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Compared to what? Doing it on your own? Compared to other professionals?
Not everyone has the time, willingness and ability to do so.
→ I appreciate the DIY often frugal approach of folks here but that’s not everyone. I don’t think someone who gets professional advice even if they could do it on their own (and it’s not clear to me that everyone can do what Vodyssey does on their one) is foolish or a chump.
Shawn’s site says “Analyzing over 50 member deals a month.” So that’s a lot of work that the team is doing, depending on the kind of analysis provided.
Years ago I worked at an accounting firm and we analyzed a number of prospective long-term rental properties. The analysis was far less comprehensive than what Vodyssey seems to be offering. We could easily spend a few thousand dollars analyzing the property assuming we were given all the data. And this is in 2003 dollars. God know what they charge today.
A lot depends on what you really get for the $4,800 or whatever the fee is. It’s not a good sign that I’ve spent a little more than an hour looking at the site and listening to a 25 minute pitch and I am unsure of what the client gets, specifically. But all that could be cleared up in that initial free phone meeting.
That one review that @muddy cited is an outlier and It’s a review of the book. It’s 1 out of 36 reviews, which look like this.
The review of the book is also nonsense because it’s nothing like a timeshare.
I’ve just now read just a few of the reviews and testimonials. These clients are VERY happy. They talk about their ‘team’ at Vodyssey, calling them up, e-mailing them, getting advice on financing, on purchase negotiations. Far ranging advice and service. It sounds like they’re getting a lot of attention and personal advice from the Vodyssey team.
I understand that this service might not be right for many of us but it sounds like this is a very professional outfit with a lot of satisfied clients.
You are in a different position to many of us from your posts. @HostAirbnbVRBO . (As it’s not your property there is much less of a risk for you in being a co-host than someone whose livelihood and investment is to make an STR business work).
It appears and do correct me if I am wrong, that you got the opportunity to become a co-host for someone without having much, if any experience, as a host yourself. You rightly came on here (and I am sure lots of other forums) to learn from experienced hosts about the basics or running an STR so you would be able to offer a co-hosting service to your clients.
Did you pay for any training from those who market themselves as Airnbnb experts?.
I can see some of the how to guides are useful for those who haven’t done any market research for themselves. But most of it is common sense…
Do your market research into supply and demand for your type of listing for your area.
Do your research on current and future STR legislation.
3; Check with your lease to see if running a business from the premises or STRs are allowed
Do your market research into likely day rates and occupancy rates. Use this information to identify whether you are likely to have a profitable STR business
Create and profit and loss budget for your start up and ongoing costs.
Identify your target market and design your listing with them in mind. Market your listing using channels your market research shows you your target market uses.
Don’t get involved in a high risk disruptor model business, if you are going to be dependent on the income unless you are going to run it as a proper business (setting aside profits during lower profit periods so you have a cushion for low season and when demand falls). And unless you can afford to cover your costs if something goes wrong.
I cannot imagine publishing testimonials from clients in a sales environment that were anything but extremely happy. His timeshare seminar style environment smacks of the same desperation that folks who look to Amway as a solution to their financial problem show
Compared to reading books, reading and asking questions on hosting forums, watching free videos, and if you think it valuable, paying for some online seminars like those offered by Sean Rakidzich (more like $80 for a webinar on various topics) who, while he is also trying to make money off advising others, and a mega host, a model which I’m not fond of, seems pretty savvy about analyzing str data and coming up with good strategies. He also doesn’t make it sound like easy money or use new-agey buzz terms like “lifestyle asset”.
I have not paid for any training from experts. The property was already here. It was not going to be sold. It already was an STR and doing well.
The goal was foremost to relieve the Host of really spending any time with the property except providing guidance to me when needed and approving certain decisions. If I could systemize the process (including managing the property maintenance), improve the bottom line and better manage the risks that would all be to the better.
I might have missed something you caught but I didn’t get the sense from Vodyssey that an STR is easy money.
I’m not entirely sure what Shawn means by ‘lifestyle asset’ but I think he means that this is an asset to generate income AND ALSO a second/third home that the owner can use to ‘elevate’ their lifestyle by using it themselves a couple of weeks per year or to develop/pay off an asset that will ultimately be used personally (e.g., a retirement home). I didn’t find it off-putting, but your mileage may vary.
I made alot of mistakes. I bought this house not realizing the pitfalls of dealing with an old septic system. The septic guy did not inform me that he was removing my concrete back porch, tearing up the backyard, tearing up the front yard and ripping out the concrete driveway. This mistake cost me 10k in a new wooden deck for back porch, and another 20k in basic looking landscaping for the front yard. It also cost me the entire summer season of rentals as we the landscaping guys were backlogged. All in all I had to pay about 50k after buying the house. A good course could have prevented me from making these mistakes.
It sounds like what you needed was a qualified home inspector before purchasing the house, and estimates on correcting the issues, and what doing so would involve, not a course in running and managing strs.
I hired one that was recommended. He told me the house needed a new septic system. I was ok with 14k in a new septic system, but the devil is in the details.
Yes, of course when someone gives you an estimate on a major job, it’s incumbent on the employer to find out what the work will involve and what other issues it will cause which then have to be dealt with.
Honestly, we can take all the courses we want, and they may offer valuable tips and info, but every situation is different, so they aren’t a substitute for common sense and due diligence.
Many homeowners could have told you what to watch out for and consider if you needed to replace a failed septic system, but if you wanted to pay me $9800 for the 5 or 10 minutes that would take, I’d be happy to oblige.
I’ve never had a home with a septic tank but going by what I’ve read about them, they seem to be unsuitable as rental properties due to the restrictions of use.
