Short Term Rental Riches

It’s exciting hosting so many guests from all over the world in our properties. We are helping to facilitate a new way people are deciding to travel that is more experiential. We are helping others to build lifelong memories.But it’s not exactly easy. Things happen, and people have questions. Questions about our properties. Questions about the area our property is in. Questions about what we recommend they do while they are there. If you’ve been listening to the podcast for a while, then hopefully, you’ve figured out how to answer most of these questions BEFORE your guests actually ask them, but the reality is, there will still be more times when we have to communicate with our guests. Every guest has slightly different questions and expectations. If you are just getting started and have one or two properties, then the questions you get from your guests are likely not dictating your life and waking you up at all hours of the night. If you have more properties, however, there is no avoiding required communication at ALL times of the day, and if you’re like me, I didn’t begin investing in real estate to answer calls at all times of the day. I got into real estate as a way to earn passive income, and so I learned early on that the guest questions were one of the most important parts of an Airbnb business that I needed to outsource. Over the years, I’ve explored several options for outsourcing guest communications, and that’s what I’d like to break down for you this week so you know your best options! Join me as we discuss:  Options for outsourcing your guest communications Where to hire virtual assistants  What to Include in Your job description Having someone 24/7 for your guests Challenges & requirements for a VA Tracking progress 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!

Details can make or break a guest's experience in short-term rentals. Discover how a simple oversight can lead to a dip in ratings. The conversation delves into Breezeway, a software that streamlines management of housekeeping and maintenance tasks. It offers features that keep properties in pristine condition, ensuring a consistent five-star experience. Learn about the unique benefits of Breezeway compared to other tools, helping property managers focus on what truly matters—guest satisfaction.

Discovering the right cleaning fee can make or break rental profits! The host reveals insights on what happens if your fee is too low or too high, potentially leading to thousands in losses. Learn strategies for calculating a fair fee that balances costs and competitiveness. Explore how market conditions affect pricing, and why perceptions from housekeeping and guests matter. This discussion is essential for maximizing your rental income while ensuring fairness.

Explore the intriguing world of long-term stays in rental properties! Discover the benefits, including increased occupancy and cost efficiency, while navigating the challenges like revenue loss and complex tenant laws. Management strategies are crucial for balancing the pros and cons, and the discussion highlights how to potentially avoid leaving money on the table. This conversation reveals essential insights into whether long-term guests are the right fit for your rental strategy.

What if you could travel for free? Without tax that is. Well, you likely can.   I stayed at the most remote Airbnb I’ve ever stayed at in my life. I literally could barely get to it. After putting the jeep in 4x4 and dredging up and down muddy roads with deep crater-like holes we finally made it. Not without, however, two gracious Colombian gentlemen helping to push us up a hill while I had the throttle to the floor and mud shot all over their ponchos. It’s hard to imagine a moment of peace after such an arrival. But it was peaceful. Staring out at the beautiful mountains where the clouds rolled by like waves in the sky. The rain spattered in from time to time but there was no noise to be washed out. Just the sound of nature and a crisp breeze.Of course, as an investor in the short-term rental space, having accommodated over 20,000 guests in my properties, my mind started churning. I couldn’t help but think about the future success (or failure) of this property. Was the arrival just too treacherous? Was this property just too remote? We’ll break down the pros and cons of remote listings this week and wrap up with just how cool it is to explore the world and travel tax-free! This week's topics:    Remote properties Pros and cons of operating remote properties  Expectations Are you eligible for a tax write-off for travel?  Is it possible you could use travel expenses to offset your ordinary income?    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!

I’ve been investing for over 12 years and have not been particularly biased to any one 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 niches to invest in and 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! And you would be right if you were referring to just STRs used for vacations! But the fact is, people are living in short-term rentals now and they have become a mid-term option for many people.So which type of real estate is the best to invest in? Short answer; it depends. It depends on your risk profile and your experience. It’s also helpful to be able to compare and contrast the various options. So this week we’re going to make things simple and break down the risks and opportunities of just one of these niches (and my favorite as our listeners already know) and talk about investing in short-term rentals. This week we will have a rapid-fire list of the risks and opportunities as I see them with short-term rentals. Let’s discuss:  Recap from 8 days with some of the smartest investors I know STR strengths and weaknesses Subtle opportunities (you probably haven’t thought of) The future outlook for the industry (and economy) What I’m doing in the current environment 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!

