All Forum Posts by: Matt Mertz

We didn't build a community but we built one cabin.  This worked because it was on a lot with an amazing view of the Smokies.  And we purposefully designed the house to be a great stay for families and to stand out a bit from the competition.  So far so good.

I recently heard some investors switching to the community model in order to classify the whole property as a commercial business.  For example, if you try to sell a little cabin that crushed on rental income as residential real estate, your comps are important, not the revenue generated by the property.  However if you try to sell your entire tiny-homes-in-the-mountains vacation community, you can price it based on its revenue. 

One of our common charges is shipping and handling of items mailed back to guests.  But those are variable based on postage, so hopefully Airbnb won't have a problem with an open-ended amount in the "optional add-ons" in our listing.

We'll have to go through a list of every odd charge we ever made and make sure it's represented as an optional add-on.

Regarding security deposits, our contingency plan was to offer a guest insurance add-on through our PMS (OwnerRez).  But that won't work either since that payment isn't handled through Airbnb's resolution center.

Just got an email from Airbnb and everything looked fine until I got here:

"Security deposits can no longer be collected, with limited exceptions."

Ouch.  We use security deposits for peace of mind because when we started, Aircover denied us on deliberate damage by the second guest we hosted.  Not a great starting experience.  

Today, we don't even care if a guest has no reviews because the deposit is there.  We believe it enforces mindfulness from the guest and it's been great for us.  Guess we'll need to figure something else out.

The rest of the changes:

• Mandatory fees that guests need to pay, such as utilities, pet fees, and resort fees, must be included in the nightly price or “Additional Charges” in your calendar’s price settings.
• Any mandatory fees not included in a listing’s total price at checkout are no longer allowed.
• Optional add-ons, like paid parking, can be offered to guests but must be stated in listing description or house rules and processed through the Resolution Center.
• Any reservation changes, such as dates or number of guests, must be made directly to the booking by selecting “Change reservation” in the reservations details page.
• Security deposits can no longer be collected, with limited exceptions. To address damage or accidents that happen during a stay, Airbnb offers top-to-bottom protection through AirCover For Hosts.
• Payments for all fees must be processed through Airbnb with limited exceptions.

We were 50/50 Airbnb and VRBO for the first three years.  So far 2025 we are 100% Airbnb which makes us pretty nervous.  We're 1% cheaper on VRBO.  Not sure how to correct this.  We are in the Smokies market.

Have you considered MTR (medium term rentals / furnished rentals)? Here in Round Rock (outside of Austin), we put our SFH (3bed/2bath) on Furnished Finder and had an excellent year in 2024. This year is shaping up pretty good as well. It was rocky at first and had it on Airbnb (end of 2023) but then we were able to go full MTR 2024 forward.

Search Furnished Finder for your San Jose market and see if there's a demand there.  The beauty of what you're attempting is that STRs and MTRs are both furnished rentals so you can try both.

I used Hospitable PMS in the past and enjoyed it.  Great UI, free Schlage door code integration.  Lots of value for your money.

I changed to OwnerRez PMS because we needed security deposits and a direct booking site with our own domain name (they support both).

In the cabin, we use Ubiquiti wifi access points and doorbell/cameras.  Ubiquiti allows you to manage your camera stuff on site with no monthly fees.

We use Resideo wifi thermostats.  One broke down and lost wifi permanently but otherwise they work great.

We use Kasa switches for porch lights, some interior lights and string lights.  Mainly to make sure everything's turned off on check out but also to turn on porch lights when guests arrive late.

We also have a Kasa smart plug on the game room wine fridge so we can turn off the fridge between guest stays.

 We're just winging it.  :)

Compared to some 1 bedroom comps in the area, we think we'll be ok.  We're focusing on providing a high-end experience, being pet friendly and leveraging the fact that it's in town to help drive occupancy and ADR.

@Collin Hays Thank you... this is interesting info.

What have you found are the major differences in daily operations between the small vs large cabins?  Does the higher occupancy cause more cleaner scheduling headaches?  Do guests complain about the hot tub not being hot enough on check in?

We have a big cabin (sleeps 16) now which has been doing very well.  We're in the process of building a small 1 bedroom because we wanted to bookend both sides of the market (and because construction prices have gone up).  I figure the high turnover will be the biggest adjust we'll have to make.

Does anyone have any info on the commission side?  I haven't seen any info on people earning any money on the actual affiliate/commission side of Minoan.

Like @John Underwood mentioned, you need to set the expectation of a 5 star review.

We're very specific on our messaging automation.  We send a message the first morning after their stay asking if there's anything we can do to make sure it's a 5 star stay.  It sets your expectation on the guest's rating and also tells them you care enough to make sure the stay deserves 5 stars.  The rest is up to you: be responsive and a good host.  If you do your job, the guest will gladly hand out a 5 star.