All Forum Posts by: Michael McKay

@John D. I use VR Easy, which is supposed to work with the Homeaway API (I haven't confirmed this personally, as we are mainly on Airbnb and booking.com).

As far as Price labs, I'm still experimenting between them and Wheelhouse. Price Labs UX isn't as pretty, but I am liking a lot of their features, such as being able to set minimum stays based on how far our a reservation is and the ability to set rules for pricing based on groups. I only started playing with it a few weeks ago, so my thoughts on how it prices is still up in the air.

@John D. Price Labs, which is a Wheelhouse competitor can do this if you integrate it with a PMS that can push pricing.

@Rick Baggenstoss the main downside to Smartbnb is that it only works on Airbnb. I also find their staff notifications a but limiting.

@Syed Lateef Price Labs can push pricing to VRBO/Homeway and other pricing platforms through your PMS. That's the main reason I'm experimenting with Price Labs and considering switching from Wheelhouse. I also like their minimum stay based on how far our a reservation is and orphan day function. 

The way I have it setup, Price Labs pushes directly to Airbnb. For other channels, it pushes to VR Easy, which then pushes to other channels (in my case booking.com).

@Andrew Wong There are two big drawbacks of all of the off the shelf software that is currently available:

1. Lack of a true unified inbox that allows team members to to respond to guests on the same medium they reach out on (platform message, SMS, email, call). Guests should receive a response in the same way the reach out. E.g. from the same SMS number. A few of the platforms claim they do this, but it doesn't work well. I don't like the idea of having property managers communicate with guests from their cell phones. That becomes a single point of failure that can ruin a guests stay (think being locked out at 2 am and the property manager is asleep).
2. Inability to assign multiple cleaning staff to a listing. I'd like to be able to assign 5 cleaners to a listing. If the first one doens't accept the job within an hour, it should automatically invite the next cleaner to the job until one accepts. VReasy kind of has the function, but it doesn't work well. Managing cleaning staff is easy now, but once we hit scale it becomes very time consuming.

There are a lot of other smaller drawbacks and features I'd like to see, but these are the two main ones.

@Rick BaggenstossSmartbnb has the ability to auto respond to messages on the Airbnb platform itself, as well as send time messages. Since one of Airbnb's factors in search rank is response time, this keeps our response time always under 30 seconds. It also reminds guests to check their email for check-in instructions from VR Easy, which saves us a lot of time sending these messages manually.

We manage 14 listings through a combination of Smartbnb and VReasy. They work for now, but as we expand we will probably develop our own software. The off the shelf products have some drawbacks at large scale (100+ units).

The laws are very strict in NYC for rentals of less than 30 days. I run the NYC Airbnb Hosts Meetup, but operate my Airbnb's in Jersey City, where regulations are more favorable.

At our most recent meetup, we had an attorney speak about the regulatory environment in NYC. I have a PDF of his presentation. If you'd like a copy, send me a PM with your email.

A couple things to think about:

1. Do your projections include the cost of insurance?
2. Have you factored in closing costs?
3. Are the numbers you stated for repairs and capex the annual numbers or the initial costs when you acquire the property?

I use this strategy and it works well in certain markets. As others have mentioned, I don't offer the owner part of the profits, just the rent.

It's important to check the local short-term rental regulations in your area and make sure you have insurance that specifically covers short stay.

Why not speak to students and see what their feedback is? If it sounds like a good number are interested, you could try one or two test units, as others have mentioned.

Before I purchased my college rental, I spent $20 on a Facebook ad campaign targeted to students. The ad brought them to a landing page to put in their contact info to be the first to hear about new listings in the area. We got about 50 phone numbers and emails from the campaign. I called/texted/emailed all of them to find out what they were looking for in a house and said we would let them know once something that met their criteria "became available".

Through those calls, I was able to find out everything that was important to students (size, budget, appliances, location, etc.). Once I had this info, I bought a property that fit and rehabbed it to those specifications. Then, I called back all the students who inquired and said we had a new listing that just hit the market and set up showings.

Based on this research (and to my surprise), students in my area don't expect houses to be furnished and won't pay a premium for it. This could be different in your area, but the only way to know is to ask and test. You don't even have to furnish it before you have a signed lease, since students usually lease up far in advance.

1. I have my accountant handle this, but I believe it is a percentage of the property used as a rental. I only have one property where I rent out rooms, the others are full places.
2. As others have mentioned it varies by unit size and market. I calculate the cost of each turnover for the specific unit, including laundry, consumables, cleaner, etc. and then make this my "cleaning fee". By doing this, I make sure I'm never taking a loss on the turnover since the guest covers it.
3. Our units are mostly 2 bedrooms, which have done well. I make sure all of our couches are pullouts, so a 2 bedroom can accommodate 6 or sometimes 8 people. We charge extra per person after the amount of people that can be accommodated in standard beds. More people = higher turnover cost due to consumables and laundry.
4. We have commercial insurance that is specifically for vacation rentals.