There seem to be quite a few things that can go wrong with them and they need regular maintenance, I believe.
I suspect that they’d be quite a headache for rental properties, especially STR.
I’m sorry you went through all of that. It’s very helpful that you shared that.
I wonder if a course would have gotten into that level of detail. Maybe the service aspect of the team. I wonder if a good real estate agent would have prevented that mistake, or a very good house inspection (at least on the issue of the condition of the septic system or raising a question on its condition). Even a detailed discussion with the septic guy might have surfaced those possibilities. So you do need to reflect on how you’ll deal with contractors going forward.
Whether this course and its services (it’s not just a course) would have prevented that. I don’t know. I would ask them. Maybe Vodyssey would have raised it if you had hired them before you purchased the home.
Now, though, spending $4,800 or $9,800 just seems like a lot (too much) because you already own the home. I don’t get the impression that you’re open to selling it and buying another property. Are you?
I do think you should take a very close reading of the house inspection for any other issues they could see. I assume that the house inspector was certified by the state or county, right?
If you’re ‘wedded’ to this property for now, the questions I would have if I were you would be:
How should I change the listing, including pricing, to increase property’s bottom line? I would certainly say more in the listing of how close/far certain attractions are to your place.
Should I stay with MissKitty? What are they charging and to do what? What are your alternatives?
What is my target market? How can my property ‘stand out’ and to whom? There are a LOT of nearby similar properties. I looked for a few minutes and it looked to me there were nicer properties for the same or less money; some much nicer for just a little more; nicer decorations, some closer to where the restaurants are. A lot of supply in your area. I don’t know why someone would rent your place. Is there something about the area that’s really attractive? What? I think this is the toughest thing you need to figure out. Is your target market the people who will charter a fishing boat? That could be a thing. If so, link to a few of the charters. Will your guests really grill the fish downstairs under the porch on that little grill? Why?
What cosmetic or quasi-cosmetic changes/additions should I consider? Like paint colors, Like the washer/dryer in the bedroom closet. Like the furniture in the living room. Like outdoor lighting. Like Queen beds instead of full beds if they fit. That shower curtain. How can you get the property to feel more ‘put together.’ Have you lived there for a weekend? For a week? Have your friends? It’s not rented now, so this could be a time to give a weekend to friends in return for candid feedback.
Should I make improvements? What likely would be my ROI for the improvements? To me, what comes to mind are the windows and the landscaping, but @muddy made a point about not having one of those bedrooms being a bedroom. This is last because you can spend money to make the place nicer but will that investment likely pay off to your target market?
Anyway, those are a few impressions. There are a lot of seasoned Hosts here who can help you out. The more you tell us about your objectives and situation the better they can tailor their guidance.
I am on a private septic system and just recently had a problem with it after 16 years of zero maintenance since it was installed. I wouldn’t say a private septic system makes a property unsuitable for strs at all, but the homeowner has to be prepared to deal with guests flushing unsuitable things, whether they are handy enough to deal with that themselves, or need to call a plumber. Guests can clog up toilets and pipes in places that are connected to city sewer lines, too.
Of course if one was starting an str business,they should make sure the private septic system is up to code, functioning properly, and that it is large enough to accommodate the guest count. That was what caused my issue- my pre-digester tank is designed for a household of 4. Normally it’s just me here and one guest, but my family came for Xmas, there were 9 people flushing toilets (altho flushing just for a pee wasn’t allowed) and taking showers (3 teenagers, who seem to require 2 long showers a day ), for 14 days, so the tank overflowed.
I got it pumped out and now it’s fine again, no problems with just me and the Airbnb guest who was here for 5 days.
That’s an important point. @BayBreeze , do you know what size household your septic system can accommodate? And, from what I’ve read here in the States you do need maintenance; every ‘x’ years the system needs to be cleaned and I’ve never read of ‘x’ being greater than 3.
For what’s worth I have a decal from Etsy on the back of the toilet seat saying only toilet paper, nothing else, even so-called ‘flushables,’ should be flushed.
I have often paid for professional advice from accountants, solicitors, designers and web developers etc.
Having run a number of successful businesses and having over twenty years experience of heading up marketing and communications for national and international organisations I don’t need to pay for advice on how to market or run my STR business .
I feel that I do benefit from such advice, but I like to get what I can free or at a low cost. I don’t believe that I am a suitable candidate for Vodyssey but that doesn’t mean to me that no one is or that’s a poor value to some.
Do not buy a property unless an expert YOU pick (not one with ‘skin in the game’ suggested by either party) goes through the entire home and gives you a detailed report on what will be needed after purchase. Bonus: you can use their report to negotiate a price break with the seller.
Do not buy a property unless you have spent some time in the area - you don’t want to be unpleasantly surprised by your neighbors.
Do not buy a property until you find out how the locals deal with contractors and service people.
Do not buy a property for some use without researching local building codes and town/city regulations.
Whoa. I bowed out gracefully from that previous conversation because you were kind of new here and I didn’t want to give you a hard time. (And I’m sorry I’m not trying to give you a hard time now either).
But ‘my method’ is not tedious for me. What actually happened is that I explained to you what I do for about 5 minutes ‘most days’ of the week while I drink coffee in the morning. I even explicitly told you that I never ever ever write anything down at all, none whatsoever.
Then you made a bunch of graphs which are not only not necessary but totally useless because the information is already “old” by the next morning. It’s inherently fleeting information. I am so utterly befuddled as to how you made it tedious that I can only blame myself for not explaining it better.
), for 14 days, so the tank overflowed.