All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Looks like a nice property and seems like you can only add to the occupancy/revenue. I would think you could look for Airbnb listings in your area and see if they have bookings. In my market, Airbnb dominates and we only get 15-20% of our bookings through VRBO.  You could look at PriceLabs too as they give you occupancy and average nightly rates by month (similar to other softwares that folks have mentioned here).  Def agree with getting better photos.  And you could spruce it up a bit.  See what others properties that seem booked up are offering in terms of amenities, description, etc.  If you really want to get good at this then you need to study up and tweak your property until it's a top performer on VRBO/Airbnb. Once you get it dialed it then it works really, really well.  Good luck!

@Robert Gilstrap  If you self manage and your properties are in one market then you could consider owning the whole operations - management, maintenance, cleaning biz, linens, etc - and being vertically integrated. Get offsite commercial washers and dryers.  Consider having a dedicated person that just handles linens and making the beds between guests, while others divvy up cleaning duties.  At 50+ units I would think you could hire a property manager that can oversee this operation and give them some sort of equity or alternative compensation...and you could probably start that now with 10 properties.  If you get the right manager then that person can set up the operation. 

I agree with looking at PriceLabs. PriceLabs will tell you % occupancy for each month, along with average daily rates.  Also look at Airbnb and VRBO "luxury" properties in various markets (or look at sites that exclusively rent high-end properties.  You can see what they provide and what they charge.  As for how long the rental season is, that's also a loaded question.  Some places like Hawaii are 90%+ occupied throughout the year.  It also depends on what size luxury house you're talking about.  A luxury 1 bedroom might rent to couples all year.  A luxury 12 bedroom home might not rent well in an area that has an off-season because you can't get that many guests together when kids are in school or when the weather isn't optimal, whereas a 1 bedroom might still rent in that same area.  I have one property I consider luxury (as compared to the area it's in) and it rents for $3k per night in the high season. But, I prefer properties that are just higher end; meaning nicer than most properties in the area.  Those command a higher price and, in my opinion, will stay rented even when a market softens.     

@andy c   Hope you find alternative avenues to get off-season bookings. I stick with Airbnb (and VRBO too, though they are less than 20% of bookings in my market). I can offer my thoughts with respect to Airbnb and offseason bookings. Here a few thoughts:

- try to keep your listing on the 1st page of results for your targeted number(s) of guests. Go into Incognito mode in your browser and query your area in Airbnb to find out what properties rank highest (and how your property ranks). Look at how those top ranked properties are presented and what amenities they have.

- change the listing description and photos by season (rewrite it every season) to try to highlight off-season activities/attractions/etc and add amenities that cater to off-season guests (eg, add a fire pit for the fall and spring). 

- If in the off-season you get more couples/retirees, single travelers, etc. (and you have a larger property) then consider making a child listing in Airbnb and link it to the main parent listing. By doing this, you can have a separate, but linked, listing that is advertised as a place for 2 people.  If you places sleeps 8 people and a couple is looking to book in your area, then Airbnb tends to show places that sleep 2 or so people and not larger places.

     

@Andy C.undefined

I aim for the higher end folks as we want to command higher rates.  I don't need everyone to want to rent our places, just those that want a more upscale house and doesn't mind paying more to get that experience.  We also want to have very nice properties that will rent before the rest of the market in the case of a downturn or demand softening.    

Honestly, whenever they reach out I just feel like they're trying to get me to conform to whatever their latest priorities are (flexible cancellations, rolling their fees into my rate, etc).  

I'm not sure, but an Airbnb rep for NC just reached out to me this week to chat about how to maximize my bookings.  Happy to share their contact if you want to DM me.

How small are you talking about?  There are some bunks that have a twin on top with a queen underneath.  Those are nice if you can fit it.   We've also taken the closet door off and put a small dresser in the closet, along with the hangers, in our kids' - and sometimes adults - rooms.  It can look nice if done right.

Anthony - I took out a commercial loan from TowneBank.  They run their own analysis of the rental income and loan up to 65-75% of the assessed values.  Not sure how credit score factors in.  With commercial loans, I've found it's normally a 20-25 year amortization period and a 5-7 year term (at which time a balloon payment is due...causing you to refinance at that point). There are also often prepayment penalties as they don't want to write a loan just to have you pay it off in the first 0-3 years.  My advice is to shop around and explore your options as the products and terms will likely vary wildly.  Local banks seem to be somewhat flexible on terms.  Happy to chat more if you want.

PS  - I grew up in Portsmouth

I looked at your listing.  Please take this with a grain of salt and know that I write it in the spirit of being helpful.

Your rating is 4.76 stars.  Objectively, that's low in Airbnb's eyes.  You had some guests note that it needs TLC in their reviews.  I would address those issues and respond to their comments that you've made improvements.  Also, you responded to one guest basically by only saying they were the worst guests you've had.  Your response is not helpful, even though it's accurate for you.  That guest pointed out a bunch of stuff in the house. IMO, you should have responded publicly by thanking them for the feedback and noting that you've addressed the issues (assuming you did) and then state that you always strive to provide the best stay for guests, etc...  Otherwise, you come across as argumentative on Airbnb and other potential guests aren't going to like that.  If you can't address the items that need "TLC" then perhaps include an auto message explaining that Airbnb sees anything less than a 5 star review as poor and encouraging guests to provide any feedback for improvements privately so that you can address them (there's a more eloquent way to write this in your msg, but you get the point). Most of your reviews are great, so you need to get more great ones in so you can bury that bad one.

I suggest you also spend some time learning in detail how Airbnb's algorithm works (at least how folks guess it works since they don't explicitly tell you) and look closely at the properties that show up on page 1 when you search your area for your desired or most common number of guests.

Last, you can edit your listing for specific events/seasons.  Such as calling the title "You're perfect home base for Super Bowl..." or something.  But, you've gotta get on the first couple search pages to show up on the list or map.