All Forum Posts by: Nancy Bachety

Quote from @Ryan Moyer:

Sucks for us, but host cancelations are clearly a big problem people are running into.  I'm in a bunch of Disney groups and any time someone mentions staying offsite at an Airbnb there are a bunch of people that comment they had an Airbnb host cancel on them and leave them hanging, or know someone that had that happen, and how they would never stay in one.

I think you still have a window to cancel after an instant booking for "don't feel comfortable" and then after that window you have to have a valid reason.

No that is exactly the option they removed from hosts who use instant book. Now you must prove the guest has intent to break one of your rules in order to cancel. 

That was the clause that allowed us to use instant book on two of our properties. Airbnb wants hosts to allow instant book but now I’m not sure we’ll continue to allow it. 

And we have never cancelled except one or two instant books who wouldn’t have been happy (too many guests or whatever it was). 

I’m seeing rentals at the last minute, most lower, but still very good. Not being in the market to buy or sell, I don’t know the precise market. I would not sell much lower because my revenue is great (last minute).  If I was buying, I’d look for the buyer who can’t tolerate last minute or uncertainty. 

Great content here. I sit on the sidelines from a perspective of lots of equity, low interest rate, more last minute income than a few years ago, less self-managed work but eh, maybe it’s time to pass the work on to someone else like a PM (Collin would be a fine choice) instead of riding the course. My goals are different anyway now. But it’s not about me, it’s about the different boats we are in and the different thresholds we are in. Collin has written before about the margins: when they are high we want the work to benefit ourselves but when they aren’t, let someone else manage it for us. 
In the end, the selling price isn’t dropping because of the market, interest rates or demands, it’s where it’s at because it reflects the demand. My cabin is making the same money as last year but it’s making me money at the last minute unlike last year, where it was on my calendar months in advance. No difference. Times are changing, lead time is changing, where is proof that selling prices have changed. I really don’t know. 

Quote from @Collin Hays:

Quote from @Jaron Walling:

@Collin Hays I'll jump in here. 

I agree with the majority of your blog post but one thing stands out. Unless the economy really goes sideways (it's not yet) what's stopping these investor/buyers from holding these empty cabins? The smart people locked in low fixed rate debt. Unless we get into another pandemic, the stock market crashes, or unemployment jumps I can't see the values declining. Investors just need to stay above water. 

I have spoken to two investors in the last 24 hours that are well below the water with loans under 4 percent.  

Let’s be clear: are they under water because they paid too much recently (prevailing market) OR because of declining demand? Or is it anyone’s guess.

Today I biked through many of these small towns. Rosendale would be considered a win in terms of location and lack of current regulations. But that’s from a cyclist’s perspective staying at The Wick in Hudson. 

Perspective is everything in life. Being a guest sometimes instead of a host is a simple way to change your perspective.  Can’t say there are simple ways to change perspective on many other things. Great post! 

Quote from @Yiwei Cheng:

Quote from @Nancy Bachety:

$7 an hour? In what country?

 If you have a PMS, you have the option to take payment yourself through Stripe or another payment processor.  I don't think there's a great way to get around 3% unless you want to use your own payment processor since Stripe takes about the same amount & is the middle person.  Just know that if you use your own, you will be responsible for disputing chargebacks and refunds.  

So why don’t you use VRBO for payments then? I’m trying to figure out the benefits of bypassing Vrbo payments. 

$7 an hour? In what country?
@Yiwei Cheng I’m aware of this option but haven’t explored it and always pay that peaty 3% fee. Do you have an efficient way of collecting payment from your guests that make it worthwhile?

Yes it happened to us on VRBO. I called and had it reversed, or tabled for them to review again. They reviewed it again and still ended up paying the guest and withheld it from us. I do not give them access to my bank account. when a guest uses a CC, the CC company listens to them and agrees with them and credits their client. and VRBO just goes along with it. Regardless of how solid our booking agreement is or how wrong guest is and what lies they tell. 

Cross check what other hosts in your area are asking for a night. Look up VRBO and Abb as a guest would. What are they charging, what are the reviews, what would you do differently, what would you need to provide, etc. You didn’t provide any of your projections like costs you’d expect to pay to furnish, what your insurance premiums would be (different when you rent nightly), what is your loan interest rate and payment (not zillows), what did your inspection report reveal, etc so be sure you’ve at least done that leg work. Do the same for your current townhouse you’d be renting out too. Where I’m from your property taxes are relatively low.