All Forum Posts by: Lauren Kormylo

You can't legally deny a true service animal. As others say, make it crystal clear in your listing that the "shells may cut a dog's paws, and we don't allow pets."  That way someone bringing a service dog, which is not considered a pet, will have fair warning of the danger. 

I don't use it because I only have one property, but there is Avalara for that.  https://www.avalara.com/mylodgetax/en/index.html

What @John Underwood said.  Does the license require that you have an inspection?  Then you are going to have to let them in.  If not, they might be knocking repeatedly to make sure you live there. Have you asked them why they want to come in?

I do direct booking through the Houfy website, taking credit card payment by Square.  It was easy to sign up with Square.  So far, I have only had direct bookings with previous guests that booked with me before on Vrbo and Airbnb, and they were good then so I didn't require a deposit.  Houfy now has a damage protection plan that costs the guests $5 a night and does light identity screening through SuperHog.  If I get a direct booking by a new guest, I would use that. Houfy is very inexpensive to list on, and syncs with the other platforms, making it a very quick and cheap way to do direct bookings. https://www.houfy.com/houfy-protect

I wondered if it would affect PriceLabs too. They do have you approve different settings that prices your property at the 50th percentile of your market or 75th percentile etc. So it’s not a blanket price for the whole market. I see neighboring properties of mine that are a comparable size and I know they use dynamic pricing of some kind, but no one has exactly the same price as me. Some must be using PriceLabs because it’s so common. 

If you only have a homeowners policy, and something happens like a fire or a guest gets injured, and the insurance company finds out you're renting out the house, you're in deep trouble. They will not cover you at all for anything, it'll be in the fine print of your contract that they don't cover rentals. Like everyone else says, you need specific STR, MTR or LTR coverage.

Aircover is a mild form of property damage insurance where they MAY cover a guest's damage at their discretion, and you will have to fight for it.  It is not real insurance, it doesn't cover things not caused by guests, and can't be depended on.  The other groups I'm in are always reporting the difficulties of getting claims paid for.    

Yep, these customs are slow to change.  People forget that rentals at the beaches have been going on for 100 years, way before Vrbo and Airbnb came along.  They started out with owners informally renting out their summer homes when they weren't there for some extra money, and the owners would come clean on Saturdays (and beach houses back then didn't have washers and dryers).  There weren't many people who lived year round at the beach, so not many professional cleaners.  And now, beach properties are so expensive, cleaners can't afford to live nearby. Even with local property management companies now handling a lot of these rentals, they still have trouble finding cleaners. I contacted over a dozen cleaners before I could find one who could take my rental on. All of the business is done in the summer, and pro cleaners have no work during the winter. It really speeds things up if cleaners just have to clean and not do the other stuff.  That's why it's still going on, and because that's the way it's always been there, local people expect to bring their own sheets etc.  We vacation in Ocean City MD, and I still have to bring my own sheets, TP, cleaning supplies, etc.  Been doing it for 40 years. But I can see where a lot of people wouldn't understand it. 

Also, the reason the east coast beach areas traditionally don't supply linens etc is because it was also traditional to rent for a week, Sat. to Sat. There are not enough cleaners to clean all those rentals on Saturdays only, and also do laundry, and restock all the other stuff.  I decided to just do a 3 day minimum.  My first year, I couldn't find a cleaner to clean on Saturdays at all, they were all booked up for the season.  So I had to block Saturdays off for check outs and check ins. After the first year, my cleaner was able to make me a priority and do Saturdays for me.  

My STR is at the Delaware beaches, and traditionally rentals there and in Maryland don't supply linens or TP or anything else. But I do. All of my guests have come from out of state, but are still driving to it. The first year, I made supplying linens optional, and no one opted to bring their own, even when they could save $150. So I did away with the option, and now supply linens for everyone. I've found guests want to check in and have the beds already made up for them. Some local rentals supply linens from a linen company, and they arrive in big bags - but who wants to make the beds up when everyone is excited to be there and go something? And with a large family, sheets for 6 beds and towels for 8 people take up a lot of space in cars.

Airbnb and Vrbo will expect your rental to get 5 star reviews, to them anything less is a bad review.  And if your average review score is 4, they will probably boot you off the platform.  So if yours is like the old time beach rentals - mismatched thrift store furniture, linens, and decor, you're going to struggle with reviews. The lower your price, the worst guests you attract, both in reviewing you and in doing damage to your furnishings. 
Re the 3 night stay, keep that minimum.  Studies have shown that guests don't want to book for a full week anymore, they'll pay more per night for a shorter vacation of 3 or 4 nights.  I'm in a beach area where Sat to Sat rentals have been traditional for 100 years, but not any longer since the rise of Airbnb (and less control by local property management companies). I started my first year with a 3 day minimum because I couldn't find a cleaner who could do Saturdays, they were all booked up.  It turns out that most of my bookings are for 3 or 4 nights anyway, I have very few 7 day bookings. This is even though I'm through my 3rd summer and my cleaner can now do Saturdays.  Guests just don't want that.  I just looked at my calendar from this past summer, and there were zero check ins or check outs on Saturdays.  Most guests wanted to check in during the week, and many wanted Sunday check outs or check ins.  For example, they booked Sunday to Thursday, and Thursday to Sunday.