Last updated on August 26th, 2022
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 Ryan Stephens, who manages a farmhouse Airbnb listing in Waco, Texas. Today, he’ll share how his market became popular and positively impacted his listings thanks to a TV show called “Fixer Upper”. He’ll also share his experience as a rental owner that does not allow kids and the ups and downs of making this decision.
This episode is sponsored by Airbtics, short-term rental analytics for high return investment, comprehensive data for insights, ideas and inspiration. Go to app.airbtics.com to find precise Airbnb data such as occupancy rate, revenue, average daily rate and so on. So, without further ado, let’s get into it! So can you tell me how did you get started on Airbnb?
Into The Airbnb Podcast S2 EP 29: A TV show made this Airbnb market popular – Farmhouse located in Waco, Texas
You can also listen to this Into The Airbnb Podcast Episode on Otter.
Delia:
So can you tell me how did you get started on Airbnb?
Ryan Stephens:
In 2015, my wife and I had bought a family farm from her aunt and uncle and we were in the process of remodelling the old farmhouse, which was built in 1905. When we finished it up, at the end of 2018, we just were looking for a way to help kind of recoup some of the money that we put into the remodel and the restoration of that old farmhouse. We weren’t using the property a lot at the time and so I decided to put it on two platforms, VRBO and Airbnb, and that was at the very end of actually 2000, that was in the fall 2019.
Delia:
Before putting it online, like on Airbnb or VRBO, where you like analysing what kind of revenue the property was going to get you? Why didn’t you do it like before?
Ryan Stephens:
Well, we never really restored the property with goal of putting it up as a short-term rental. That was just kind of a last minute thought idea popular in the interest and folks coming in to the Waco area to see the Chip and Joanna Gaines, Magnolia, things of that nature. There was a lot of people talking about Airbnb and short term rentals and just the tourism coming into the area. So we thought it would be something to see how it worked out and within putting the listing online, we had probably, I don’t know, maybe 10 to 15 bookings within the first week. So it really took off quickly, which was surprising to both of us because the home is in a very rural area. But it took off and it’s been busy for the last three years.
Delia:
Oh, that’s great. You told me there was a show around there like filming?
Ryan Stephens:
Yes, so in the Waco area, there was a popular show on TV called Fixer Upper and it was hosted by Chip and Joanna Gaines and since then they’ve kind of turned that into a pretty large tourism draw for the city of Waco. So they have like shops, bakery, things of that nature where people travel in from all over the US, some instances the world. I know for our short-term rental, we get people I would say 70% of the people we get are from out of state, now only maybe 25% 30% are actually from from Texas. So the tourism draw for that show, which like I said was a Fixer Upper was the initial show they had on TV accounts for I would say 80% 90% of our guest.
Delia:
Oh, so you would say that show attracted more people to the area? That’s why the area was getting more bookings than usual, more tourists than usual?
Ryan Stephens:
For sure. Yeah.
Delia:
Oh, that’s great. In the area you’re hosting right there in Wako, how is the seasonality like?
Ryan Stephens:
Our busy season is in the fall, I would say from September through November is pretty busy for us. December trails off because people are obviously travelling for holidays and things like that, Christmas, etc. In the spring it picks up, I would say end of February through May is really, really busy for us. And there’s been a lot of that kind of hinges on different events in the Waco area. There’s a celebration which is part of the Magnolia folks business, which they do a big festival type thing in the fall in Waco and that brings a lot of people. There’s some spring events there at Magnolia as well that bring in a lot of people in the spring and then we have Baylor graduation in May, which Baylor University brings in quite a bit of people. So that’s always booked up for us. In the summer, it’s kind of slow and it’s only because we don’t allow children and the farmhouse is just steep stairs, it’s on a farm, there’s animals there. It’s just too much for people to have to manage from us being owners to, you know, parents looking after their kids. It’s just too dangerous of an environment for kids. We restrict it to 21 and up and as a result, you know, most people are travelling with their family and children in the summer. Now, obviously, they don’t look our place because we don’t allow children. So that’s our slowest time of the year, I would say from June, July, August.
Delia:
I see. So you’re offering your farm house as a full experience with animals included and everything?