It’s hard to tell at first. Something seems a little fishy but not enough to lead you to believe that someone is out to fool you. Not from the start anyway. These days there aren’t many areas of life that haven’t been infiltrated by someone or something trying to take advantage where they can and ultimately take things that don’t belong to them. Scams happen with Airbnbs and short-term rentals as well. And there isn’t just one way they’re doing it. An important thing to take note of is that scammers are smart and always adapt.  Just recently, for example, a scam at the start of 2022 affected 587 individuals and tallied up to a whopping $2.7 million in lost money. $2.7M lost with just one fraudulent scheme! So we need to be careful. As scammers are getting increasingly sophisticated in their attempts to fool people around the globe and with the rise in demand for rentals, this industry is now more prone than ever to fraud.It’s crucial that we watch out for any potential risks to avoid becoming vulnerable to scams, even to those already staying with us. This is an important topic, so this week, we’ll talk about  Warning signs to look out for Most Common STR scams OTA ways of protecting us (and who does it the best) General tips for preventing scams   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 have had an STR for a while I’m sure you had some unexpected cleaning due to guests smoking in your listing or pets damaging your property. Not only is it frustrating when our properties aren’t treated with care but having to deal with the process to get reimbursed can be equally frustrating! And sometimes we just don’t have the time to file a complaint before our next guest checks in and we lose the possibility. Airbnb has had its “Host Guarantee” for many years but just last November, Airbnb dropped it and introduced AirCover - the “top-to-bottom” protection for Hosts. AirCover is a branded type of coverage that consists of Host Damage Protection and Host Liability Insurance. It actually covers a lot of stuff behind this simple name and is just one more reason to explore short-term rentals as an investment option. Once you hear more about it, you may think, “Is this too good to be true?”  Well, it is true, but is it good?! This week I will share with you all you need to know about AirCover and how it helps us manage our short-term rentals in case of damage to property caused by guests. We will talk about: Host Damage Protection Host Liability Insurance Key takeaways Tips on how to make Airbnb damage claim 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!

Compared to the hotel industry, the short-term rental industry is still just a small share of the pie. Although it is growing! And not just growing but merging with the hotel industry. The hotel industry is taking note of the STR industry and vice versa. But at the end of the day, the hotel industry is still a giant and the travel industry’s leader. Some hotel chains have tens of thousands of rooms and so they have access to incredible data. Data on the return of work travel, data on the average length of stay and average price, and perhaps most interestingly, data on the future outlook of the travel industry as a whole!This week I want to share some insights I learned from a conference I recently attended with some of the biggest players in the industry. I think you will find what they had to say to be quite exciting :) A quick review on:  The great “merger”  Is business travel returning?  What areas are most ripe for investment?  Industry expert’s opinion on a potential “recession” 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! P.S.  I'm excited to share that we've just locked in our dates for our next live event in Memphis! It takes place August 19-21 (Friday-Sunday). So if you're interested in learning the ins-and-outs to successfully acquiring your first STR or the tools you'll need to scale your STR empire to the moon, come join us! More info here P.P.S. Did you know that we just launched a mastermind group where we can talk directly? Find out more info here

Whether you sold your house, decided not to rent your home any longer, are doing a major renovation, or dropped the ball and got some bad initial reviews with your short-term rental, you might want to consider deleting it. This week, we will talk about how to delete your Airbnb listing (not your entire account!) and what other different Airbnb alternatives are worth pursuing before making that final and irreversible decision. I have removed quite a few listings myself over the years and so this week I’ll share with you my experiences and some facts on: Why you might delete your listing Before and after considerations How to delete your Airbnb listing  Airbnb Alternatives you might want to consider Can Airbnb deactivate my listing? 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!