All Forum Posts by: Sebastian Giraldo

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 It is nice to have a reference and know how the numbers are going in the market, but this business is about trusting your gut too; knowing the value of your property and the guest experience you are providing is key for pricing, if you are offering better amenities and services than other listings in the area definitely the best option is to go for a higher price.

The holidays are a long-awaited period for every business since it is the best time to maximize their return on investment, and vacation rental hosts are not an exception.

Therefore, taking action on planning a high season strategy not only will improve overall guests experience but will maximize the return if it’s done the smart way.

Three pillars for success:

There are many points to cover in order to prepare STRs for the peak season. To make it easy to comprehend, we will dissect these tips into three pillars:

• Pricing
• Guest Experience
• Cleanliness and Maintenance

Pricing

The holidays are the season of the year to charge higher rates for nightly stays and shatter previous income records. Consequently, the pricing strategy must be among the first things to work on to profit from it.

Make sure to compare with properties around the area to offer similar amenities or even better than the competition. Comparing also gives an idea of pricing.

Custom prices ahead of time

Smart travelers will book their stays in advance, hoping to find cheaper rates as they are farther from the check-in date. For that reason, on the host side, it is crucial to update the holiday calendar a few months ahead to avoid getting high season bookings at low season prices. Other hosts opt to block the date and wait until the peak season kicks off to sell at market price.

Benchmark the average nightly rate with similar listings in the area

If you are insecure about how much to charge, you can always compare with similar listings. A way of doing it is through a quick search on Airbnb, filtering the search with attributes that match. E.g., home type, room number, beds, amenities, and others.

Smart pricing

Booking portals like Airbnb offer a “smart pricing” feature that lets their algorithm decide the nightly rate based on the market. Even though this option seems to be convenient, there are some tweaks you have to perform, like determining low and high caps for the nightly rate. You do not want Airbnb to sell a nightly rate of $50 when you are offering an entire single-family home with tons of amenities included. It might be an exaggeration, but you get the point.

Attract customers with discounts

Discounts boost listing ranking in some booking portals. Airbnb, for example, includes a strike-through style in your price section. Such details can encourage more guests to book your place.

Mental note: lowering prices far too much may attract lower quality guests. Here is when the screening process comes into action to help you triage the ideal guest.

Extra fees

One of the biggest challenges hosts face in some booking platforms are additional fees. Some consider them too expensive and dissuasive since they impact enormously on the overall price of the booking. Be mindful of this, and look forward to adding the highest value to customers at a fair price.

Guest experience

Once a competitive price is set, the next step is to fulfil and exceed the average expectations. People are willing to pay more for their stays during the holidays, in return, they expect to receive an experience in correspondence with the price they paid. Here’s where the guest experience will make the difference for a 5-star experience.

Update the listing description

Holidays like Christmas and New Year transform cities and towns. New attractions open, festivals and events happen more often, and traditions attract visitors from everywhere. These are selling points for a listing, begging for inclusion in your description. Change the listing name and highlight the compelling aspects of the property, e.g., Modern apartment close to Christmas Market.

Refresh the pictures

Shooting a stationary session for the property could be an overpowering way to attract those guests looking for an “authentic” Christmas experience. Offering a unique climate with an emotional touch, not only will impress the visitors but will allow them an unforgettable holiday. Of course, some hundreds of dollars will need to be invested in amenities, decorations, and a professional photographer.

Increase booking conversions

Getting guests to send an inquiry is the first step in the sales funnel. To convert them into actual guests, improving your response time is a top priority. Thankfully, the totality of inquiries can be managed through a smartphone. Do not forget to communicate with a friendly tone and customer service oriented.

The downside is that it is hard to attend a high volume of requests for a single person. Hiring a property management company or partnering with a Co-Host could be a fantastic idea to keep your service standard during the high season.

