All Forum Posts by: Matt Silverstone

There’s been a big decrease in my views. Last year this time i was getting 2,000 views a month. Now I’m getting 500 views. This is causing me big alarm and my prices are at rock bottom rates. Anything more I’d be giving the place away for free 

 I’ve tried but doesn’t feel like it does anything…

Hi All, My view counts and pricing has dwindled going into year 2 (compared to year 1 of my operations). I think this is due to macro level trends in my market i STR host in but I have a gut feeling my "new listing" algo boost helped a lot during year 1. Guests loved and still love my property when they stay (I have a 4.99 review score across 70 reviews) but admittedly my activity on the property (views and bookings) is low and I need to make a drastic change to start cash flowing again. Any thoughts if I should delete my listing and start over to get an Algo boost from Airbnb? Any pros/cons I should be aware of? Will re-listing my property achieve what I'm looking for? thanks in advance!

I found a seller who has been managing a STR since purchase on April 2022. They put 10% down and spent $$ on furnishing. Seller still has a loan with the bank. He is looking to sell and do a 1031 to some properties closer to where they live. Seller did cost seg bonus depreciation to accelerate depreciation schedule. Seller doesn't want to pay recapture tax and is mindful of a solution to defer depreciation.

if we do seller financing, will seller have to pay recapture money? Ideally I’d like to structure a deal with seller financing as traditional bank terms are too high right now and then do a cost seg bonus depreciation on my side to take similar advantages while self managing to off set W2.

Curious thoughts on a solution to solve sellers and my needs.

thanks!

I don't think it's insane to PM your own property. Just know what you're getting into and that you might be on call randomly but it hardly happens. 90% of the job can be taken care of with software: pricing, guest messaging, social media posts, etc. to be successful.

Once you take beautiful pics of your property, I'd recommend creating an Instagram account for your property to capture guests and remarket to them for future stays.

Hey all, figured I'd check in to see how everyone's STR is doing in JT. Heading into slow season as expected. Hopefully you took your profits in the busy season.

Hi Jacob, love the idea! Social Media is a great way to build a "brand" for your property and capture your guests to stay "top of mind" for future return bookings. There's a lot of work that goes into creating and maintaining content on an ongoing basis. Many hosts first prioritize getting their listing up on Airbnb and VRBO as that will be their most immediate source of bookings. However, think of Airbnb/VRBO as you "lead" source for your guest's first time staying with you. Your goal as a host is to get them onto a new channel so you can capitalize on them for a second visit via direct bookings. Social Media helps you do this. If you play the long game with social media -- it will pay off in the long run by driving repeat guests to your direct bookings website as they remember their vacation at your property via following you on Instagram for little to no cost. Places like Hawaii, Palm Springs, Joshua Tree, Gatlinburg, Kissimmee, Tahoe, Big Bear, etc. are some of my favorite locations to use social media because there is so much competition and the demographic lends well to Instagram. 

Which banks are still doing a 10% vacation loan? That was a thing a year ago but have seen these loan products dry up lately.

From my understanding you have to visit 2 weeks out of the year and you can’t hire a property manager. I just purchased a place in JT and happen to chat