All Forum Posts by: Matt Ayoub

If your house is fully functional I would not cancel. Storms can take out power, etc, and in those scenarios I believe a refund is the right thing to do.

I have a maximum guest count of 10 and it seems like I’m getting a lot of exactly 10 guest bookings via Airbnb.

I charge one nightly rate regardless of guest count. This has some wear and tear and cost implications and I would generally prefer smaller groups. I am wondering if tightening my max guest size to 8 would significantly reduce potential bookings or if the algorithm would simply provide more exposure to groups of 8. Any insight into how this works? 

Thanks everyone for their responses. @Scott K. there can be great values but not necessarily dirt cheap. Really depends what you are looking for and whether you are willing to live in different types of cities or neighborhoods. My place with its views and ocean proximity would have been 10x the price in a town like San Diego. But It wasn’t cheap and financing is hard to come by.

Lots of articles on how to buy in Mexico including use of an agent or notary. I found it very easy and straightforward once I had done my research and found some trustworthy local contacts.

Hi everyone. I have a successful 4 bed single family home STR with pool, hot tub, and meditation gardens in los cabos Mexico. I've been fortunate to achieve 50+ reviews on Airbnb averaging 4.96 with similar stats on VRBO. Over the past 4 years I've raised my average rate from about $450 to almost $700 / night, almost fully booked in the prime Nov - May months. We go far to exceed guest expectations and offer many amenities. I am wondering whether it would be beneficial to apply for a luxe or plus "certification" in terms of attracting more guests or raising my rates / profitability further? Does the forum have experience taking a unit in this direction from a marketing / branding experience? Any thoughts?

My strategy for a new listing is to price it low / competitively and work to totally exceed guest expectations. Once you have ten plus 5 star reviews you are now credible and can raise pricing accordingly.

Seems to be positioning itself as an Airbnb without the fees and as a vehicle to facilitate direct booking. What’s the catch?

We stopped providing blue tooth speakers after the 3rd one disappeared.

Hold you ground. I bet he takes it for 250. 

I do extend special offers via Airbnb under certain circumstances - non peak season, small group, longer stay.

Los Cabos Mexico - 2 hour flight from LAX. Pristine ocean and beaches. World class golf and fishing. Great year round weather. Minimal regulations. Low cost of cleaning / staff. Home prices at cents on the dollar compared to Comparable homes on the beach in Malibu. 

Hi Marci - not a major investor but I have a vacation rental villa Airbnb in los Cabos and Still looking at additional projects. Lots of learnings along the way which I’m happy to share if helpful. Good luck!