All Forum Posts by: Lauren Kormylo

Think about the person booking, what are they looking for?  When scrolling through a list of houses, will a game room cause them to book over anything else, or will that be secondary? 

I think the game room collage pic is too busy.  One pic of the 2 arcades side by side would be best to show the highlights of the room.  The popcorn machine is nice, but not something that will be a deciding factor in bookings.  Just show the arcades, and you can show pics of the rest of the room in later photos.

Your first pic is important, and also the first 5 pics, because that is what shows on your landing page.  The first 5 should show a variety of spaces, not just multiple shots of your living room or game room, for example. 

I missed your Christmas wish, but Happy New Year to you!

Families with kids are likely already subscribed to it, and can use their own login to watch it. Have you thought about adding a game room for kids? Look at some of the properties in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area for ideas. If I had the room in my STR, that's what I'd do.

It only took me once to learn not to pre-approve a booking.  

You could have it show up under 3 bedrooms when guests are looking for that, but you should mention in your description that it is 2 bedrooms + a loft.  Someone who is expecting privacy will be disappointed when they find out they're sleeping in a loft with no door.

A suggestion about Furnished Finders, their calendar sucks because you can't block off your high-season months, a real detriment to taking bookings through them. I recommend putting in your description there that your high-season months are for short term rentals and book at much higher prices per night.  Discuss and emphasize that with all interested parties. And when you do a lease for MTR, you'll need to put that in the lease in case they stay through high season, spelling out exact prices for each calendar month, so there is no confusion and it is legally enforceable. 

I have a 4 bedroom beach property, so have the same problem as you with FF. I tried renting there one off-season, and I had the same concerns with guests overstaying. I STR it for 15-20K a month in the summer, and was offering it for rent for $2100 a month in the winter (lower than any comparable houses), and was getting tire kickers at that price. The only real offer I got through FF was for $1700 a month, and I'd rather leave it empty than take that and pay for the heating bills and the extra wear and tear of long term renters. I have an LTR also, so I know the upkeep they require between renters, even when they're not furnished. I am also long distance, and would have to pay someone to show the house. So I don't rent on FF any longer.

Inside mount.  Also get cordless blinds, because cords can be a choking hazard for kids, and they look messy.  I like metal blinds better, they block more light than vinyl. I buy Levolor brand blinds from Lowes, which cuts them to order while you wait. https://www.lowes.com/pd/LEVOLOR-Trim-Go-1-in-Cordless-White...

I'm about the same as @Michael Baum, maybe an hour or two more in season when I'm fully booked. Sending a personalized greeting to guests when they book, answering their questions, programming lock codes, logging new bookings in my records and notifying my cleaners of them and any requests for early check in, paying cleaners monthly, ordering supplies, updating my listing descriptions about once a week even if it's just a sentence here or there (helps with rankings on the platforms, esp. Vrbo).  I also spend time each week checking Airbnb and Vrbo calendars, making sure pricing is good (I use PriceLabs but sometimes it needs tweaking), and I had a problem with Vrbo this fall blocking the entire 2025 calendar for no reason. I've also had to re-sync calendars between Vrbo, Airbnb and Houfy.  Every so often I will look at my listing in private or incognito mode to make sure it's showing up to the general public.

Closer to their stay, I text guests (who want it) a guest book that I put together with local restaurants, things to do, parking, etc.  That took quite a while to do when I first wrote it, to gather all that info and do the research.  But now I just take a little time at the beginning of each season to update it with new restaurants, venues, or changes. 

I live on the other side of the country - 3 time zones earlier than my STR, so when I have guests staying, I wake up about 6 AM my time to check my phone, to make sure I see any early morning messages or problems. But that's not very frequent. You do have to make sure you respond quickly to any guest messages.

Same as the others, but I bought all Roku TVs with it built in.  All set to Guest Mode.  I tell guests in my description that the house is streaming only, and remind them right before they come to have their sign ins for their channels. I like Roku TVs because there is no changing the input source, so guests don't get confused with an unfamiliar setup and need help.

Is the main home a mobile home? That's how it comes up on Zillow. That is very much going to limit the buyers, and especially at that price point. You probably aren't getting many people to even view it on the MLS, if buyers haven't checked to box to include manufactured homes in the search.