All Forum Posts by: Tyler Work

Since we're all talking short term rentals here I figured I would mention another product to tack on to your STR homeowners called Safely. They insure premise and liability for the homeowner, liability for the manager (if you have one), guest personal property AND perform background checks on each guest. It costs about $30-$50 per stay depending on the level of coverage which can be worth it especially if you can pass cost on to guest or build it into the cleaning fee. They are building a database of "bad guests" so they will be flagged even if their background check comes up clean.

@Caitlin Bigelow I think @James Carlson 's post above explains it but to elaborate - the unit does not have to be "owner occupied" in Denver.  I'm not sure why that term keeps being used to apply to laws in Denver.  

The unit has to be occupied by an individual who considers the property their "primary residence", as proven by documents, etc. This individual can be a tenant or owner, doesn't matter as long as the tenant has written permission from the owner to rent short term.

In the carriage house scenario (assuming the property is zoned for an ADU as James mentioned) your tenant lives in the carriage house, since the main house presumably will generate more revenue on Airbnb. The reverse could be done as well but in general you're going to want to rent the big house short term. You tell your tenant up front that you are planning to rent the main house out on Airbnb so they agree to it in your lease or side agreement - and get them to apply for the license online and pay all of the taxes. You then essentially become the "property manager" and just reimburse the tenant for taxes and possibly cut them a portion of the proceeds.

Caveat to this model - properties with existing ADUs are extremely hard to find so this isn't really a sustainable business model for investors looking to get into the Denver market.  You might get lucky with 1 or 2 but I'm not sure you're going to find 10 properties with carriage houses.  In addition, the secret is more or less out so you have tons of competition.  The other option is to target properties that are zoned for one and do a garage conversion or convert the basement into a walk out basement.   

@Ryan Haley I think you'd be surprised, some of the mountain areas where Airbnbs are scarce can do very well.  I have a colleague who rents his home in Pine, CO and has great occupancy.  If you PM me an address I can run a projection for you and see what kind of revenues they are seeing. 

To piggy back on what @James Carlson the meeting minutes were updated on the plan for Airbnb to collect taxes:

"Action item: Bob Dent will provide follow-up next week after the meeting with the City and Airbnb. 

Update: The City and Airbnb had a very productive meeting and believe they may be able to have a solution within the next few weeks."

This update was send on or around 2/2/18 so hoping to receive word soon. 

@Emily Fischer I attend all of the Denver short term rental meetings. Here is your workaround: when you are ready to move out, put a long term tenant in your ADU and rent the main house out on Airbnb. Get your tenant to hold the license and consider it their primary residence. You are 100% in compliance if you do it this way.

@Julie Hill your management company should be able to answer all of those questions for you since they should have experience in your area.  What type of marketing you do totally depends on where your rental is located and how big your PM company is.  I have heard of individuals crushing it with Facebook marketing, simply paying to advertise a link to their listing on Airbnb or VRBO.  Ask your PM company if they can run ads for you, although most of them don't really bring value with marketing unless they have a large following and get a lot of direct bookings.

-Tricks for decor/amenities:  A hair dryer can add $10/night .  Also ask your PM company to leave out coffee, snacks, and tea for guests.  Ask them to survey guests to figure out what is the best bang for your buck.  I do this by using software that sends a survey out to every guest post-stay.

-Websites: Your PM should use software that allows them to take direct bookings.  The larger the company generally the more of a following they have.  Also depends on the area and what platforms people are using.

-Advertising:  Google Adwords and Facebook have proven to be most effective.  Make a page just for your listing on Facebook and promote it.  It will show up on google searches when people search for things like "where to stay in X town"

-Videos:  We don't do videos because they generally cost way too much.  Airbnb screens out all links, VRBO allows them, and I am unaware of other platforms that allow URLs to youtube pre-booking.  Instead, make a free floor plan of your listing and post it as one of the photos.  

@James Carlson looks like tourism is on the rise as well.  The Colorado Springs website even advertises vacation rentals aka "Airbnbs" on their website! 

Hey Josh - @James Carlson can likely help you out.  Give him a shout.  

@Jenessa NeSmith  I'm so sorry to hear what happened to you, I'm sure it is extremely stressful and nerve racking.  Did you get appropriate insurance when you started renting out your in law suite?  This sounds like a situation where you would want to file an insurance claim.   

As an ethical and responsible host - you 100% need to get your property tested to cover yourself against liability and to protect the safety of future guests.  If you have adequate insurance, it will not only cover the costs but also loss of income.  Feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any questions, unfortunately Airbnb is notorious for leaving hosts out to dry.  

I've done the program - feel free to PM for additional details.  My take: 

-Likely worth it for someone who values their time and is a 100% newbie who is trying to get into the self management of short term rentals in as little time as possible

-If you have a lot of free time to research, are already managing properties, or are on the fence about jumping into the industry, etc - likely not worth it