All Forum Posts by: Sean Wilt

Hmm.  Well good to know on the syncing.  Will check it out, thanks!

Stumbled on Lodgify and it looks pretty cool.  Anyone have any experience?  Is there  consensus of another site that could be better?  we are about to close on our second property and I want to be sure we are on all sites to maximize exposure.  i have learned with just the one we currently have that it can be a big pain to update calendars on multiple platforms.  In addition, when a reservation comes in on a particular site, I have to stress out until I can get to a computer and block those dates so I don't double book.  The calendar manager and reservation manager features of this site look pretty appealing.

I beleive the answer is no, but thought I would check with the experts. We are planning on purchasing a golf cart to keep in at the house of our beach STR. Thinking we would get approximately 50% of reservations that may take us up on it. Can you add this optional amentity into the listing on the major sites?

Hey y'all,

Just purchased a home we are going to put on STR in Tybee Beach GA. Hours upon hours of research have gone into this and we feel we have made a great decision. Just wondering if anyone has any experience in Tybee? We were originally looking at Savannah and purchased AirDNA and researched for a couple of months. AirDNA rated Savannah as exceptional as far as regulation is concerned (in a good way). We found that not to be true as there are caps to properties in each ward and the caps have all been met so very difficult to find something that worked. After further research on the area, we found Tybee Island which seems best of all worlds -------- on the beach and only 20 miles to Savannah. Cost of entry seemed very low compared to other beach markets, and the rental demand seems healthy, even with the competition (approximately 800 competitors in the area).

Looks like a huge percentage of the STRs on the Island are managed by local management companies, and based on our research, they do not seem very sophisticated.  Our hope of course is that we have bought the RIGHT property in the RIGHT location at the RIGHT price and with good management will enjoy strong returns.  

Anyway, we are excited so just wondering if anyone has experience in Tybee... much of this forum's topics are around markets in Florida, California, Tennessee, etc.

Thanks!

Thanks Mike.  I could swear I saw the tax as a line item.  Maybe it was on VRBO?  I can't recall..... Looked something like this:

Nightly Rate     $250

Cleaning Fee    $150

Occ. Tax             $92

Total                   $XXXX (based on number of nights)

Maybe I dreamed it though ha ha.

Good evening,

I am getting ready to list a new property on AirBnb/VRBO and I am wondering what the best way to handle Hotel/Motel and Sales Tax.  Since this is Georgia, I have confirmed that AirBnb will NOT automatically withhold and remit the tax on my behalf so I have to manage it on my own.

My question is, I have seen a few listings in my area that line item the tax out on the booking so the renter sees and and pays it along with the nightly fee and cleaning fee.  To me, that just seems like a bunch of line item add-ons to the nightly fee which could turn off a potential renter.  I feel like just charging a straight nightly fee that was large enough to cover the taxes, would be a better approach.  However, I also know that a higher basic nightly fee could be harmful from a competitive perspective.

Any thoughts on the best way to do this? I will need to pay 13% tax between the two obligations so it's a fairly large number.  I would expect to get about $60k-$80k revenue/year on the property.

Thanks!

@Keith Courtney Thanks Keith.  Makes sense and easy enough.  Yeah, I bet tax IS being double paid in some instances.  I searched around at some actual AirBnb listings last night and found only 1 that said in the description "sales taxes may be added".   None of the fee breakdowns showed tax though.  Do you know, is this just added to the customer's charge when they purchase and is not disclosed anywhere?

Would be nice to be able to add a line item to the cost breakdown so everyone sees it.  If we add the tax to the nightly rate as you illustrated, that can distort listing pricing vs. competition.  It can also distort RevPAR and ADR data on sites like AirDNA.

Anyway, thanks for your feedback.  I need to really call AirBnb and see what the plan is in my jurisdiction.  

@Jamie Engledow I would have thought it works exactly as you said too!  Seems strange to me that they would actually file for you.  I would think not all filing requirments/dates are the same.  I know in Savannah, taxes are due by the 20th of the following month. 

I would like to be in control of that piece as well.

Since I haven't set up my listing yet, maybe it will all become more clear when I do.

I agree with you though, lots of great info from the feedback!

I just went on AirBnb site and picked a couple of listings in my target market.  (Savannah).  The breakdown shows the nightly rate, the cleaning fee, and the service fee (which I assume is what AirBnb keeps for their service).

I don't see any charge for the tax.  Does that just add on when the renter's credit card is charged?  

@Julie McCoy if I just add in the tax (13% in this case) to the nightly fee, and others don't in this market, than I run the risk of being over priced correct?  

Despite my countless hours of research gearing up for my first purchase in a couple of months, I still have some basic questions so I appreciate everyone's help!

@carl lucas Just re-read your post where you can option VRBO to add in the tax.  That answers my question on keeping fees consistent accross platforms.

Thanks!