Welcome back to another episode of Into The Airbnb, where we talk with Airbnb hosts about their short-term rental experience. Today's guest is Mandy Konecki, based in Jacksonville, Florida, who manages five live things in Jacksonville Beach, in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and in Ellijay, Georgia. In this episode, Mandy will tell us about her hosting experience and also share some useful insights of her listings locations. This episode is sponsored by Airbtics, the only one analytics dashboard for short-term rental investors and managers, where you can find the precise Airbnb data such as occupancy rate, revenue, average daily rate and so on. So, without further ado, let's get into it! Can you tell us how did you get started on Airbnb?
Sure! In 2018, my husband and I decided to sell our primary home and move back to Ohio, we were both with our nine month old daughter. We had a lot of equity built up in our house because we were house hacking for several years. So we had a lot of equity to cash in and we knew that we were going to be visiting Florida frequently as my job is here and we have all of our friends as well. So we were going to be looking for a place that we could stay when we come to visit, sort of all of our things. So we didn't have to haul around beach toys and suitcases and pack and plays and all of those things and sleep on couches or hotels. So when we moved back, we started gradually looking and discussing opportunity and a condo came available in Jacksonville Beach that looked like something that we would definitely be interested in. We had our realtor go check it out and we actually bought that site on scene, which was caused a lot of sleepless nights, but it was definitely exciting. There was a lot of headaches that we entailed with that, especially being far away and it was going under a massive assessment that we were unaware of. So I'd say our first one was kind of disastrous, we definitely learned a lot. There were times that we wondered what we did, why did we do this, etc. But to this day, we would say that's definitely the best move that we've made so far as it got us into real estate. It definitely build a confidence. We learned tonnes of lessons and absolutely love the industry.
Good story! And can you tell us how did you overcome all of those problems you had with that one listing? And how do you plan to acquire more? Now you have five listings, right? How do you decide to make a step forward and acquire more properties?
Yeah, it was very stressful because we didn't really know what was going on. The management company had zero communication and zero management of the construction project that was being seen. So we really didn't know what was going on until our guests told us the process. What they were working on the stage of that. I ended up being able to get in contact with a person on the construction crew that he gave me his number, so I got regular updates with that. And stayed in front of communicating with the guests that were booked prior too, we offered a lot of discounts, gave our guests the opportunity to cancel or help them rebook if they weren't up for staying there during the construction. So we did offer a lot of discounts and there was a lot of additional communication. We found some local people here that we knew through our network that were able to drive by drop things off check on the project, etc. when they came by. So finally when that was done and relieved and we got through all the renovations it was smooth sailing after that. We were excited to continue to come in because everybody loves a vacation. You're not dealing with people that are grumpy, stressed, etc. Most people that book, especially coming to the beach are looking forward to it, they're excited, they love the accommodations. So it's great working with people that are excited to be on vacation and enjoy what we call home.
Right and about your most popular listings, where are they located?
So right now we have five active listings in Jacksonville Beach, in Cape Canaveral. We do have three to four other ones that are going to be going live here in the next three to four weeks one is in North Georgia in the mountain area and then the other one will be in St. Augustine, so both are touristic places. We picked the North Georgia location because we were there on vacation visiting a friend and absolutely fell in love with the atmosphere. That's really what got us into the industry was we absolutely love to travel, I travel for work and one of our biggest family hobbies is travelling. So we like to be able to have a place that we can also enjoy when we have time to get away and also be able to share with others, so they can enjoy the same experience that we have.
Right! In the areas you're currently hosting in, do you know how is the seasonality like?
I would say, the Jacksonville Beach area, that's been our longest one we've had for four years. During high season, we're 100% occupied, especially now that we're in the vacation year it seems. In our low season, I would say is 89 to 90% occupied, we do have a three night minimum in this location. So the time periods that we aren't booked are typically because there's not a three day window in there, it'll be one or two nights, which we're unable to fill. The Cape Canaveral area seems to be longer-term stays. So we get a lot of people that are coming from Canada or up north to enjoy the snowboard seasons. We also get a lot of people that are there for employment working on the SpaceX and travelling nurses, which is nice because they're able to stay for a longer period of time instead of the more frequent turnovers. And we're new to the Georgia area, but every time that we're up there and we communicate with people, everybody loves it, it's like a little secret gem, so it's definitely growing up there as well. And as people are able to continue to work from home, we've noticed that our length of stays are increasing too. Instead of people coming for three, four or five nights, maybe a week, we're getting more three weeks to three month time periods when people are coming to visit.
