So my question is, is HA/VRBO keeping your calendar full and making you money?

If we are to manage a short term rental ourselves, we'll be driving down there nearly every week to prep it for the next set of guests if the calendar is completely full. 

crossing the calendar year to recognize the gain in - 2018 = as good as it's going to get for you.  

They mostly look at the photos, which need to be top quality.I would look at current rental listings in your area on Airbnb and on HomeAway/VRBO and look at their nightly rates and look at their calendars. 

I’m new so I don’t have any to contribute that are specific to REI, but from my other businesses.Waze + a calendar connection - easiest way to get traffic notices for departure time for your next meeting Outlook - it’s more powerful than the default iOS mail when it comes to signatures, scheduling, and managing emails Evernote - great note taking and overall brainstorming tool Dropbox - self-explanatory.

I don’t have a calendar.

Then again, I’ll set targeted milestones during the course of the job ( shown in a calendar of events) to give the clients a vision of how the job should proceed. 

I haven't looked at their calendars recently, but your best bet to find a local meetup are the 3 area REIA's:utahreia.org, nureia.org, slreia.com

So, they are making some guesses based on what is available on a calendar one day and not available the next.

Check out the BP events calendar as the next one should be added there for October.