r/vrbohosts • u/stanlsr55 • 4d ago
Pulling the trigger soon
Selling father in laws fort myers condo and buying a townhouse 4br in a resort area of Disney. We live in Wisconsin and want to spend January February in Florida. Also allow each of our 5 kids to have one week a year. I ran and owned restaurants for 45 years so hospitality and business finance come naturally. I have a few hospitality ideas.. the themed bedrooms seem overdone and easy to find. We will have personal pool also.
Ideas ...
. An amazing coffee tea station with paper cups and to go lids
. A basket of inexpensive ponchos for that 3pm orlando rain
. A disney cinch sack for carrying items and for them to keep
. A qr code for everyone to scan and when they leave to park. Their photos are added to a family slides when they return home.
These are just some of my 1st thoughts.
Every property looks the same. Im gonna kill them with hospitality..
Thoughts?
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u/Fishbulb2 4d ago
It’s fine but I don’t think paper cups and lids will necessarily kill them with hospitality. You will lose a lot of ponchos and cinch sacks. I would not scan a QR code of my host to give them any access to my photos. I like all of your ideas though because they are easy to implement and move away from if it’s too much work. So go for it! But I think if you want to succeed here, guests will want is a 65 degree room in Orlando in August and an 88 degree pool in February. Oh and of course you need to be very cheap!
Good luck from another central Florida host.
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u/Walrus_Epiphany 4d ago
What makes you think that this plan is superior to a standard passive income investment that requires no effort? https://www.financecharts.com/etfs/VOO/performance
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4d ago
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u/stanlsr55 4d ago
Exactly... Parents want a frictionless expierience. Running out the door wrangling kids to get to the parks early. Grab that cup of coffee to to instead of a 5 dollar Starbucks on the way. A mickey cinch sack to throw your crap in. Grab a couple ponchos... oh my god!! How much money did my wife and I spend on ponchos every damn year?!!! A checklist on the back of the door.. Got your phone? Water bottles? Sunscreen? Shout stain remover? Etc... Help them have a great day...
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u/Walrus_Epiphany 4d ago
Aww thanks, snookums! Don’t bother clicking. You just stay poor and uninformed!!
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u/stanlsr55 4d ago
Did i say superior? Did i say no effort? Did I say income? Im buying with cash. No mortgage. Im looking to break even no profit. Im looking to have fun doing it. If you always do what you always did you always get what you always got...
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u/creepy-farter 4d ago
Different market, but I think we stood out because we offered additional extras at no extra charge.
We have enough beach bikes for our max occupancy.
Beach chairs, umbrellas, beach buggy to carry it all in bag of beach toys and body boards.
Beach badges for beach access. And parking pass for a 3rd car to park.
We did our own cleaning so we don’t charge extra cleaning fees. So we highlighted that as people hate getting buckled and dimed.
Also for coffee have a Keurig and a k-cup holder stocked with different and mentioned it in the listing.
I think you should think about how you would want to be treated as a renter and highlight those features you are willing to provide.
In your case if you can offer pool heating without extra charges or fees that would be a big plus as I see people always complaining about that and if any hot tub is not cleaned.
As others said I’d see if you see ideas from a local STR sub. I’d see what both hosts and guests want and highlight that in a listing.
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u/Googlehandyman 4d ago
I’m a restaurant owner with 3 STRs. I agree, hospitality translates in a lot of ways. You’ll have a leg up on many newer hosts. I’ve found that the small details rather than the expensive gifts or even some amenities are more memorable. Guests value uniqueness and convenience. You want your place to be memorable while also receiving the “you thought of everything “ comment.
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u/stanlsr55 4d ago
Love it.. You thought of everything! There is a casino in New buffalo (four winds) we stay at when headed from wisconsin to my daughter's in algonac michigan. You know why? We don't gamble.... its the shower heads! 2 side by side heads with the most amazing feeling! It's the small things....
