All Forum Posts by: Matt Mertz

I think the primary factor is increased supply (and therefore increased competition). I personally know two other families jumping into the STR market in the last month. It's anecdotal but I don't think there's any denying that there's more competition in this market. You need to stand out.

1. General anxiety when something goes wrong.

2. Staying in your own wonderful STR and never getting to enjoy it because of maintenance or improvements. It's an ongoing joke between me and my wife.

3. I was going to mention uncommunicative cleaners but we found a wonderful replacement after our original cleaners quit on us.  A blessing in disguise.

For what it's worth, my place is listed on Airbnb and VRBO and they are almost exactly split 50/50 in the bookings between the two this year.  We have a big cabin that sleeps 16 in the Smokies.  I'm glad we're on both OTAs.

October, November and December are great for our Gatlinburg cabin as well.  We have one weekend left in Dec that we hope to fill last minute.

This is our first year so we don't have any historical data to compare to but we're wrapping up our first year in a very good place.  We just hope 2023 will be as good.

 We put up signs in our house asking that.   Our direct booking sites only been up the last couple of months.

Hospitable is behind on automating direct booking websites.  That's the reason I moved to OwnerRez.  Their direct booking templates and automation was so fully featured it surprised me.  Having said that, I set it up but haven't gotten around to telling my past guests about it yet.  I will in the next week or two.

As far as SEO and direct marketing for the direct booking site, I'm not worried about that.  I collect guest emails from my property's wifi via StayFi and my strategy is to offer direct booking to past guests who I already trust.

Just FYI, I heard on a FB group that Wayfair offers a business discount if you sign up with an LLC. Have not confirmed.

I started with Hospitable with a single property and I had nothing but excellent experiences (including the Schlage Encode lock integration).  The only reason I don't use them anymore is because I needed to start a direct booking website.

@Diya L. , your story is incredibly interesting, particularly the work you put in and the commercial vs. residential aspect of typical STRs. Very interested in hearing how receptive guests are to your boutique experience.  Also in how you are managing daily operations.

Please continue to share you experience with the BP community.

We went through this. We did two things: ordered some stuff delivered to our primary residence (TVs, kitchen items, etc bought during a Prime Day sale) and transported it to our STR via a Penske truck, and then ordered the majority of furniture from a store near our STR.

I recommend buying local to your STR if they can store your furniture in their warehouse until you're ready to move in. Additionally, ask for a discount because it's a big order. Our furniture store had no problem throwing us a little discount. They delivered and assembled the furniture as well.