Buying, selling and moving · 10 guides
Airbnb & Short-Term Rental Management: problems and fixes, explained by Anna
Anna Shinkaruk is the only airbnb & short-term rental management member of BNI Preston Center. These guides are written for a Dallas–Fort Worth reader who has the problem right now: what is happening, what to check, when to call, and what it costs.
- What Airbnb management really costs in Dallas, and what the fee should buy you There is no single price for Airbnb management, and the percentage on a quote tells you less than you think. Here is what drives the fee, what it should cover and how to tell whether it pays for itself. The short answer on management feesWhy two similar houses get two different quotesWhat the management fee should coverCosts that sit outside the fee
- Short-term rental rules and hotel taxes in Dallas and Fort Worth, explained plainly Texas adds a state hotel tax, each city adds its own rules and tax, and the platform does not always file for you. Here is how it works in the two largest cities in North Texas. The rules in one paragraphThe state layer: Texas hotel occupancy taxDallas: registration and the city hotel taxWhat a late Dallas filing costs
- Short-term or long-term rental for your Dallas house: how to run the comparison A nightly rental can out-earn a lease, or lose to it once the extra costs, rules and hours are counted. Here is how to compare the two honestly for your own property. The honest answer: it depends on your numbers and your rulesTwo very different ways a house earns moneyThe costs only a short-term rental carriesCity and HOA rules can settle the question
- Seven things new Airbnb hosts in Texas believe that cost them money Most expensive hosting mistakes start as a reasonable assumption. Here are the seven we see most often among new hosts in North Texas, and what to do instead. Where new hosts lose money without noticingBelief one: "Airbnb takes care of the taxes"Belief two: "My homeowners policy covers it"Belief three: "Once the price is set, I can leave it"
- Hosting a Dallas Airbnb from another state: what works remotely and what does not Messages, pricing and bookkeeping travel well. Turnovers, lockouts and a failed air conditioner in August do not. Here is what remote hosting really requires and how owners make it work. Yes, but not without people on the groundThe half of hosting that works from anywhereThe half that needs hands on siteBuilding a local crew from a distance
- From empty house to first guest: the steps to launch a short-term rental Launching a short-term rental is a sequence, and doing the steps out of order is what costs owners time and money. Here is the order we follow, and what decides how long it takes. The launch, in the order that saves moneyStep one: make sure the address allows itStep two: talk to your insurance agent earlyStep three: repairs and safety before anything pretty
- Does your homeowners policy cover Airbnb guests? Protecting a rental in Texas Most homeowners policies were not written for paying guests, and platform protection is not a replacement. Here is what to ask your agent and how to protect the property through every Texas season. Probably not on its own, so ask before the first guestWhy a family policy and a rental business do not matchWhat the platform's protection does and does not doGaps owners tend to find after the fact
- Booked solid or sitting empty: how to tell if your Airbnb is priced wrong A full calendar can mean you are too cheap, and an empty one does not always mean you are too expensive. Here is how to read your own booking data and what to change first. Reading your calendar like a pricing reportSign one: far-out bookings at your everyday rateSign two: empty weeknights and orphan nightsSign three: event weekends that booked like any other weekend
- Before you sign with a short-term rental manager: the questions that expose the gaps Every manager sounds good in the first meeting. These are the questions that show how a company actually runs a rental, grouped by topic, with the answers that should make you walk away. Ask about the work, not the pitchPricing and revenue: who decides what a night costsGuests: the questions about nights, weekends and problemsCleaning and upkeep: how they know it was done right
- Your Airbnb is making money and eating your evenings: when to hand it off, and to whom Late-night guest messages, a cleaner who did not show, a nightly rate you set months ago. Here is how to tell whether your rental needs a system or a manager, and what good management looks like. The message that arrives at 11:40 on a TuesdayWhy a good rental turns into a bad jobWhat to audit yourself before deciding anythingWhen fixing it yourself is the right call