All Forum Posts by: Phil Wrigley

Hi there,

First, I can't even begin to say how great this community is. I've learned so much just by reading hundreds of posts and listening to podcasts - shout out in particular to Bigger Pockets, STR Secrets and STR managment by Luke Carl - you're all total heroes sharing your knowledge! Loved Avery's book!

Anyway, I have begun my journey moving my properties from the clutches of Evolve into the realms of self managment (with the help of Lodgify & Pricelabs). The channels are up and running and I would love some (kind yet constructive) feedback on where I’m at! I’d also love some of you fine people to wish list me and I will do the same in return - just post your place in the comments so I can find it!

Anyway, here is my AirBnB link - let me know your honest thoughts before I move all my eggs into this scary basket!!

https://abnb.me/ECHVfx61ODb

Hi everyone,

On the back of my last question on here I now have another! I’m sure this is one that’s been asked many times before so please don’t yell at me for asking it again. I did troll the forums and it’s really hard to get a definitive answer because it seems to be based a lot on personal preference.

In your honest opinions, what is the most intuitive property management software solution to use for someone that is just starting the journey in self management? Up until now we have been using Evolve vacation rental to “manage” our properties and to cut a long story short, we are ready to take it on ourselves in order to scale our business.

I have narrowed it down to three different brands - Guesty / hostaway / hospitable. A lot of people have said it doesn’t matter too much just to pick one and then change when it doesn’t work out but I kind of wanna get it right first time if I can! In terms of my background, we have four properties all in the same vacation rental market and we most commonly book through VRBO. We have an excellent team of cleaners handyman and other local professionals and been in the business for five years.

What are the costs vs benefits of each platform? Which would work best for integration with VRBO? I had a demo call with Guesty and it looked good but I hear bad reviews about customer service and compatibility with VRBO. Help! :)

@Sarah Kensinger fab!

@Sarah Kensinger Looking at your page, where did you get started? I love hearing other people’s stories and would love to get into co hosting in my market….

@Shankar Patil thanks for the advice - I will start there and let you know how I get on!

@Sarah Kensinger I guess it’s a now or never situation and best to jump right in! I was thinking perhaps move the properties over gradually? Start with the smallest one?

@John Underwood thank you :)

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me. I totally agree about Evolve. More and more of the hard work I feel like I am doing myself and they are taking 10% for this which adds up even with a smaller 6 property portfolio over the course of a year. I am 100% in agreement that I should make the switch. It is more the how to go about it because they have all of my reviews, photos, previous guests which goes back nearly 5 years across multiple platforms. I didn't know you could buy the photos and the reviews though. This is good to know as it was my main hesitation. I guess this would be the first step.

In terms of a management platform, people often say its personal preference, but do you recommend guesty / hostaway? I am looking for something that would be a 'one stop shop' with a dynamic pricing tool included if possible.

In terms of knowing my market, I am lucky there as I have been operating there for several years and have a great team of cleaners, handymen etc.

I hope this post finds you all well. I have been pondering a transition from using vacation rental management (Evolve) to independently managing my vacation rentals. While Evolve has been pretty reliable in terms of handling bookings and guest communication, I feel like I'm losing out on the potential benefits of having more control over my own management process. I feel like most of the guest queries they pass onto me anyway! The reason I started with them in the first place is that I have a full time job and needed someone else to take some of the heat. Looking now to leave my W2 income and manage our portfolio full time this seems like the obvious next step. I have been all over Bigger Pockets and am a regular listener to Short Term Rental Nation podcast.

One major concern I have is that by leaving Evolve, I would essentially be starting over. They own all of my guest reviews and rental history, making it challenging to establish my reputation elsewhere. This aspect has me feeling a bit hesitant about pulling the trigger on this change.

Therefore, I wanted to reach out to the blogging community here and hear your experiences with a similar transition. Have any of you left vacation rental management services like Evolve to go solo and utilize a platform like Guesty? If so, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the process and if you encountered any hurdles with rebuilding your reputation.

Here are a few questions that come to mind:

1. How did you handle the transition of reviews and rental history from the management service to your new platform?

2. Did utilizing a platform like Guesty help you gain more control over your vacation rentals, or did you face any unexpected challenges?

3. Were there any significant benefits or disadvantages you experienced by leaving a management service and going independent?

I greatly appreciate any insights, advice, or personal anecdotes you can share! This community has always been incredibly helpful, and I value your expertise in navigating the world of vacation rental management.

@Michael Baum thank you! That’s a good start for me! :)