STR Unlocked

In today's episode, we are joined by Thomas Castelli, a successful real estate investor and tax strategist. Thomas has always had an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for business since he was a child. Thomas shares his journey from being a passive investor in a 48-unit multifamily property to becoming an active partner in an 82-unit apartment community. He also shares his insights on the importance of proactive tax strategy and planning to help real estate investors keep more of their hard-earned dollars in their pockets and out of the government's hands. If you're looking to invest in real estate, build wealth, achieve financial freedom, or retire securely, this episode is a must-listen!

This week's episode features a conversation with Kim Warren-Page and Travis Page. Kim and Travis first got their feet wet with real estate by purchasing a 20 unit trailer park and was able to take revenue from that and purchase more properties. They have since expanded into the short term and mid term rental space with 50 properties under their belt.

This week's episode of STR Unlocked features Renee Chastain. Renee is the owner of Westbrook Hospitality which is a full service short term rental management company located in Greenville SC. She has lots of experience in the short term rental space for Greenville and it fully equipped with the knowledge to help her clients achieve financial independence.

This week's episode features a conversation with Brice Bay. Brice is the owner of a boutique hotel in the form of a set of eight short term rental "wedge cabins" that he and his company built in Traveler's Rest which is an area close to Greenville, SC. Where a lot of investors will buy a property and then renovate it to become a short term rental, Brice went the opposite direction and built a place from the ground up for people to experience a great stay away from home.

The episode this week features Dustin Kennedy. Dustin is a short term realty investor with a property on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina. Scarcity, reputation, supply and demand are all big reasons that an island might be a great place for a short term rental investment. April, Nathan and Dustin talk about the decision to purchase a property on an island and how the right research can give you confidence in your listing.

Episode 14 of the series is a quick talk on some of the biggest surprises that April and Nathan had while owning their short term rental for a whole year.

In this week's episode April and Nathan talk about some big misconceptions they had about starting a short term rental and a few ways they dealt with the accompanying fear of managing their property remotely.

This week's episode is all about how the hosts April and Nathan have used Rankbreeze to supercharge their listing on Air BnB. Rankbreeze is a great tool for seeing how your property is ranked and lets you track changes you make to increase your listing rank on Air BnB.

This week's episode is a recording of a Short Term Rental meetup that we hosted in Greenville, SC where we asked Willy Coleman to come out and be a guest speaker. First up, Willy Coleman is an incredible young investor who has learned and implemented a strategy for VAs to manage his properties so that he can be as hands off as he can be. After that we go into a short talk about incorporating direct booking into your strategy.

When managing a short term rental and chasing the 5 star review there can be a wave of emotions tied to a guest complaint. It is important to remember that just because a guest complains about something, that doesn't mean you're doomed to get a bad review. Think of the complaint as an opportunity to go the extra mile and show the guest you're ready to make their stay as best as it can be. On this week's episode April and Nathan talk about how they have dealt with some of their guest complaints in the past.

Anyone already invested in a short term rental would agree that there is so much to worry about and keep track of that some things just happen to fall between the cracks. If you're striving for the coveted 5 Star review then probably the best way to make sure everything is taken care of is to create systems for everything. A system is nothing more than a series of steps taken in order to achieve a desired outcome. They are usually automated which is great because with enough systems you can book guests and gain revenue with much, much less stress involved! The episode this week is all about how April and Nathan's short term rental is managed though systems and the sort of value they provide to not only a listing, but to the guests as well!

Continuing from the previous episode, April and Nathan talk about a couple of things they learned about the general consensus the public holds about Short Term Rentals. While it may not all be positive it is important to recognize the opportunity that is available in offering a high class experience, especially compared to other listings in the same area. They also give some insight into why some rental properties don't give off the same feeling a guest might have when the guest sees the listing online.

In episode 7 of the series, April and Nathan talk about a listing's Expected Value versus its Perceived Value when a guest arrives. They recently took their family on a trip to the beach where they were able to experience this concept firsthand. Tune in to find out why it is so important to under promise and over deliver rather than the other way around!

The STR Market isn't as easy as it used to be! With so many more properties popping up on the various hosting platforms, you have to put more effort into booking your listing than in previous years. In this episode, April and Nathan detail how important it is to have good data and they go over some of their proven methods for getting booked.

This episode is especially helpful for those who are handling their Short Term Rentals remotely. April and Nathan go over some key points in finding the right cleaning company to handle your property and how important it is to be thorough in how exactly you want your property to be handled.

Finally, some hard data! The hosts get into their Pricing Strategy and how they use the “Enemy Method” to price the listing. They also go over their occupancies, lead times, revenue and how Rank Breeze was used to supercharge their listing.

Sometimes the “turn key” experience isn't as turn key as it sounds. Episode 3 is filled with tips the hosts had to learn the hard way, and examples of how expectations are made to be broken.

After the decision was made to dive into the Short Term Rental deep end, Nathan and April found themselves confronting another challenge…actually buying a property! Episode 2 outlines The Buying Experience; how they did it, who they worked with, and some of the tough decisions that had to be made.

It can be challenging to jump Into New Territory, especially when talking about real estate investment opportunities. In this first episode of the series, Nathan and April talk about the first hurdles they had to overcome, a couple common misconceptions surrounding Short Term Rentals, and the line of decisions that lead them to buying their first rental property.