Short Term Rental Riches

There’s one thing that will guarantee you a bad review. It’s also something that you could encounter if you are not prepared! We have to always have backup plans for when the unexpected happens. On a recent trip to Eastern Europe I was staying in an Airbnb and this very thing happened. I got locked out! Even worse, it was in the middle of the night :( So this week I want to talk about the experience and what you can do to make sure your guests are never left stranded.  Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

There are so many things to think about when we are getting ready to invest and start a short term rental (STR). I don’t claim to know all of them but after managing my over 21,000 guests my team and I have learned most of them. There is one component, however, that can’t just be “taught” with a few words or checklists. One component that does, seriously, make or break your short term rental. This week we are talking about the “Experience” your guests have. If you get it wrong it will show up in the form of negative reviews and you can kiss your high occupancy and high daily rates goodbye! This is a serious topic; you can literally make twice as much as your neighboring short term rental (or half as much if you get this wrong). As investors and owners though sometimes its hard to know what our guests might be experiencing. One way to get some better insight is to stay in other Airbnbs!I just got back from a little over 5 weeks of traveling and I stayed in a whole bunch of different accommodations over 6 different countries and I want to touch on the subject. This week I want to discuss five things you can do to add to your guest experience and five things you should not do!  We will discuss: What I learned from my recent travels Why Airbnb puts so much emphasis on the experience Who is getting the “experience” part right Five things you can do now to improve your experience Five things you do NOT want to be doing  Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

We are talking about that yellow and red badge that shines bright next to your name and listing. The badge that sets you apart from the rest. The SuperHost status badge! Being a part of a distinguished group is generally a pretty good feeling. But when it comes to our short-term rentals and Airbnb not only do we get to feel good… but we make more money!  No wonder most of us aim to be a Superhost! In short term rentals, having that badge is adding an extra layer of trust and credibility to you and your listing and as a result, more people will book your property.  But is it as shiny as it looks and as glorious as it sounds? Is it really worth the struggle to comply with Airbnb’s strict requirements?  This week, we will talk about Airbnb Superhost status. We will look at the upside it offers our short-term rentals as well as a new insight on what we should really focus on for a more successful and profitable hosting experience. We will discuss: Defining a Superhost (Premier Host with Vrbo) How do you qualify to be one? Is it really worth aiming for? Benefits of being a Superhost The Lagging Indicator Bonus Tips: Getting your Superhost Badge Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

If you missed last week make sure to jump back and check it out as we ran through (in a nutshell) the essential steps to getting your Airbnb ready. Everything that you need to physically do, that is. But we can’t stop there. A STR that no one can find is not going to make any money. So step two; get it ready online. Although this doesn’t take a long time, there may be more to it than you know. I’m going to walk through this week (in a nutshell) the nine step process for getting your Airbnb (or STR) ready and online to make sure it has the biggest reach and answers all of your guest’s questions so they don’t hesitate and hit that reserve button :)  This week we will discuss:  Getting started on Airbnb My software stack The 4 essential components Setting up your pricing Setting up your guidebook  Your home automation Going beyond Airbnb for max exposure A nice place to store additional property info Great news, the dates are set for our next annual virtual event! Join us October 22-23 as we uncover everything you need to know to find, acquire and operate a short-term rental with passive operations! Spend a jampacked weekend with us – for more details click HERE! Are you enjoying the podcast?If you find value in any of our episodes or resources you would do a huge service to your fellow investors if you would share it with them! This will also help us grow and it would be much appreciated. You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more! Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended) P.S. You have asked for it for quite some time and it’s ready… We just launched a virtual clubhouse where we can talk directly! Find out more info here.

