@Stephanie2534 Creating a strategic plan is a good idea. What I did was ramp up over time. I had a management company manage my place the first couple of years, with me taking Airbnb for the billing and guest communications, and the management company doing all the maintenance, cleaner scheduling, and all the rest of the guest management from other platforms. I learned absolutely everything from them, from what type of beds to get, to how to provide proper documents for guest rules, welcome instructions, etc., to how to handle problem guests.
Through the management company during those years, I got to know the various maintenance, A/C, plumbing, appliance, and electrician companies in the area. I got to know and reward my excellent cleaners, which I quickly learned is of the utmost importance. Eventually, I felt confident enough to take over all the platforms on my own.
As far as strategy, for me it was formulated organically over time. I purchased and made a list of household items, and a maintenance schedule for when the various items would need to be serviced and likely replaced. I kept a very close eye on the competition to make sure my prices, quality and presentation were at least in line with the others, and tried to exceed their offerings where I could. I studied my property and area using AirDNA, which is an excellent source for determining occupancy, RevPAR, ADR, etc. I created spreadsheets to keep track of every guest, with associated stay dates, payouts, expenses and taxes. I prepared templates for guest communications, which with only 2 properties I modify and send out manually.
I never had a formal business plan, but I think it would be a great idea to have one, especially if you plan to scale out into additional properties.
I didn’t know how to do any of this when I purchased my first property. Some knowledge comes from doing, and you’ll run into many situations you didn’t plan for. Luckily, there are lots of resources with thousands of other hosts to learn from. I especially learned a good amount from this forum, which saved me from learning many lessons the hard way.