do it at the property? Will you charge for last minute cancellations? How will you handle holidays?

Food for thought, because it is best when you and the owner are on the same page from the get go.

 In my hypothetical, the $25,000 net was after and including debt service.

I think it is a mistake to look at STRs in purely investment terms, rather than business terms. LTR's biggest variables are how many bedrooms and baths and over time, market rents in area. Market rents for STR will vary way more drastically than LTR. STR success and return involves more marketing, ebbs and flows of travel indsutry (which has recently been super strong, but can be very fickle), competitive advantages, and even the quality and consistency of the cleaner. I'm not sure that anyone can intelligently answer that question without being a lot more specific about a particular property.

Reading the comments, there seem to be a rivalry between people advocating for technology, and people saying save your money.

To start off with, you have a lot to learn; and to maximize helpfulness of the technologies, you have to spend time learning them. Learning the technologies generally take a back seat, when you have a guest in your no-pet-friendly unit telling you they cat is a service animal, or should you rent to a 20 year-old, or should you use instant booking or not, or the miriad of more urgent things you need to learn.

For example, using pricing software can be very effective to maximize revenue, but you still need to program the software properly. If you don't program it corecctly, it can hurt. In the beginning, it is usually better to have a decent amount of revenue coming in, and learn how to host, than to get analysis paraylsis because you must maximize revenue, and no one is booking.

Frequently, money is tight on a new property, so spending money on software programs that you have not spent the time on to use effectively is not best use of resources. And I know what I'm speaking of because I have been paying for Owner Rez for 10 months, and I am still not booking through it (although I am making a little headway).

But my advice is to focus on what is free first, and only add a subscription to solve a problem that you are having.

Julia Ferris

You are asking other people a question that is very personal to you, but it is fantastic that you are thinking of this before it happens.

Is this property a serious business, or is it just gravy if you rent it a couple times per year? For me, I want to maximize occupancy and revenue, so giving someone a discount or letting them stay for free is a big deal, reserved for my closest family members only (and not even for them during high season, when they have another option). 

Imagion this senario: you have very good friends, whom you know will take great care of the property, and you give them a great discount during high season. Then your cleaners get there after their stay, and the property is by no means trashed, but ... it is not a quick cleaning for the cleaner. She has to put furniture back to original position (even though it is in the house rules not to move furniture). Apparently they brought a pet you did not know about, so she has to clean the hair. They left games out, didn't take out all the trash, only some, etc. Maybe something small is broken. How do you feel? Can you let it go?  Or will you have slight feelings of resentment toward them? Be honest with yourself.

I do not give discounts to anyone. I either comp it all together, and expect nothing in return, or the people I know can book through normal channels (but I perfer to rent to strangers).

But my properties are businesses. I am trying to build something; I'm not already financially independant.

I hope this helped.

Julia Ferris