Clarity on home rules

Set your expectations for guests and let them know what they can do and what they cannot do at the property. Effective communication will allow your guest to determine from the first moment if your home is suitable for their vacation. Make sure to communicate your position about reunions or "intimate dinners", as well as smoking. Print a frame with the five most relevant house rules and hang them in visible areas of the home.

Always prepared = always ready

The chances something can go wrong during the peak season are high. There might be some missing amenities or issues with the appliances. A guest can even ask about something they forgot to ask for during the booking process.

For all those instances, be ready to provide a quick on-site response. Such action could convert an unconformity with the listing into a 5-stars review.

Cleanliness and Maintenance

Never forget:

You are hosting the most meaningful 2-week vacation of the year for that special guest! Some travelers spend months planning a holiday getaway, expecting to forget the hustle and bustle of their busy itineraries. Any inconsistency can jeopardize the guest vacation and your reputation as a host.

Keeping the home clean and in top shape are game-changers elements in your hosting experience that will add tremendous value to your guest stay, adding an extra layer of comfort and safety to their holiday.

Here are some tips:

Perform an inspection

Before performing any action, inspect your property to identify which areas need more effort. Talk with a handyman/woman and a cleaning crew and ask them to go with you to the inspection. They know what areas to examine and what assets commonly get damaged by wear and tear.

Refresh the Home

Late in the fall season is the ideal time to dedicate some preventive love and care to the property. This will guarantee less issues, positive reviews, and no stress in having to fix, maintain or repair the property during the busy winter Holiday season. Practical items to care for are: loose hardware particularly on chairs, tables, or stools, a fresh coat of paint on walls and baseboards, loose drawers, fumigation, bed frames, new linen, loose ceiling fans, functional electrical outlets.

Deep clean

Now more than ever, cleanliness is crucial on every vacation Rental. For many guests, a clean home equals a safe environment. A deep cleaning will guarantee visitors feel safe while enjoying a fresh and tidy place. Besides the traditional aspects of deep cleaning — hardwood floor or stone floor polishing, carpet cleaning, dusting behind and under the furniture, window washing in the crevices, pressure washing, and vacuuming — focus on high-touch surfaces and sensitive areas like the bathroom and bedroom.

Do an inventory

Complete a list of your home assets such as the kitchenware, linen, towels, games, and other amenities, to know when to file a claim if anything is missing.

Getting your STR ready for the peak season is hard work, but it is worthwhile because your chances of increasing your return on investment will grow exponentially. Optimizing your vacation rental will allow you to raise your nightly rates significantly, earn more, and give your listing more reputation.

Are you ready for the high season? Let us know your tips and tricks in the comments down below!

The new normality is pushing more companies to rely on remote work as a measure to prevent COVID-19 spreading. The current circumstances created the perfect scenario for the boom of the so-called “Zoom towns”: rural and suburban getaways for travelers looking for a place to isolate themselves from crowded cities.

Remote work has been here for a while, but the need for social distancing while fully accomplishing your job was unheard of. Now, as the internet only improves with developments such as Starlink, where anyone with a laptop will be able to connect to the internet worldwide. This has been a key contributing factor in driving the Zoom-Town trend forward in travel and vacation rentals.

Zoom towns with a higher-paid occupancy rate

The last Key Data report shows how some leisure destinations had an increase in it’s paid occupancy rate during the Labor Day weekend, outperforming their last year indicators.

“Most markets we analyzed will see increases over last year and some markets will do exceptionally better. Big Sky, Montana; the Outer Banks of North Carolina; and Hilton Head Island saw a 39%, 27%, and 25% increase, respectively.”

As seen above, best-performing destinations are located in rural and suburban areas. They are drivable distances, yet far enough to avoid the hustle and bustle of metropolitan areas. Knowledge workers – Usually the millennials who kept their jobs despite the pandemic and are able to work from home – are the segment who mainly drives the increase in the “Zoom” destinations.

