All Forum Posts by: Peter R.

We use Slack.

In addition to group chat, it allows you to set up idividual channels that each can have their own email address. 

For example, guest related inquiries can be in a Slack channel called frontdesk which has a slack email address, so you can auto-forward any of those to that channel's email address and they post there.  Or for VRBO, or Airbnb, etc you can have indvidual channels and then tell each service to email those channels' email addresses.

From there, each team member either comments that they have it or adds a unique emoji response to the email itself in slack that they've got it and are responding. 

Slack also handles our photo uploads and file sharing needs in a limited way.  It's easy to snap a photo of something that needs to be replaced or a document that needs review.

All in all, fairly handy for us.

I'm not so sure it's fair to put this on Airbnb, they already provide the tools necessary for hosts to comply with their local laws.  I can go into Airbnb right now and restrict my own properties to minimum stay lengths, etc.

As for how easy it would be for Airbnb to do this automatically, I don't think it's quite that cut and dry.  For example, in a 20 mile stretch around my STRs there are at least a dozen towns, all with differing rules and regulations and even then, you can't do it just by address.

Indiatlantic, FL, for example, restricts STR to 30 days or more, but you can have an Indiatlantic address that is in unincorporated Brevard County, outside the juristiction of Indiatlantic that those laws wouldn't apply to, but you still have the Indiatlantic address.

I don't think this is Airbnb's problem to solve beyond providing a tool set to allow owners to comply with their local laws.

Be slightly wary of guests asking about total capacity when the inquiry is for less than total capacity.  We don't charge for extra persons but nearly every time we've had someone inquire for 2 adults and what to know capcity on a 1 bedroom unit, they're fishing for at least double that.

Our current record is someone trying to fit 6 in a one bedroom.  Nope.

Also be very sure you want to involve yourself in events before you take a booking for something like a "small" wedding or "cozy" party.  If you're not in the party planning business don't take them.  Because once you take them, you're in the party planning business now, like it or not.

While I don't agree with the fine amount, at all, this was a known and probably likely outcome.

Let's say they didn't know the law in their area.

They had to:

A. Willfully not research the law
B. Break said laws
C. Continue to break said law AFTER getting a warning and a "free pass"
D. Know they were at least possibly under increased scrutiny of the law the broke the first time and got a pass for

The fine is exessive but the outcome was hardly surprising.  I'm having trouble finding much sympathy for them beyond the burden of that fine.

Tableau maybe?  It's not going to be a "smart" software though, it'll only output things you give it.

No pools for us, but we're in a unique location.  A rather large pool is just a few dozen feet east, the Atlantic Ocean. :D

Couple of things:

We switched from a refundable security deposit to a fixed cleaning & damage waiver fee.  For $225 on each reservation we cover any damage the guest may do during the stay and the cleaning of the unit.  So far we're WAY ahead on this deal, the vast majority of our guests don't damage anything at all.  Plus the guest doesn't have to deal with any third party insurance company.  No pushback from this, we made the change about 5 months ago.

A few guests have asked for early/late checkin/out.  We charge a small fee for this, $25 and most guests who ask opt in for that.  Usually the units are ready anyway so it's a good deal.  We don't allow late checkout on tight turns. 

We are thinking of adding a pre-stock option where we'll supply the basics, eggs, milk, bread, etc etc for a fixed fee but so far haven't gotten around to figuring out the logistics of this.

Yeah, I've often thought that some sort of trading platform that allows owners to swap time in their vacation rentals for time in other owner's vacation rentals would be nice.  I guess this is sort of a bigger version of that.

Still not sure this is the right crypto approach for STR but it'd be interesting to watch. I'm generally positive on crypto so it's a nice idea if someone can get the right approach.

We had a couple of those, pretty annoying but we swapped them out.  I hadn't gotten around to doing anything about a refund so this was a good reminder, thanks!

Sure no problem @Krista Goodrich just let me know if you're in the area, or you can send me a note and I can answer any questions you might have.

@Chai Xiong I wouldn't say no restrictions, just that they aren't as concerned about daily/weekly rentals as some of the towns in the area. You still have to get a license from the Florida DBPR and a sales tax account with Brevard and the State of Florida.  But Airbnb has an agreement with Brevard so they remit taxes for you automatically. Homeaway not so much, but that's fairly easy to do.

Brevard also checks in occasionally on safety stuff like fire extinguishers and we maintain our wells with water quality checks every quarter, I've never been asked by Brevard to produce them but we have them anyway.