54 | Scaling Your Short-Term Rental Business | with Steve Trover

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Do you want to grow your short-term rental side hustle into a full-time gig?

Steve Trover is an expert at scaling businesses. He got into the vacation rental industry in 1997, where he started helping others manage their own properties. He eventually went on to scaling his own management business, eventually managing over 350 properties and 100 employees. He now helps vacation rental companies identify, hire, and retain the right people for the right seats

So, if you’re interested in scaling your STR business, what do you need to keep in mind?

Know the regulations in your area

Vacation rentals are being regulated all over the country and the world, and if you don’t currently have rules and regulations in your area, they’re coming. This isn’t meant to alarm you, but to empower you! 

Play an active role in regulation: attend city hall meetings, vote in favor of regulations you agree with, and push back against those you don’t. But most of all, just be aware of what already exists and what may become.

Does it matter how many units you have?

Everyone’s goals are going to be different. The number of units under your management does not matter as much as the amount of revenue each particular unit can produce. Don’t count units — find the units that are going to make the profit that meets your needs.

Create a projection. Find out how much revenue you can produce per unit that you manage, then build a profit and loss statement around what that business could look like if you took on more properties and when it makes sense as a full-time job.

Self-awareness before you scale

Not everyone wants to scale a STR business. Everything that you are doing today is likely what you will have to do as you scale — except you’ll just have to do more of it, and at some point, you won’t be able to do all of it by yourself. Know who you are: Can you sell another owner on having you manage their property? That will be essential as you start to scale, and if you can’t, you will need to partner with other people who can.

The tipping point

Again, it is hard to give a specific unit number— the number of units doesn’t matter so much as the revenue they bring in and what kind of income you’re looking for. It’s also possible to start marketing for owners before actually managing your own properties and scale that way.

Building a brand

In order to create your own business, you need to create your own brand. You can start with Airbnb and Vrbo, but you eventually want to start directing people to your own site and brand. Getting your brand experience right is one of the most important things to get at the beginning.

Resources:

• Steve’s LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vacationrentalconsultant
• #STRShareSunday: @thehoneybearcabin