All Forum Posts by: Kathy Hansen

My target market from the beginning was families. I've been in the family collection for at least a year. I guess I should have kept better records, but I honestly can't say whether I had more bookings from families than from before I was part of the collection. I will say that if you start getting a lot of families, be prepared for the constant need to clean up crumbs, bits of paper, stickers, and other detritus from your floors from toddlers, along with smeary handprints on glass surfaces.

Jonathan began with the same question I have. For whatever reason, most of my SUMMER bookings come from VRBO/Homeaway, while the rest of the year, they are mostly Airbnb.

There actually are specific books about STRs. I read a number of them; I can't really identify one as any more helpful than the others. As others have said, this forum and others, such as on Facebook, are packed with info from experienced hosts. A book is a good way to get an overview, but for the rest of it, nitty gritty, experience -- yours and that of other hosts -- is probably more on point. Here's the URL for an Amazon search of STR books (not sure this is allowed):

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=short+term+rentals+book&crid=3BI3POXP3UY15&sprefix=short-term+rental%2Caps%2C465&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_2_16

This topic is frequently discussed here and was very recently. You may want to do a search. The trend is away from cable and to streaming services on Smart TVs. Roku, VuDu, YouTube TV channels are among many options discussed in addition to Netflix.

As you've already discovered, there are regional preferences. Where I am (Eastern wA state), summer is primarily VRBO/HomeAway, and the rest of the year is Airbnb. Beware of Booking.com. Some people swear by it, but I would never use it again, even if i were promised 100% occupancy. Many issues with cancellations and payment.

I've offered my place for 3 silent auctions; only once did the winner redeem, and the winner happened to be a good friend, so no worries.

Dropping cable actually seems to be a major trend among STR hosts. Most guests seem to be fine; a few are upset about no sports channels. I got an antenna for local channels but haven't installed it yet.

Costco and store in garage of one listing, pantry of the other. I place a Costco order roughly quarterly.

If the photog showed me high-quality samples, I would do that in a heartbeat because Airbnb pro photos are not available in my area.

I believe Airbnb reversed this decision.