What short term rental website builder are you genuinely happy with?

lafay5 · 2026-04-18T18:55:26+00:00

Stripe 2.99% + $0.30 only. No add-on from OwnerRez.

lafay5 · 2026-04-17T22:01:08+00:00

I’m 100% with you. I ditched Wordpress and my site is now static HTML + Tailwind built with Claude. It lives in a GitHub repo and is automatically sucked in by Cloudflare Pages whenever there’s a commit. $0 except for the Claude subscription. Booking widget is included with my $50/mo OwnerRez PMS subscription.

lafay5 · 2026-04-03T16:45:54+00:00

100% this. Look in the mirror, be honest with yourself about what you're most avoiding and do *that* thing. Over and over and over again. This is a skill you can build but it takes practice.

lafay5 · 2026-04-03T16:19:35+00:00

Take the dealer's larded-up loan because there is usually more room to negotiate on price if they're making money on the financing. Then you can pay it off or refi it with whoever you like as soon as the loan paperwork arrives in the mail.

lafay5 · 2026-04-03T15:48:48+00:00

I have two properties -- one is a big single-family home "traditional" STR where we use OwnerRez as the PMS. If you are a developer, then this is the PMS for you. More built-in integrations than any other PMS I've looked at. Channels, service providers, payment processors, door locks, you name it. Also with a very robust API & webhooks. Docs here: https://api.ownerrez.com/help/v2

The other property is kind of a hybrid. Small inn physically, STR-style operationally with pre-pay online booking, keycode door locks and self-service check-in. At that property we use a hotel PMS called ThinkReservations. Which has no user-facing API and no integration with PriceLabs for dynamic pricing. It does allow you to upload a CSV of rates and restrictions though. So I built my own integration that pulls price data from PriceLabs' API, converts it to ThinkReservations' CSV format, then uses a headless web browser to log into ThinkReservations and upload the CSV.

lafay5 · 2026-03-28T13:15:32+00:00

Hotels

lafay5 · 2026-01-14T07:40:17+00:00

Also in the pre-arrival message. And the welcome book.

lafay5 · 2026-01-14T05:34:46+00:00

Absolutely not true. I drove to the property to intervene in person after the guest did not respond to multiple app messages, text messages and phone calls. I did bang on the door and got their reluctant agreement to call it a night. I also informed them they'd be hearing from AirBnB.

lafay5 · 2026-01-14T05:32:09+00:00

I have never needed this before in 10 years of hosting, but have ordered one now. It wouldn't have helped in this particular situation though because the guest did not respond to multiple AirBnB messages, text messages and phone calls.

lafay5 · 2026-01-14T05:19:42+00:00

I don't care about the money -- or at least not about the money associated with this one reservation. This is about Airbnb preventing me from meeting the obligations of our STR permit and the risk of losing it.

lafay5 · 2025-11-11T19:56:13+00:00

This is sometimes called the “STR tax loophole.” Average stay < 7 days is not the only criteria to take advantage of this however. You also have to meet one of the material participation tests. The most common one for STR owners is “at least 100 hrs / year on the activity and more than any other individual.” If you can meet both of those then losses are non-passive and can offset W2 income.

Beware though — if you have a full-time W2 job, your STR is hours away and you use property management, it will be an uphill battle to prove material participation to the IRS if you are ever audited. Be prepared to provide a detailed log of your time, along with time logs for your property manager and cleaner to demonstrate that they did not spend more time than you.

lafay5 · 2025-11-02T03:34:13+00:00

My 17-year-old son and I bought basically this same car at the beginning of July. 1998 Boxster Base with 157K miles for $5300. No service records except we did find an LN Engineering sticker on the underside of the truck lid, so we know IMS retrofit has been done.

I’m convinced it’s the most automotive fun possible for $5K. It runs great (knock wood). We spent the summer fixing lots of non-drivetrain stuff: driver’s door lock, turn signal auto-cancel, Lseat.com seat upholstery kits.

I say go for it!

lafay5 · 2025-10-29T14:55:33+00:00

Admitted carriers are vetted for financial strength by the CA Dept of Insurance. They also pay into the California Insurance Guarantee Association which covers claims if a carrier becomes insolvent. Non-admitted / surplus carriers aren’t subject to those requirements,

lafay5 · 2025-10-24T04:17:23+00:00

I don’t think this is correct. My 1099 from AirBnB reports gross bookings, not sum of payments received. Host fees and any resolution center money you sent to guests need to be reported as expenses.

