All Forum Posts by: Mark Futalan

@William Hurd

Our first REI investment was an STR. You get a lot of experience going through the process and we've been pretty successful and closed on another STR a year after. Know your market, make sure the rules allow you to STR and hire a good team on the ground to maintain/clean your property. With STR's being so review based, a good cleaner, preferably those familiar with vacation rentals and the upkeep, is super important. Good luck!

@Joey Morea

We stick with the standard 11am and 4pm check out/in times. We do get more requests for checking in early than checking out. If our schedule allows for it (no same day turnover), we sometimes allow it if requested. Guest are appreciative of that and helps less to positive reviews.

@Marlen Weber

Totally agree that this spike is totally different than last time. Everything was new to us a few months ago which led to panic, confusion, numerous cancellations and a government shutdown. I think people and travelers in general know what they are dealing with and know the proper precautions needed to safely mitigate through this pandemic. We haven’t seen any cancellations so far from this 2nd wave as people are still eager to travel and get away safely. The only logical effect I can see from all this is if there is another shutdown or forced closure due to the increase but I don’t think we will see the rampant cancellations like we’ve seen before unless it’s mandated by our cities.

@David Boatman

I totally agree that most drive up locations and the fact that most people want to stay away from hotels and large group setting will be a big boost for STR's at least in the short term. We also enhanced our cleaning practices with our cleaning company and committed that with Airbnb so that has helped us too.

Only concern now is your seeing a 2nd wave or rise in virus cases in places like CA, Florida and Arizona and other major cities. It’s definitely something we are closely following and monitoring. As of now, we are open and we haven’t had any cancellations. Majority of our bookings are from greater LA area.

@John Williams

A lot of good information already on here.

I would add be conscientious of your neighbors and your community. There is a negative stigma about Airbnb’s that they disrupt neighborhoods because of the frequent turnover of guests and some who party to the late hours of the night, make excessive noise, too many parked cars and trash not properly managed etc.

Make sure you know your cities rules/regulations and that your a responsible owner. Be proactive, talk to your neighbors and give them your information to call so that problems are fixed right away. For the most part, people appreciate that. A happy neighbor goes a long way and can make or break your business.

Lastly, manage your expectations with guests. Define your house rules clearly so that your guests know what to expect. I find that by controlling your expectations, it leads to less phone calls, less problems and more likelihood that your STR business will thrive.

@Anand S.

Out here in the desert in CA, we are booked solid with increasing demand through the end of August. Mostly folks from LA and the greater LA area are the ones booking.

@Brad Spuhler

We primarily receive a lot of our bookings from Airbnb. We don’t use separate rental agreements on there as it’s my understanding, there isn’t a field or way to include one on there. As many have stated, it could slow down the process a little bit and most guests may not be inclined to want to do that. I’ve seen some where they put it in their rules and then have them complete and submit one before they check in. We booked an Airbnb by the beach and had the host had us complete one. Airbnb’s host guarantee and our home insurance policy have been sufficient for our 2 properties. If your stay is more than 30 days, I would definitely consider it.

@Kayla Utley

Yes this is the first time we've gone LTR. We currently have a guest on a 2nd 31 day reservation that we booked prior to all the restrictions being uplifted. As far as preference, I think it really depends on a few factors. We make more money as an STR, though it's more turnover and more follow up and communication. I think where the LTR strategy for us can be useful is during those slow seasons/months where we are lowering rates to attract bookings when instead we can have someone there mid term (month to month). With LTR, there is less money to be made but less follow up and turnover but make sure the numbers can still work where you can make decent cash flow. Also no TOT taxes or cleaning fees which is good too. From my limited experience with LTR so far, strangely I find that STR's are cleaned better and maintained more often. When we had our guest check out from a 2 month stay, we had to do a deep clean, as the bathrooms, kitchen, stoves, refrigerator, patios etc hadn't been cleaned as we normally have it. It wasn't horrendous but definitely not to our standards or the same way we like to keep our homes when we STR. That was my only negative take away. In the future, I plan to do a hybrid strategy of STR and month to month LTR during slow season. If it's longer, we may incorporate a cleaning "during stay" to make sure the home is cleaned and maintained properly.

@Kayla Utley

Hi Kayla,

We rent short term majority of the time but due to covid and city restrictions the last 3 months, we had to convert and rent 30 days or more. We used eForms and found a residential lease agreement on there. It was pretty simple to fill out and send to our renters to sign.

@John Williams

I'd stay away from purchasing homes in these areas where STR's are restricted or can be in the future with those HOA's. Look for something where regulation is already in place and the rules are already determined. Usually that means looking at neighboring cities. Good luck to you!