Ryan Stephens:
Yes, we have Texas Longhorns, you know, you can see off the back of the property, the farm lies between a river and a creek, so there’s lots of water in the area. So it’s a place for people to escape, I would say majority of the individuals that rent the property are from urban areas. So they come out to Texas from out of state, you know, the first thing they want to see is things that remind them of Texas, right? So farms, mills, Texas Longhorn cattle, things like that. So we try to bring that experience to guests when they come through our property.
Delia:
And how has been your experience restricting children because they know maybe our farm house sounds like a good family friendly place, but now that you told me that you don’t allow children, how has been your experience with that? What kind of guests do you usually get?
Ryan Stephens:
So I would say our typical demographic is, I’ll say age 25 to 60 female individuals who really kind of like the arts and craft type environment that the Magnolia show kind of attracted those types of individuals, right. So crafty people, those who like shopping, antique shopping, things of that nature. So I would say the majority of the rentals that we do have are like girl weekends, right? So family and friends get together and maybe they meet up from different parts of the US to go to the Magnolia silos, shop, etc, and then come and actually experienced the farm environment. So I would say that’s the typical guests that we have is 25 to 60 year old female. Then as far as the children go, I mean, we’ve had some people, you know, ask about why we don’t allow children etc. And it’s just, there’s way too much education that we require from us as host and parents to actually adhere to make it safe for kids, for example, in the spring, there’s rattlesnakes, you know, not necessarily around the house, obviously. But we do our best to keep that kind of taken care of. But you know, you don’t want children wandering around in the pasture with flip flops on or shorts or things of that nature. You know, kids who aren’t raised on a farm or ranch, don’t understand the dangers of rattlesnakes or getting too close to a horse or cows etc. There’s too much education that makes it not worth the risk for us as owners to bring that experience. Now, if we were there on site, it would be a different story, right? Where we can do tours and things of that nature. But we do live off the property set about an 1hr. and 45 min away. So it’s just not feasible to do that kind of a farm experience. I mean, at some point, if we’ve moved out there closer to the property, yes, but for now, it’s just a risk in management type work we just don’t want to mess with, it’s just not worth it.
Delia:
I see. But if you don’t mind sharing about this, are there any people taking care, like of the animals there in the farmhouse while you’re not there snd there are guests in the house?
Ryan Stephens:
Well, there is family in the area, but they can manage the animals from a different part of the property. So there’s no real interaction between those individuals and the guest.
Delia:
So I was just asking myself, because usually when people like here in my country, when people offer like a farm house experience, there are people taking care of the animals, so the guests and the animals can have a proper interaction and nothing bad happens, right? I was just wondering,
Ryan Stephens:
I completely understand.
Delia:
So you told me your high season was around September and November. So in those months, how is your average occupancy rate like?
Ryan Stephens:
I would say we’re probably at 75% occupancy for the month, from September through November and the same goes for March, April, May.
Delia:
And what about the low seasons? How is your occupancy rate like in those months?
Ryan Stephens:
I would say it’s low because our restrictions that we put on the property, I would say 20% to 30% occupancy in the slow seasons.
Delia:
That’s even a good number for slow seasons.
Ryan Stephens:
Yeah, it’s as busy as we want it to be. Thankfully, you know, we can open up dates and things that we want to, but we have it restricted out to keep it manageable.
Delia:
I see! And would you say, average occupancy rate and seasonality also applies for the other rentals in the area? Or is it just for yours?
Ryan Stephens:
I would say is probably unique to ours just because, you know, we’re a bit more restrictive than others in the area, the home that we restored, it looks immaculate restored farmhouse from the early 20th century, so 1905. So there’s lots of antiques, lots of things that are breakable, it’s not the environment for children, right? So we restrict children from the property, whereas other properties in the area, do not. So you know, I would say that everyone around us is probably steady and busy, as much as they want to be right. I mean, the influx of tourism from the Magnolia silos, the Chip and Joanna, you know, type draw those individuals around us and other properties probably are booked up 80% of the time, year round.
Delia:
Oh, so Airbnb is popular there?