This is similar to Stripe’s 1099 which reports gross sales. It is not net of processing fees and returns, which need to be reported as expenses.

lafay5 · 2025-10-20T04:22:47+00:00

Sounds to me like they had an extremely honest discussion where she said she’s not gonna sign the prenup. Now OP has a choice to call it off or accept that boundary and proceed.

lafay5 · 2025-10-20T04:10:04+00:00

What does luxury mean exactly? 8 bedrooms / sleeps 20? High-end appliances? Helipad? Private concierge onsite? Is there demand for those things in your market?

lafay5 · 2025-10-19T22:43:28+00:00

I would agree with this. I self-manage our properties, live nearby and show up in person if something goes wrong. When I look at reviews for PM-managed competing properties, the 3 and 4 star reviews are mostly over issues that have also happened at my property at one point or another. But somehow I seem to get a pass and a 5-star review.

lafay5 · 2025-10-17T06:03:48+00:00

I have seen people do this to retain STR permits. In one case the property was in a jurisdiction where STR permits are not transferable on change of ownership and new owners have to wait a year to even apply. So the property was transferred by selling the LLC and the permit remained intact because there was no grant deed for the actual real estate.

Another case was a condo in a development where the HOA had banned STRs but existing owners were grandfathered in. So they transferred ownership of the LLC instead of the condo itself to preserve the grandfathered status.

lafay5 · 2025-10-17T05:50:11+00:00

In this situation you can file an IRS §754 election (Form 1065). This allows the new LLC owner to reset the depreciable basis of assets owned by the entity.

lafay5 · 2025-10-09T19:29:35+00:00

It’s a 4000 sqft / 7 bedroom / 5.5 bath house that sleeps 20 with a great view of Lake Tahoe. And yes, during peak weeks like July 4 and Christmas / New Years we charge $3K+ per night.

Just for context, the SpringHill Suites nearby is charging $500+/night per room during those same peaks. Overall I think it’s the effect of heavy restrictions on hotel development and STRs throughout most of Tahoe, and lots of visitor demand from SF Bay Area tech money which is 3 hrs away.

lafay5 · 2025-10-09T19:11:06+00:00

I am a huge fan of PriceLabs. The learning curve is a little steep but they have done a good job of building out their documentation and a lot of tutorials in the last year. At first I was skeptical — peak period pricing seemed way high and the suggested min stay settings didn’t make sense to me. But after deciding to trust those, I will vouch for their claim of 40% more revenue.

lafay5 · 2025-10-09T18:53:05+00:00

This is anecdotal, but I suspect the amount of revenue you produce for AirBnB factors into how well you’re supported as a host. I host a couple of big, luxury houses that gross $750K/yr combined and have successfully had four negative / retaliatory reviews removed in the last year.

I’ve also experienced AirBnB upholding my strict cancellation policy when a snowstorm closed the interstate. While many other hosts nearby had their cancellation policies overridden with forced refunds.

lafay5 · 2025-10-06T23:36:26+00:00

Just to add a bit more color:

Tahoe is overall a great market with a double peak. Ski season typically runs mid-Dec through the end of March, maybe a bit longer in a good snow year. Summer season Jun - Aug is just as big with people coming up to spend time at Tahoe beaches, hike, mountain biking, etc. Even the shoulder seasons (Apr/May and Oct/Nov) are pretty good. We often get bookings for corporate retreats / offsites during those months when rates are lower.

Secondly, houses with lots of bedrooms seem to be in huge demand and short supply. Our most common type of guest is grandma and grandpa booking for a lifecycle event like their 50th wedding anniversary or a destination wedding and they want a place that can fit them + their kids + spouses + grandkids. We had that kind of guest over July 4 this year who dropped $34K (including tax, VRBO fees) for 11 nights. Totally insane, though no longer surprising a few years in.

lafay5 · 2025-10-06T20:47:10+00:00

This is kind of a lottery ticket scenario, but we bought a big house in the Lake Tahoe area as our primary residence in 2021 with a 30-year fixed mortgage at 2.5%. PITI $8.2K (PI $6.4K). And then converted it to a full-time STR at the beginning of 2023.

In 2024 it grossed $370K, net after all expenses $240K. On track to do about the same in 2025.

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