All Forum Posts by: Matt Mertz

I have a feeling since we're in the Smokies that occupancy won't be an issue.  We'll figure it out this year.

I think I'll be open for pets once we can collect a security deposit... we plan on doing Direct Bookings in the future.  That way we can charge a pet fee and the guest has a deposit on the line.

Lol... I was about to show @John Underwood 's comments about pets to my wife then I read @Bruce Woodruff 's comment.

We just got a reservation inquiry this morning from a guy with a dog and my wife talked me into declining it.  That's hard to do when you're looking at an empty calendar.  

We travel with our dog and we make sure she behaves.  We put her in a crate when we leave the property and don't let her on the furniture.  I guess we'll figure this out as we move forward.

Hello, this is long so sorry in advance.  :)

I've been following this forum for over a year.  Now that I'm a host I wanted to give back and contribute to the forum with our experience.

Our journey in the STR space began in 2017 when we were attempting to buy a cabin around the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (we have family that live there and we vacationed there frequently). We switched to custom build and at the end of 2018 we found the perfect lot - Gatlinburg, great view of Mt. LeConte, private, level build area. We bought it sight unseen from the advice of my father-in-law who lives up the street. It was 1 acre listed for 200k. We talked the seller down to 150k. Still, it was expensive for the time and we believe it was the start of the crazy comps in the area. Even today I can't believe we found such a great lot.

Then with a combination of web searches and referrals we found an architect, lender and builder.  At the start of 2019 we started the process of designing the house with our architect.  In September we finally completed the design.  December 2019 we broke ground.

The house - 3500sq ft, 4 bed/5.5 bath/sleeps 16 was finally completed in October 2020. It went live on Airbnb on December 6, 2020.  

This is where things got interesting.  We launched with what we considered a "minimal viable product" - no professional Airbnb photos, not completely decorated, no hot tub, no built-in microwave, not enough outdoor furniture - we had our first booking on 12/17.  This family had a single good review.  They were outstanding and gave us a 5-star review despite our shortcomings.

The second family was over the Christmas holiday. Being new to this, we were desperate for bookings.  They had no reviews which made us nervous.  We booked them anyway.  Unfortunately they left a mess (which was forgivable) but they deliberately destroyed our pots and pans by using a screw to scratch the bottoms of the pots.  I was "ok, it's part of doing business".  But my wife was furious.  We stayed in the house ourselves after these guests and saw the damage they left.  I actually consider ourselves lucky that we were the next guests in the house because our cleaners couldn't clean the house completely or repair the damages because the day after Christmas was their busiest day of the year.  We spent a couple of days cleaning up the mess these guests left (on top of what our cleaners already did).

We agonized on whether to leave this guest a negative review.  But then they reviewed us.  I assumed it was a good review because our communications were so positive.  So we didn't review them but started an Airbnb resolution.  The guest denied our request (of course) but Airbnb paid out a little of the damages we sustained. My wife has since gone back to Airbnb to dispute their original decision.  What's weird about this whole situation is that the guest gave us a glowing 5-star review.  My takeaway is that in a 16-guest group, the person scheduling the stay isn't responsible for the actions of everyone in her group.  I am now glad we didn't give her a bad review.

After her, we got a couple of last minute bookings due to snowy roads and electricity outages in the area due to the snowstorm (our roads are plowed because we're in the city and our electric wasn't affected).  These folks had good reviews and left us outstanding 5 star reviews.

In the meantime, we've turned down bookings due to people not having reviews or requesting to bring pets (we don't allow them).

Today we've had 4 guests and all 5 star reviews.  What's interesting to me is that I don't feel like we've gone above and beyond to earn these.  We've simply communicated with the guests with automated messages (via hospitable.com) and manually thru the Airbnb app.  The house being a new construction with great views probably helps too.

At first I lamented the fact that we started in the slow season in the Smokies (Jan/Feb) but now I'm glad. It's like we need to have our training wheels on as we get used to this whole STR thing before it gets busy. We're learning more as we go on this journey and feel like we'll be in good shape for the busy season. Also, I feel like the partnership I have with my wife brings great balance to this business (she's strict and I'm laid back).

Anyways, that's our journey in a nutshell so far.  You don't need to know everything to get started or to get 5 star reviews.  You just need to care about it.

@John Carbone We used First Century Bank in Knoxville.  Great outfit that does construction loans in the area.  You'd have to ask your lender if they'd grant a loan for multiple properties.  My gut says no because it's more complicated.

For disclosure: my house is under construction in Gatlinburg and it's our first STR. We have zero STR experience.

Long ago I heard that you should build a log style cabin in the Smokies because that's what visitors expect. We've been vacationing in the Smokies for 11 years. We spent about a year looking at cookie cutter log cabins to purchase.

Eventually we decided to purchase a lot and custom build a mountain home. We decided to build a style we liked: a modern, farmhouse style home. All ceilings, stairways and the game room bar accent wall are tongue and groove pine. All trim is pine. We have some wooden beams. Everything else is sheetrock.

One of the nice things about sheetrock is that you can paint it beautiful colors for accent. We did this throughout the house.

Ultimately I think there's an audience for houses that are not log cabins, and it's a segment under represented in the area.

I believe execution and design are the key. I'd rather have something that sticks out from the competition than blends into the background. And I believe the Smokies are drawing enough visitors that you can find guests looking for something besides log cabins. 

Just anecdotal.... my Gatlinburg builder (C&C Construction) said he's booked through October 2022. We're also back ordered on several appliances that we made months ago.  So ask around before you commit to a new build.

We're doing this right now.

We took a hybrid approach: we ordered furniture at the STR location and locally at our home.

We went to a furniture store local to our STR (it's 2 weeks from final inspection) and ordered from them. They will hold the furniture in their warehouse when it arrives and will deliver and set up the furniture in our house once we're ready. We plan on making a trip to meet them to setup and decorate.

Over this Labor Day weekend, we rented a small Penske truck and delivered an assortment of supplies we've been accumulating for the house (decorations, smaller pieces of furniture, dining chairs we bought locally, a dining table we built, etc).  Most of those items are stored in the house in our owner's storage room. Some of the other stuff (like the dining table and king foam mattresses in boxes) are sitting in the living room. Having those items stored in the house won't interfere with the punch list work or city inspection.

We were very pleased Jonathan Miller Architecture and Design in Knoxville.

C&C Construction was great for us. Check them out.

I'm close to @Kyle Smith.  My lot was pretty expensive and jacked up comps in the area late 2018.  :)  We're almost done and will list on the OTAs late October 2021.