Steady recovery from pandemic for the hospitality industry

Some hospitality markets such as the Chinese, are now showing pre-pandemic behaviour with “seasonal fluctuations” in the occupancy rate, meaning that COVID is no longer determining changes in the industry and the restrictions that come with it.

On the other hand, the US has shown a steady increase in its absolute occupancy reaching an average of almost 50%, performing better than the European average.

Will this trend last when COVID ends?

It is uncertain when COVID will end, but what is true is that it will change the way we travel once and for all.

Cleanliness, social distancing, and cancellation policy will be the top features travelers will consider as essential when booking a Short Term Rental. Two factors that will directly benefit towns of the peripheries because of their unique characteristics.
I'm curious, what was your experience throughout this turbulent year, do you think Zoom towns will stay or will be another trend?

Do you remember in the beginning stages of Airbnb where it was so unusual and it was completely unregulated? When very few knew the details and profits you could make from it and when local governments weren’t involved? Those were marvellous times where freedom existed in our space. Fast forward, today government bodies in numerous cities have rolled out ordinances in order to adapt and embrace short term rentals with vacation rental license permits. The intent behind this article is to help untangle the legal web so you can legalize your Short Term Rental without a mark. We manage short term rentals in South Florida, therefore I will use our local for context.

Be warned! Before jumping the gun and making any payments to any gov body make sure to verify that your condominium association, local and state government allow short term rentals, otherwise you may have completed the process to no avail.

How to legalize your Airbnb property?

1. State Level

Florida legislature allows short term rentals through a vacation rental license. Begin by filling out the form through your state licensing website. In this case, Florida is through the DBPR, an online process that requires submitting a form and payment of fees. Every city and/or county will ask you for the vacation rental license from the State.

1. County Level

Take into consideration that the county manages all unincorporated areas. Meaning that if an area is incorporated it is then referred to as a city with its own local gov officials. Miami-Dade county allows short term rentals through an online form submission very similar to the State level in which you must pay a fee that ranges anywhere from $100-300. Ultimately depending on the size of the home.

1. City Level

Incorporated areas in your town are cities. This is where the tricky process starts. More often than not, cities have a much longer and complicated process that may require inspection and strict requirements.

The Florida Keys, for example, requires mailing a letter to communicate the intent of the property to all the homeowners within 300 ft distance of the property being listed for short term rental purposes.

Other cities such as Hollywood, FL are long and tedious but not impossible. This is why I recommend you visit the city website to review their requisites and file accordingly.

1. Condominium/Homeowners Association Level

Lastly and most importantly is the association which is one that can make or break you. Certain buildings and associations will allow you to perform short term rentals.

Since the association is one that can penalize and limit your owner privileges. We recommend you call and ask them the following question:

“Are there any rental restrictions in this community?”

If in any case, you’d like to double-check the fine print then you can refer to the association governing docs and bylaws.

Follow the process and you will succeed!
In essence, these are the four layers that your local and state governments typically follow

A culture of zero attachments

Nowadays no one wants to own a car, people don’t own their phone, it is an inevitable pattern. Society is transitioning into a culture of zero attachments, anchors, it may even be the flexibility of payments.

Short Term Rentals are new, different, and perhaps mysterious in its future. We know this may be the future of hospitality and travel. Eventually, the traveling nomad lifestyle will be prevalent. This is exciting, it is new, different, and immensely rewarding when you do it correctly.

Did you know STR should be legalized?
Have you legalized your property to turn it into a STR outside Miami?
What is stopping you from turning your 2nd home into a STR?

We would love to know your story!

@Nancy Bachety

@Nancy Bachety

@Nancy Bachety very true. On special occasions our team member delivers a pre-selected assortment for the occasion and guests are very delighted by the surprise.

@Paul Sandhu that is awesome and very resourceful. Makes me curious about your homes soudns like an interesting experiece. 

@Luke Carl that is excellent since your house description speaks to your ideal guest, then they determine if it's a right fit. Thats another way to speak to your ideal guest. 

