Long-Term Vision for Short-Term Rentals

In this episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast, we welcome Christopher John, a real estate agent, real estate investor, and Airbnb Superhost. Christopher operates a short-term rental in Seattle and uses Hospitable to manage day-to-day operations.

Christopher shares how he made a leap into short-term rental hosting, what challenges he faced when starting on Airbnb, how he uses dynamic pricing to maximize occupancy and revenue, and what he does to meet guests’ expectations and ensure a pleasant guest experience. Christopher also talks about how technology helps him manage his listings stress-free and prevent double bookings.

Tune in to the full episode of the Hospitable Hosts podcast to discover how Christopher has become a successful STR host and how Hospitable helps him run his listings more efficiently.

If you prefer to read the highlights, we’ve got a summary of the key takeaways below.

How Christopher Started with Short-Term Rentals

Christopher says he’s a real estate agent by trade, and he does a lot of investing, has long-term rentals, and has done flips in the past. He notes that investing in long-term rentals is rather risky, and they had some issues in the past, which led them to consider renting out properties on Airbnb.

They purchased a short-term rental that was already operating, so they could “investigate the financials” and see what the property owner was doing. It was a studio in downtown Seattle because they wanted a place they could rent out year-round and maintain consistent occupancy.

“We settled on this building, which is one of the last historic brick buildings downtown. It’s adjacent to the Amazon campus, the Spheres, and everything. We knew people would be coming there because everybody loves Amazon.”

Christopher says they did a major renovation and upgraded everything to create a rental space where guests could live like a local. “We were very prepared for the property itself, renovations and so on, but we had no idea about managing multiple channels, how to put the listing up, what that looks like, or interacting with guests. Once you get all that figured out, the biggest part is pricing, you start seeing your calendar fill up. That’s when you know it’s working.”

About Setting Up Dynamic Pricing

Christopher notes that their calendar is already filled for the rest of the summer, and they're now starting to fill in the fall dates. “I leave it open for 12 months, so anybody wanting to lock those dates in early can go ahead, and our dynamic pricing handles it. If you’re going to take those dates, you’re going to pay a bit of a premium for it.”

Christopher says that Seattle is a summer travel destination, with premium dates from May through August, driven by peak cruise traffic and premier summer events. This year, Seattle is hosting the World Cup games, which have led to a growing demand for short-term rentals. “We thought if we could capture part of this, it’d be great,” Christopher says. So, he contacted the Hospitable support team for advice on how to build rules around that date range using advanced dynamic pricing settings.  

“We set a two-day minimum and a 30% markup already on top of the seasonal markup. As soon as they announced the games, we released those dates, and by Friday of that week, half of them were booked. At that point I thought: did I go too low with 30%? So I changed the rule to 40%, and we filled up the rest of the dates.”

Approach to Guest Experience

Christopher shares that they use smart home automation to ensure that guests can have a good time at their property. “We have everything in there: Amazon Alexa, all smart light bulbs. Everything pings into that, and if you want to order something, it’ll show up right at your door.”

They hired a good housekeeper to keep their rental nice and tidy. Christopher also underlines the importance of providing accurate information about the property to set guests’ expectations.

“Our whole experience is about living like a local. What you see in the pictures is exactly what you’ll find when you get there. It’s not staged for the photos, where you walk in, and the furniture is different. You’re essentially living in our house as it is. Comfortable, super clean, exactly as depicted in the listing. And we get a lot of feedback in our reviews that people appreciate that.”