Ryan Stephens:
Yeah, it’s very popular, right. And we can be booked up at 80% year round to maybe even more if we remove some of the restrictions that we have on our property, but for us, it’s just not worth it. We like the way we have it set up now with our house rules and with not allowing children.
Delia:
Yeah, I completely understand though. Are you the only farmhouse in the area?
Ryan Stephens:
I believe there’s one, maybe two others within, I would say 1520 miles. I would say ours is probably the one that’s most well restored, looks very much like the style of home that the Magnolia people kind of present on their TV show. That’s probably a reason why a lot of people rent the property because when they look at the photos online, it reminds them a lot of the houses that they would see on that TV show. So it’s almost like, you know, they get the same experience that they saw on TV by staying in our farmhouse.
Delia:
So you having these very particular listing with these particular characteristics, how is your pricing strategy like?
Ryan Stephens:
We keep a pretty close watch on local events in the Waco area. It could be marathons, it could be large sporting events, obviously, anything to do with Magnolia silos and what will raise rates depending on what’s in town. But you know, our average rate right now is about, I think was at 185 for weekdays and 225 on weekends with a two night minimum. I’d say, well yeah, I will say average stay is two nights, occasionally, we’ll get three nights days and then maybe once ever, two or three months, we’ll get a five plus nights day. So that should give you an idea of kind of what our rates are and what our average nightly stays look like.
Delia:
And do you use any specific strategy for pricing? Like observing the other listings in your area or using a dynamic pricing show.
Ryan Stephens:
I mean, I’ve looked at other properties in the area, we tried to be, you know, comparable, but to be honest, I mean, the property is very, very unique, so we can get a premium on it. And if it’s slow, we’ll consider dropping our price down, we really haven’t had to do that yet. I would say our property is the highest or one of the top two or three highest ones when you compare rooms and you know, total occupancy. So we will sleep to six in the area. But you know, that’s okay with us. I mean, we’re not trying to get rich off the property at all, but it helps us kind of keep everything maintained and support itself, then that’s all we’re really looking for. So yeah, can we double, maybe even triple our revenue? We could do it too, I don’t have any doubt about that. It’s just for our current situation, the types of guests we want, which are not, you know, we don’t want families there and it’s not that we, we’ve got kids, obviously here and that’s fine and dandy, great, we’d love them. You know, we just don’t want a bunch of kids coming into the property. I can say it’s not kid friendly, right? There’s lots of breakable things in the house, right? And things that we don’t want to have to worry about that. It’s an environment that adults can appreciate. It’s an environment that will look very similar to the homes that those individuals saw on the Chip and Joanna Gaines shows and looks very Magnolia silo type decorations. Those are the people that we want, you know, coming to their property. They appreciate that. Now, granted, at some point, we may open it up to children, but not at this time. So I would say a lot of our success and the revenue and average nightly bookings and things like that are pretty constricted just because the way we want to run it, right? If we opened it up and remove those restrictions off, like allowing children, I think we would be probably twice as busy as we are now.
Delia:
But I understand completely why kids are not allowed, it’s way better for you to keep it close for now, so you don’t get any accidents. It will cost you a lot.
Ryan Stephens:
Well, we had a guest at one point, bring, I think, three or four kids and we ended up cancelling the reservation and it probably cost us somewhere in the neighbourhood of $1,200 to replace, you know, the comforters and towels and bedding and you name it, right? There was glitter, glue, paint all over everything. So those were guests that just thought that the rules didn’t apply to them and they just brought their kids and it didn’t really work out for them or us. We extremely strict on, you know, no anyone under 21 for many reasons.
Delia:
How did you deal with it, did you deal personally with the guests? Or did you also contact Airbnb for that?
Ryan Stephens:
Well, we have a ring doorbell on the front of the property and so I noticed when they arrived that there was children, I called them, reminded them.Then I had to call up Airbnb and it took a couple of days, but I ended up going down there and escorted him off the property.
Delia:
I see. So if you don’t mind sharing, I’ll like to ask you since this is like a very particular listing, how much did the cost was and how do you think the revenue is getting back to it?