How has been your experience with remote hosting?
Remote hosting is great. One of the biggest things I would suggest is getting your systems down. Once you have your systems, the time that is involved with managing that is very easy with your check in instructions, your checkout instructions, knowing how much linens that you have available, your supplies, etc. and keeping those replenished. You can definitely host from anywhere, which is great.
And what about the crew that helps you in those properties?
I would say they're probably one of the most important pieces of the industry. Having a reliable cleaning crew and a handyman on call is definitely the key, you want to make sure that you have someone that you can trust, someone who does a great job for you. I would say that you pay for what you get, definitely take care of these people because they're your backbone. If your place is not clean, when a guest shows up, you're gonna get a bad review and that's going to reflect on the future. If something's broke and you don't have someone to go fix it like a leaky pipe, anything could happen light bulbs, refrigerator could go out. So having someone able and capable and willing to make those changes for you are definitely key.
I agree and how did you manage to acquire the people you're working with right now for that?
Networking, networking, networking. This day and age, there's so many different ways to network, not just through social media outlets, but there's several different groups that you can rely on, local groups, nationwide groups, global groups, actually. And then, I would say most cities probably have a local meetup to for RBIs and that would involve anybody in real estate, from real estate agents to investors, lenders, mechanic's, cleaning services, they all get together and word of mouth and referral here and there. So when you find your people, I don't want to share them, but I do share them, but make sure that they know that they still have to take care of me.
Right and thank you for sharing that with us! Let's talk about your occupancy rate in the areas you're hosting, how is it like in the high season versus the low season?
Our high season is 100% occupied, especially today's year. We have people checking out checking in same day, pretty much this entire year. Previous years, I would say our occupancy was still 100%. But that would be more April, March time and June/July with a 90% occupancy during the slower seasons.
I see. In the Georgia listing that you're currently hosting remotely, right?
Yes.
You told me that there was more longer stays in that listing, right?
Now in that one, I think that's going to be more vacation.
Which one was the one with longer stays?
Cape Canaveral.
Okay, so are you managing that one remotely as well?
Yes. That's only about two hours, so we are able to get there in a day if need be. But we do manage it remotely.
Okay and how has been your experience with long-term rentals?
It's been great. I love the long-term rentals. People come in and they're self sufficient. They take care of their laundry, their additional supplies, etc. I haven't had any issues with any of my long-term rental visitors, which is fantastic.
Good then! And for all your properties, how is your pricing strategy?
We use the recommended Airbnb just as a guideline that seems to be lower than what we have. Our low season I would say is around $250 a night up to $300 a night and we recently renovated it. We were 90% booked through August by early January. So that indicates that we weren't keeping up with our pricing structure and the markets on there as we definitely got booked a lot further in advance.
And after that bad experience with that pricing, what alternative did you decide to use?
We like to price a little bit higher than suggested depending on our occupancy. If we aren't getting any bookings, you can always adjust that to the market fluctuate there. If you want to offer a specific discount, a last minute booking discount, we tend to offer those if we get a cancellation. A couple of weeks in advance, we'll give a discount to get that period booked. But Florida has seen a lot of foot traffic over the last many, many years. Everybody loves to come to the beach and sunshine, especially in the winter months. So our occupancy stays pretty full without having to adjust too frequently.
Good. And have you tried using any dynamic pricing solution or smart pricing solution?
I have not personally tried that. I've heard a lot about it, but I have not implemented any of the strategies yet.
Okay, okay. Good to know. In all those years running Airbnb, what have been your top challenges?
The top challenge is definitely finding people to rely on, showing up on time, making sure your cleaning services there and you have your handyman available to do ASAP fixes whenever possible.
Yeah, I've heard about many other hosts struggling with the same. Are there any tips that you'd like to share for other Airbnb hosts, especially the ones managing around your area?
I would just say don't give up when it gets tough. Every project is gonna have its obstacles, learn from it, learn to expect it. It's part of the process. Love what you do and make sure that you're doing everything you can to make other visitors experience great. That's how you're keeping your fill rate occupancy, paying your mortgage and incom. Continue to network, networking is key. You learn from everybody that you talk to has a different view, different thought, process, experience, etc. So share what you learn and take whatever anybody else can provide as well.
Great. Are there anywhere they can contact you for some extra help or something?
Absolutely. I'm on Airbnb, VRBO, Facebook and Instagram. Our Instagram page is surfing turtle in. You can find there or Mandy Konecki on Facebook.
Okay, great! So that's it for today. Thank you for your time.
Absolutely. Thank you. I appreciate it!
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