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4d ago edited 4d ago
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u/stanlsr55 4d ago
You get it! Read the book purple goldfish. You need to give a memory... a bed and shower is a dime a dozen. I agree on the wine.. everyone does this. I have a friend chef that manages a few cabins in catskills. He offers a free wine tasting at his bistro in town. It's better to be different than it is to be better...
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u/Fantastic_Proof_8527 4d ago edited 4d ago
Yes, but you're applying the right principle in the wrong context.
"Giving a guest a memory" is a lovely sentiment, but the vast majority of your guests in a
short-term rental are not going to be repeat guests.It's not like a restaurant, where guests come back over and over again, or a hotel chain which builds loyalty by consistency in a multitude of locations.
You can give a guest the best experience ever, but the chances of them coming back to your area in the same circumstances needing to rent your exact same location are slim to none.
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u/mountainview59 4d ago
Given that this is a special vacation for most guests, I second your sentiments.
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u/Fantastic_Proof_8527 4d ago
Yeah, dude is coming from the Restaurant business, and looking at STR rentals through that lens. Orlando STR market just isn't that.
There are some markets, like some mountains/lake cabins and beach houses where families come back year after year, and the property experience itself is the vacation. Disney isn't that.
Very few families are spending $10,000 plus a week to come back here after year.
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u/Fantastic_Proof_8527 4d ago
He didn't say it, but that's what he's doing.
He wants to "kill them with hospitality," and have "guests make a memory." Sure, that's nice to get good reviews, but you have to actually get them to book your property first. 🤣 the Orlando market is beyond oversaturated, and if I were in OP's position I wouldn't spend a single second or a single dime on anything other than figuring out how to make that property be the most attractive it can be in the listing, focusing on eye appeal and price point for the location.
If he thinks advertising a coffee service and $.30 ponchos is going to distinguish his property from the thousands of others in the Orlando area on Airbnb in Vrbo, he is sadly mistaken.
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u/stanlsr55 4d ago
Go read unreasonable hospitality. Purple goldfish. Dan Kennedy outrageous advertising. This is a mindset in any industry. When implemented things explode. Yes your place needs location and looks but what comes after that is the magic!!! Once it gets going forwards the business is then on steroids. Im not going for price shoppers im going after families wanting to make memories with little to no friction. I have visited Disney atleast a dz times with kids and cant tell you anything about the color of my kids rooms or posters on the wall but I can tell you about how we were treated...
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u/mountainview59 4d ago
LOL, our slogan is "making memories for generations". Our business has been hosting for 76 years with one guest returning 65 years in a row. BTW, I do agree with you, just don't go overboard that you aren't profitable. My understanding of the Orlando market is that it a 3 - 4 month at best market. You should look into that.
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u/Fantastic_Proof_8527 4d ago
Not in Orlando. There are hundreds and hundreds of five star properties. You need more than that.
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u/stanlsr55 4d ago
You just said it yourself.. You need more than that! Think like an entrepreneur not a realestate owner.
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u/Over-Concept-1601 4d ago
What ever you do don’t leave all items you supple open ended - guest will take it ALL! There are a lot of entitled people out there! Keep it simple , nice , and clean!
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u/JerseyGirlinSweden 4d ago
Never had that issue once. I guess I attract a different quality guest. The beauty of having a solid business plan that works through all the impulses to get to what actually matters.
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u/fratimo 3d ago
Honestly, your hospitality ideas are fantastic. The QR code photo sharing thing is brilliant, that's the kind of touch that really makes a vacation property memorable. The hardest part is getting people to see it in the first place through those generic looking listing photos. Every place truly does look the same. We used ProntoPic for our rental photos to make them pop with better lighting and cleaned up rooms. Got our calendar booked way faster than before. What's your main strategy for marketing the place once it's ready?
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u/Fantastic_Proof_8527 4d ago
Frankly, none of this, except for a robust coffee and station, which should be standard.
All of these are gimmicks, and none of them are going to move the needle for you in a very very crowded short-term rental market.
I would look at your design choices, your location, and your price point. Get a lot of advice from the Orlando specific short-term rental groups, because you are entering into an overcrowded market during an economic downturn, and you need to be prepared.