All Forum Posts by: Shannon Ilas

@Jonathan Klemm, thanks. There are a few in Wicker Park, but not the area I was looking at specifically.

It’s more residential but walking distance to the shops/restaurants on Division.

@Crystal Smith

Good grief, I meant Wicker Park! I have no idea how to change the title of my post.

I've checked and it looks like they aren't prohibited. There are a few closer to Division St, which is where the metro station and restaurants are. I could see that appealing to a certain crowd, but families may want to be more residential (quiet) or near a park but still walking distance to the other amenities. I live in suburbia myself, so maybe I underestimate the allure of being in the middle of it all. The building I was looking at does have an HOA so it may be that this particular one won't work. I'm curious how much activity Airbnb does when it starts to snow in an area like Chicago?

I'm in Chicago visiting my daughter, who lives in Windsor Park. There's only one hotel nearby, and every time I go it's full of families/parents visiting their college kids. When I looked for an Airbnb there weren't many close by or in a good location. It's got me wondering if it's a good area for STR and why there aren't any. The area I'm looking at is walking distance to the subway (blue line), near restaurants, etc. no parking but the apartment would have one space. I had thought of purchasing an apartment for a long term rental, but wondering how to determine if an STR would work better.

@Emily Hawcroft

Manzanita has more restrictions than the others you mentioned. Cannon Beach is STR friendly, but can be expensive compared to other areas. Rockaway is a good area. Also check out Pacific City. Pm me if you have any questions.

@Emily Hawcroft

I’m a realtor in the Portland area and also own a beach house near Lincoln City. Some areas on the coast are friendlier towards STRs than others (Lincoln County is NOT right now unfortunately, but Tillamook County is). It’s gotten more expensive, but rents have also gone up, so it depends on what your goals are. We wanted to start with a property that we could use ourselves and have enjoyed it. It rents year round with little down time.

@Jim Edelson great analysis, thank you!

@John Underwood have you also found that only 1-2 channels helps boost your visibility because reviews are more concentrated on those sites or does it really matter?

I've read through some of the posts and it seems most of you focus on AirBnb and VRBO with a few using Booking.com, TripAdvisor, etc.  Is it more advantageous to only advertise on a few? I had thought advertising across the board would bring more bookings, but have read that it's better to have your reviews focused on 1-2 channels.  Are there other reasons or is this really not the case?

That's really helpful, thank you!  If you self-manage, what would the average total costs be as percentage of the booking?  So far, from what I've been reading, you have cleaning costs, advertising costs on VRBO/AirBnB/whatever other platform, costs for online programs such as price calculators, and occasional maintenance/repairs.  Am I missing anything?