All Forum Posts by: Tyler Work

Hey @Logan McConnell we operate primarily in Denver but I would be happy to take a look at your projections and see I notice anything missing as well as do my own if you'd like another opinion! 

Hey @J-Ryan Stewart just curious are you leasing, buying, or managing your properties?  Is there a certain net return or profit you target?  Were you using the "front desk" service from Guesty, which I would think would be their biggest time saver?  Sounds like no if you were only paying 3%.  Last question, I promise :) - what is the biggest time saver you see in the particular PMS/CM you use? I manage 12 right now and am always curious as to what other people spend most of their time on.  

Hey @Ryan Smith are your places near the beach?  @Valerie Rogers has a few places on Okaloosa Island that she rents and might be willing to share some info for you on how they are performing.  

Are your units near the beach or more inland?  Referrals are probably the best way to find a manager in your area or use Airbnb to find a "co-host" for a cheaper option.  

@Mike Williams I can second @Michael Bowie on his advice for STRs or "vacation rentals".  Although riskier, if your goal is to cash flow $4k as quickly as possible in many cases renting on the short term market like Airbnb will earn you much much more than a traditional rental, in some cases double or triple.  You just have to be careful and invest in the right market and do your homework.  

Hey @Ryan Smith, our rates here in Denver are 20% so I don't think the 22% is too high.  It might sound like "highway robbery" to some people but I think there really is value in hiring an experienced manager.  Maybe ask them how much their properties make vs. comparable properties that are self managed.  (Obviously my opinion is biased) 

I would try self managing for a while and see how you like it.  What do you have to lose?  If you feel overwhelmed or don't like being on call 24/7, you can always switch to a manager.  From reading this thread you've already found out that there are tons of great automation tools out there to help make your life easier, and they certainly will but they won't wake up a 3 am to help a guest who got locked out or call a plumber for you.  

I would be happy to share some of our automation "secrets" if you want to PM me as well!  

@Jason Henning Please come! They are open to the public and STR hosts need more representation. The next meeting is January 30th and they just switched to every other month. The last meeting was dominated by a board member who has a "frat house" operating down the street and I think there is risk the rules get even tighter if hosts and managers stop showing up to the meetings. The city also isn't dumb and realizes this is a huge source of potential tax income so I don't see it becoming outlawed any time soon.

STRAC Schedule

Hey @Jason Henning is your property zoned for an ADU? Think you might run into a zoning issue similar to those who try and put tiny homes in their back yards and get them shut down. From a licensing standpoint I think you'd be fine as long as you don't have 2 listings running at the same time. @James Carlson might know more but I can definitely ask at the next STRAC meeting.    

@Julie McCoy good to hear from someone who has actually worked with them, I appreciate the feedback!  Sounded too good to be true anyway.  

Hey @Ethan Cooke it sounds like your listing is well on its way for success but I have a few ideas that might help your Airbnb listing stand out:

-Try out different listing titles.  Point out high points of the property and avoid all caps and avoid restating the city that its in (redundant info).  There are some really good articles on how to create an effective listing title if you do a quick google search.  An 82 walk score is incredible but I had to read way into your listing to find that out.  Try putting it in your summary! This is "getting fancy" but you can also try to track page views when you make listing tweaks.  Create a spreadsheet that notes the date when you make a change and see how your views go up or down. 

-Create a 1 sentence hook statement in your summary and provide all other info in bullet format, most guests don't read large paragraphs 

-Do you actually provide breakfast?  Doing that in Denver throws you into the "bed and breakfast" category and requires additional permitting.  

-Make your property business travel ready.  I recently read a blog post that stated BTR listings make on average $10k more per year

-Become a superhost.  Since you host other listings this will come with time but make sure you fit the criteria and it will help boost your listing in Airbnb search ranking

I thought SF had the primary residence rule but looks like you're making it work.

Just my opinion, hope that helps!  

Hey @Larry Johnson, we keep 85%+ year round on most of our established properties in Denver and 95-100% in the summer.