Ryan Stephens:
I would say, I don’t want to talk, you know, actual dollar, but I would say over the course of the last three years, we probably recruit 15% of what we put into the place. And like I said, like for the money we put in and it was a three year restoration, right? So we put a lot of money into the home. So at this point from an operational standpoint, like what it costs to operate the property, like we definitely cover ourselves from our short-term rental income. I would say if you look at total investment in we probably recruit maybe 10 to 15% of that, but ongoing like what it costs us to run the place monthly, we definitely cover that with the short-term rental that we get.
Delia:
That’s a good number since the listing was live since 2019, you told me right?
Ryan Stephens:
Yes.
Delia:
That’s a good number so far, I think so.
Ryan Stephens:
Yeah, we’re happy with it.
Delia:
Great. So you told me you’re managing like half-remotely, you live like an hour away from the listing, right?
Ryan Stephens:
Yeah, it’s about an 1hr. 30min, 1hr. 45min.
Delia:
And how is your experience with that? Do you hire people for cleaning? Maintenance?
Ryan Stephens:
Yeah, it depends. If we’re available, you know, we can clean. We do have a cleaning crew, which had been great. I mean, I think one thing I’d like to make really clear and I think those who have short-term rentals probably already know this at this point, but your success of your short-term rental really hinges on your cleaning crew, right? Your cleaning team. Fortunately, we’ve got a couple that are great. I mean, very thorough. They look at the property through the eyes of what the guests would see when they check in and they’ve been great to work with and without them, we would not be able to do what we do. So we stay on the property, we clean, it depends. I would say the majority of time they do a lot of the cleaning themselves, right? On my behalf.
Delia:
Great. That’s good to hear. Can I ask you in these years running Airbnb, what have been your top challenges?
Ryan Stephens:
I would say one of the challenges that you’ll see is, it is becoming a pretty big issue with people where, you’ll have individuals that they’ll want to bring a pet, right? And you’re like, “okay, we don’t allow dogs” and then you know, all of a sudden they’ll say, you know, upon check in it’s a emotional support animal or something like that. So I think there’s obviously a lot of people out in the world who need emotional support animals or service animals and that’s great, they’re allowed, right? I do think that the Airbnb, short-term rental, VRBO, you name the platform, that community, from a host standpoint, are getting overran into some point, some extent, abusing the system from ESAs are mostly support animals or service animals, people are just showing up with their pets, right? And that’s causing a lot of frustration for owners who, you know, don’t want to go to the extra extent of cleaning hair off of couches and things like that or if they have allergies or things like that. So, you know, I really haven’t had that issue on our property, but I know it’s something that you’re seeing more and more of. I would say one other thing too is just be very clear. So when people book with us, I provide them the house rules up front, so they see that when they book. When I get the notification that someone has booked, I immediately respond to them with the house rules, you know, our expectations as hosts and I give them an outright, so if they see anything on those rules, which they obviously have already seen when they book, they don’t like, then they can cancel and we’ll refund their money. I’d much rather have someone there who, you know, understands our basic rules and it’s okay with them than to show up and think they’re going to be able to break them and get away with it. So we give them an out up front if they don’t like the rules, right? So, you know, that’s one thing that I’m really clear on. I’ve had some people, you know, we’ve had issues here and there, but it’s for the most part, it’s not a problem. One thing too, when people reach out and book, I respond and just confirm the number of people, right? Because our house will sleep six, sometimes you’ll get a booking for two to four guests, then when you see people check in on the ring camera on the front door there, they’ll bring six people, right? So that’s just added work for our cleaning team and from a hosting standpoint, if you booked for two, bring two, if not let the host know, right? I think every host appreciates knowing exactly how many people are going to be at their home. It helps to give the cleaning team a heads up, right? Because if it takes three hours to clean up a house for two people, it may take them four to do for four, right? So that’s just something that we as hosts appreciate. If you check in with two or if you sign up for two, bring two, right? If not communicate with the host, so we know who to expect. It’s a bit aggravating to see a booking for two and then six people show up.
Delia:
I understand completely. So thank you for the tips. That was it for today, thank you for your time!
Ryan Stephens:
Yeah, no problem at all. I appreciate your time.
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