It can be quite a process, but it doesn’t have to be. Setting up an Airbnb that is. After we have our perfect property ready to go we have to furnish it, install home automation tech, and provide details to our guests.  It’s crucial that we do not overlook anything because, as you know, our initial reviews can make or break the success of our STR. I recently got back from hopping around the US and one of the stops was in a city where I own properties and I was doing just this with one of my team members. So I'd like to break down the process for you in a nut-shell to make sure that you do not overlook anything during the initial setup. And if you haven’t set up your 1st STR yet well… then this can be your 15-minute handbook :)  This week we will discuss:  Making a plan  Ordering & Coordinating furniture Setting up / installing furniture  Where to get help? How long does it really take?  Essential rule to make sure you don’t FORGET anything. Great news, the dates are set for our next annual virtual event! Join us October 22-23 as we uncover everything you need to know to find, acquire and operate a short-term rental with passive operations! Spend a jampacked weekend with us – for more details click HERE! Are you enjoying the podcast?If you find value in any of our episodes or resources you would do a huge service to your fellow investors if you would share it with them! This will also help us grow and it would be much appreciated. You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more! Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended) P.S. You have asked for it for quite some time and it’s ready… We just launched a virtual clubhouse where we can talk directly! Find out more info here.

I can’t believe it. This is our 150th episode! Wow, how time passes soo quickly. I thought we’d do something special and talk about a topic that’s not 100% real estate related but will, undoubtedly, change the markets we should be investing in and the type of guest we will be receiving in the future. Let’s talk about the human lifespan. Our population as a whole is getting older; it’s a fact.  And as our population ages, demographics change and that changes the fundamentals of our real estate investments and the decision we are making. Well… it should change our investment decisions! But it depends on your investment timeline and to be honest - some of the demographic info is a bit hard to see from the ground level.I’ll get to some excellent resources I’ve used in the past in a bit but, first, a bit more on breaking scientific research that is allowing us to live longer!Every year we are alive we gain an extra 3 months of life. So, if you're alive for 10 extra years from today that means you added another two and a half years to your lifespan. And not too far off on the horizon, scientists believe that we will be adding an extra year of life for every year we are alive; imagine that. So I don’t know about you but if I can live 20 years longer than the current life expectancy I am all for that; as long as I’m healthy, that is. The good news, we know what we can do today to live longer and stay healthy. Lets go slightly off topic this week for a special 150th episode and talk about the latest scientific research behind longer lifespans and how:  Our aging population affects real estate Why demographics are so important to real estate investing Exactly why we are living longer 5 scientifically proven tips we can implement to live longer The opportunities we all have with a longer lifespan  Consistency & the Slight Edge recap (one of my favorite books) If you haven’t already read it, please check out one of the most influential books I’ve ever read by Jeff Olson: The Slight Edge. It will change your life. I promise.Also make sure to check out “Big Shifts Ahead” and “Emerging Markets” you can find on our resources section here. If you want to jump around you can check these time stamps:  10:15 how living longer affects real estate  13:15 two of my favorite book recommendations for finding good markets & demographic data 13:35 how to predict demographic shifts  15:30 best book for finding emerging market data 16:35 how we can combine longer lifespan + consistency to achieve amazing results Great news, the dates are set for our next annual virtual event! Join us October 22-23 as we uncover everything you need to know to find, acquire and operate a short-term rental with passive operations! Spend a jampacked weekend with us - for more details click HERE Are you enjoying the podcast?If you find value in any of our episodes or resources you would do a huge service to your fellow investors if you would share it with them! This will also help us grow and it would be much appreciated. You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more! Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  P.S. You have asked for it for quite some time and it's ready... We just launched a virtual clubhouse where we can talk directly! Find out more info here.

