Just one question.... maybe two!

[Cindy1197]

What's your one best piece of advice on short-term rentals or something you wish you had known before you started.?  We're new to this and trying to educate ourselves. Thanks!

[Lorna170]

@Cindy1197   My advice?  Determine your price and policies and stick to it.  Do not offer discounts, do not accept more people than you can handle and DO NOT rent for less than 2 nights unless you are a home share host.  Having a slow start with few bookings is the way it goes at the beginning.  You have built it...they will come.  

I was so anxious to have guests and to make their stay wonderful when I first started that I found myself accepting a one night rental from a couple who proceeded to have a swingers party.  Then I made an even bigger mistake in discounting a week rental from a family with children and pets that exceeded my max.  It was such an awful experience with them running out of hot water, breaking things, dog doo everywhere, marker on the walls, two mattresses ruined  with pee and demands for a refund that I nearly gave up then and there.  That was twenty years ago and I still remember the guest name.

[Cindy1197]

Wow! So sorry that happened , but I REALLY appreciate you sharing your experiences so I  know what to look out for from the start.  Thanks!

[Gordon0]

Make sure you clean under the bed, regularly - there will be that guest who drags it out for a snoop. And sleep in your listing once in a while for the guest's view. (Like bird's eye, just less forgiving). 

[Alexis646]

I would say really put yourself in the guests feet and use that to really drive most your decisions. Think of it more as hospitality as opposed to short term rentals because at the end of the day you charge the premium for the service/ experience you bring not exactly the length of stay. Pricing has to be dynamic and fluctuates by day on demand and inventory really take time to study this so you can adapt to the market if you strive for an above 80% occupancy.