All Forum Posts by: Troy Ritter

Hey @Cliff H.! I can’t thank you enough for the really helpful advice. I’ve been impressed with the people on this app and How they’re will to help. 

Up until about a year ago, my market rank on VRBO hovered around 6-12 and I was booking about 100 days May-August. I only rent during the summer. Then VRBO changed how they rank properties in a way that disadvantaged seasonal rentals. I dropped to around 850-900. Of course, my bookings stopped. 

At first I was bitter at VRBO but thanks to a lot of help from people on this site and others I’ve gotten 5 bookings in just the last week! The changes are helping! I’ll write more later about the steps I’ve taken and the result. However, the main lesson is that I can’t be dependent on any single booking site. 

Thanks again for all your advice! 

Troy

@Joe Splitrock you are absolutely right! I’m going to take your advice. Thanks for taking the time to help!

@Joe Splitrock gosh the comments are super helpful and very doable! I can’t thank you enough. 

Alaskans would tell you that Anchorage isn’t “real” Alaska. It’s a modern city with sidewalks, traffic and people and the only mountains are in the far distance. It’s definitely anywhere USA. 12 years living there and I never saw a home that resembled an Alaskan lodge or has a true view of the mountains. HOWEVER, I can do a better job of creating the elusion of an Alaskan lodge. I can redecorate and maybe change the name from Baxter Crest Vacation home to Cozy Coho or the sleepy Salmon :)  I can also change up the beds. I can also update the pictures and maybe stage some of the scenes to better target my audience. 

Again, thanks a million for sharing your knowledge! Super helpful. 

Hey @John Underwood and @Paul Sandhu. I’m definitely not looking at this as a complete fix. After my last post, I summarized the suggestions into 3 categories: price, advertising and amenities. I’ve already taken steps to make the price more in-line with competitors and increase advertising. I’ve also received 3 bookings since and my “views in the last 48 hrs” increased from 8 to 66! Now I’m looking at amenities. Unfortunately, nothing stands out there except that my most successful competitors have at least 3 bathrooms. That lines up with feedback I’ve gotten from post guests and my own experience. It’s also a pretty small investment. Anyway, thank you both for the terrific feedback. It’s really invaluable!

@Ken Latchers really great input! I’m on HomeAway, AirBnB and Flipkey but don’t use dynamic pricing and don’t have a way of coordinating the sites. Very good advice, thank you!

Hey @Mark Miles thanks for the comment. I own 2 properties in Georgia and both of those are doing well. My worry is being too reactionary. It wasn’t very long ago that GA was in the dumps and Alaska was hot. It’s hard to imagine that the South can keep this up and Alaska is showing signs of coming out of recession. That’s my concern anyway. Thanks again for your comment! 

Hey @Luke Carl. I think you must’ve misread the other thread. A couple people did suggest selling but others suggested I get off my butt, make a new plan and learn to make the place more competitive in the changing market. 

I appreciate the recommendation but in 6 years I’ve made over $90,000 cash flow and haven’t had a losing season. I see people on this app getting excited over much less. I haven’t got as many bookings for the upcoming season as usual and I’m working hard to turn that around but I think throwing in the towel at this stage is really premature. 

Hi @Joey Morea. Thanks for your message! I understand what you’re getting at here but I think you’re trying to make an apple into a pear. No amount of decorations or a hot tub is going to make my place into an Alaskan lodge, due to the location and style of build. Plus, it’s minus 7 in Anchorage this week. Outdoor hot tubs are really impractical. 

I have a past customer email list and send out specials. I also have a Facebook page and many past guests are “friends”. I get an occasional repeat customer but a trip to Alaska isn’t like you or I taking a trip to Helen. For the majority of my guests it’s a once in a lifetime trip. 

When I started doing STR in 2014 there were 6 4-bedroom homes in the area. I made $28,000 cash flow that year. I made about $20,000 the next 3 years the $6000 then $1800. After really studying the competition and talking to past guests the bathroom came up as the #1 recommendation to make the home more appealing is adding a bathroom.

I have a 3100 sq ft, 4-BR, 2.5 BA STR in Anchorage, AK. The home isn't renting as well as I'd like and I'm looking to make it more competitive. The max capacity is 12 and my average party size over the last 5 years is 8.2.

I’m thinking that the #1 thing I can do to make the home more attractive to larger groups would be to add a bathroom. My own experience of renting a 3 bathroom VR with my 8 ski buddies is that 8 people sharing even 3 bathrooms is difficult.

I have a bid to install a 3/4 bathroom for $8,000. I estimate this would allow me to increase the nightly rate by at least $30. This seems like a no-brainier but I'm wondering if anyone has added a bathroom to a STR or has thoughts on the ideal number of bathrooms in STRs.

Thanks!

Hey @Brandi Croom thanks for the helpful feedback! Yesterday did a cost comparison with other properties and I agree that I need to reduce the nightly rate and cleaning fee. Thanks again!

Troy