Camera technology has really improved over the years. That’s really good news for us in the STR industry because security cameras not only help us protect our homes but they help us monitor our guests.Ok… before you go thinking that I have been spying on our guests let me explain a bit more what I mean by “monitoring” our guests. Cameras are NOT allowed inside our short-term rentals and that is obvious. But we can monitor our guests in other ways. We can see when they arrive. We can see how many people they arrive with. We can see if they, perhaps, are trying to sneak in one of their furry little pet friends when we have a no pet policy :) So for us in the STR space cameras are essential. But there are a ton of options to choose from these days! So which one do we choose? I’ll share my experience in this week’s episode using several different models over the last 7 years and break down some of the most important features you will want to have regardless of the camera you choose.  Is it worth opting for a wireless option?  Alternate uses for our STR (outside of security) 3 things to consider when purchasing 5 options on the market today Are you enjoying the podcast?If you find value in any of our episodes or resources you would do a huge service to your fellow investors if you would share it with them! This will also help us grow and it would be much appreciated. You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more! Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)

One of the first things most people think of when they think of renting their property on Airbnb is “Someone is going to destroy it!”Yes, this is possible but it’s very unlikely. The truth is, I actually think that long term rentals can be much more risky than short term rentals. I’ll explain shortly. I’ve been investing for over 12 years and throughout the years I have not been particularly biased towards any one specific type of real estate to invest in. I started my career as a commercial real estate broker working exclusively with investors and different real estate investment options.  The small team I worked with completed over 2 billion (with a B) in real estate transactions including everything from shopping centers, to warehouses, to apartment buildings. There are many, many different niches of real estate to invest in and we can take it one step further. Within each “sector” of real estate lies even more sub-niches. Short term rentals are just one sub-niche of the residential housing sector.  You may say… hey Tim… short-term rentals are part of the hospitality sector! They are for vacations! But the fact is, people are living in short-term rentals now. So which type of real estate is the best to invest in? Short answer; it depends. It depends on your risk profile and what your experience is But to make things simple, this week we will break down and compare just two different niches: Short-term rentals vs. Long Term rentals. I own both and continue to invest in both so feel that I can provide you some great insight in this week’s podcast. Let’s discuss the pros and cons between the two including:  Recap from 8 days with some of the smartest RE investors I know STR vs. LT rental risks Subtle advantages of STR (you probably haven’t though of) Scaling - which is easier Future outlook for both

Options are always good. Unlimited options? Even better!  That is what Airbnb is offering with its latest 2022 Summer Release. When you open it, you're presented with 56 categories that organize homes based on their style, location, or proximity to a travel activity. That is 5.3 million unique listings in 191 different countries around the globe!  Limitless possibilities are here to stay for the travel industry. The changing of work set-ups paved the way for “bleisure” stays (that’s business + leisure combined) and these beautiful, fun and sometimes quirky groupings just added more inspiration to travelers.  As Airbnb timely transitioned from a destination-focused search to an experience-focused search, we ask, “What are my chances of popping up on these new search results?” “Is my listing in one of those categories?” So to understand more about this latest update from Airbnb Summer Release, let’s dive in! This week we will discuss:  Interesting Airbnb Categories Why was the search changed? Top 3 Host questions to Airbnb Elements Airbnb consider for you to qualify in a category Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!

Keeping your STR updated and contemporary will help to increase your property value and get more bookings. These types of upgrades are essential in order for your property to stay competitive and relevant in the booming 21st-century short term rental market! But hold it just one minute! Before you start renovating, make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons! Sometimes, we think pumping more money into certain areas of the home will get higher rent, get a higher equity position in the house, and it simply does not happen! And then we ask, “Why??” Yes, I have gone through my fair share of renovations here and there. It is not an easy decision to make and in actuality, it's an even more difficult task to undertake! But I always think of the areas of my rental property to concentrate on for the best return of investment from renovating. So today, I will share with you my experiences and a few good tips to consider if you are renovating your properties. Stay tuned as we discuss: When is it time to renovate your property? 4 Main reasons why you should renovate 3 Renovations that are a waste of money Tips to renovating your rental Are you enjoying the podcast? Please subscribe, leave a rating and a review, and share it! This helps us reach others that may find the info helpful as well. Get a copy of my 12 proven house rules to protect your property from almost every negative situation (highly recommended)  You can find all of our links here including our website, recommended resources, upcoming live events, short-term rental playbook, Instagram, and more!