We are a team and have a dedicated VA which ensures it is a quality guest, collects id, and has a rental agreement signed. It is possible that in urban areas we are having more local guests trash our homes.

Thanks for the feedback.

When you’re developing a listing, one of the main things you have to think about is; who is going to stay on my listing? Who am I getting this place ready for? Because that’s going to help you decide what type of amenities you need, what kind of furnishing you need, or any other things that you want to include in your short term rental.

A good example is: Let’s say that your target audience with your vacation rental is a family. Therefore, you may want to include a high chair, pack and play, toys for the kids, games for the children, monopoly or chess board games for the parents, and different sorts of things that are going to make a family vacation more enjoyable.

If you have a beautiful listing and it’s packed with all the things that a family would enjoy and all of a sudden, you get a group of three young couples coming to your listing. Do you think they are going to find your listing as pleasant and as enjoyable as a family would?

Probably not, because they’re looking for more adult appeal. Perhaps a robust surround system, domino table, or shot glasses and a wine cooler. In the end, other general factors such as a pleasant environment they should have a good time, yet it didn’t go the stretch to create a memorable experience. And that is our point. Screening your guests before their arrival will help you remain closer to your ideal guest and in return have consistent raving 5 star reviews on your listing and much less negative ones.

Asking the right questions will give you a heads up!

It is essential that you ask the right questions in order to have your ideal guest stay in your property because once they come into your home. They’ll notice and appreciate the details and say “everything in this home was thought for” they find the games, books, that interest them, and everything that makes the experience of staying at your listing a wonderful vacation.

Some of the questions you want to ask are:

1. What is the purpose of your stay?
2. Why are you interested in this property?
3. Where are you traveling from?
4. How many will stay over in your group?
5. Do you need special accommodations for toddlers?
6. Can I help you prepare for any special occasion?

When a happy guest arrives on your property, you can ask him/her for consistent feedback in order to ensure they are okay and the property is working properly for them and finally ask them for a positive review, which will help you getting more clients for your listing. The more positive reviews you have on your listing, the more great reputation badges you will enjoy, which in turn leads to increased guest occupancy with higher rates.

Building great experiences for the independence of your business

Building referrals and word of mouth customers are significant for the success of your short term rental business. A recurrent customer base can be a lifeline for you during slow times. Therefore, you don’t only want to only rely on the booking portals. What you want to do is develop your backend process so you can serve a solid customer base.
Other effective filters to screen your guests include signing of a Vacation rental agreement, Document Identification, security deposit and guest insurance.

Screening your guest is about much more than just avoiding parties or damages to your properties, it also helps your short term rental company cater to the ideal guest you’ve developed your property for and also create a memorable experience for guests. This will result in the growth of a solid online reputation, which is going to help you generate 5-star reviews and in turn increase your Average Daily Rates for your home.

We have applied these for ourselves and have developed our listings and reach 500 reservations in just one year.

What questions do you ask to screen your guests?
What else would you ask your guests to guarantee them the best stay?
We would love to know your experience!

Thank you for the feedback! It is great to see a great STR presence here.

It is evident the vacation destinations demand has been very generous. Back in Florida demand has maintained well despite the negative media attention we could be performing much better. Needless to say are looking forward to our higher season in the Fall and continue growing in our niche, Single Family homes with amenities. It has proven the times and seems to be where the tide is heading.

@Mike Shemp vacation destinations are great

 @Melissa Wesling Thanks! Im with you we're starting to see a trend on longer "Workaction" type of guests. We just did a zoom meet-up along with IG @optimizemybnb in this very same topic. 

@Marcello Di Gerlando sounds like an excellent STR!

@Landon Moore Way to go! Id suggest to listen to as much as possible to your guest and consistently welcome feedback. When the events and sports return you will have figured out all the great points and resolved the weak ones. 

@Lisa Graesser the comeback is greater than the setback.

@Luke Carl you guys are rocking it over there. Cheers!