What Tony Robinson from Bigger Pockets says about Short Term Rentals

Click Here for the audio only version on the Lady Landlords Podcast

If you have been following my journey for a while, you know I love a good beach! And, I know I am not alone. A decade ago, we used to use travel agents or hotel websites to find our dream hotel and booked it right on the site!

But that's just not the case anymore!

Over the past few years, the Short Term Rental market has exploded! Nowadays, the first stop for many of us is AirBNB which has basically become its own verb these days like Rollerblades and Kleenex. And there are options for everyone! Want to go to the mountains? There are options for that. Want to go find an 80's themed house? There are options for that. It really gives a vacationer more control to find a specific property for their needs.

The pandemic also grew this space.

During 2020 and 2021, we saw sweeping eviction bans across the country. Many of us were worried about non-paying tenants and looked to short term leases and travel nurses as an alternative. We also saw many people hesitant to travel abroad or the inability to travel to certain countries which increased the demand for local vacations. More and more people looked to stay near home for family vacations during those years.

In this week's episode of The Lady Landlords Podcast, I interviewed Tony J. Robinson from Bigger Pockets on his success and take on the STR Market. Here's the 3 things he says you need to be successful:

1. Time:

The goal with STRs is to be constantly booked and that means high turnover compared to Long Term Rentals. Therefore, they take more time on your part to manage bookings, guests, and flipping the rental for the next one in a short period of time. You are now in the hospitality business so customer service is key! Be ready to communicate with your guests when they need you to ensure a pleasant stay!

2. Ability:

Included in that time commitment is managing your team, in this case, cleaners, handymen, etc. But you have to know how to be a leader and oversee managing them efficiently. They will be looking to you for instruction and will follow suit. If you are disorganized and lax, they will be too. And your guests might not like that. You will have to ensure that you can run a well oiled machine to charge top dollar in the short term rental market.

3. Desire:

Now, you may have the time needed to coordinate everyone. You may even have the ability to manage teams successfully...but if you don't really have the desire to commit or if you hate doing the two items above, short term rentals may just not be for you. And that is okay too. There are plenty of ways to invest in real estate. The most important thing is that you find the right strategy for your goals and are happy doing so. Need help discovering which strategy is right for you? Click here to take the Lady Landlords Beginners Course.

Listen to the full episode for more tips and tricks on the Lady Landlords Podcast here.