Best Deadbolts for Smooth Airbnb Check Ins
Choosing the wrong deadbolt can have major consequences for an Airbnb host. One of the worst experiences you can have as a host is guests that are locked outside your house. I know this from experience. Your check in process should be simple enough for every guest to understand. The best deadbolt for your Airbnb is one that integrates perfectly into your check in process and is easy for guests to use. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a deadbolt lock to have a great check in experience for your guests. But some of the features of the cutting edge locks today maintain that smooth guest experience while also adding huge benefits to you as the host. Best Airbnb Check In Options In the new post-pandemic world you should be letting your guests check themselves in. Your guests…
Best Airbnb Pillows for Sleeping and Decorating
There are two kinds of pillows we stock in our Airbnbs: pillows for sleeping and pillows for design. The best sleeping pillows Kate and I have used are the Downluxe down alternative pillows for sleeping. And the best design pillows are completely dependent on the look and feel of your home. I’m going to recall some of our lessons learned and share some of the products we’ve used and others that we are looking to buy when we open our next Airbnb. Pillow-related Lessons Learned From Our Airbnbs Pillows are one of those things that you just seem to need a lot of as an Airbnb host. We put pillows on our couches, and of course pillows on our beds, but we also use decorative pillows on our beds to make our homes feel more luxurious. We usually have two…
How To Get 30 Percent ROI On Your Investments
Yes it is possible to consistently get 30% ROI on your investments, but it’s not possible through your typical methods of investing. In the five years since I’ve started investing seriously, I’ve seen that returns of nearly 30% are possible in real estate. And we’ve achieved that mostly through investing in Airbnbs. I also have investor friends who have seen returns even far greater than 30% through purchasing businesses. So let’s look at the two repeatable ways I’ve seen investors get 30% ROI or better, and maybe some examples of other huge returns that may not be as repeatable. Can You Consistently Get 30% in the Stock Market? For someone to get 30% ROI over a long period of time in the stock market is truly exceptional. Many consider Warren Buffet to be the greatest investor who ever lived, and…
The Reigning Best Thermostat For Airbnb Hosts
The best thermostat for your Airbnb has the same characteristics of other great appliances. It’s easy to use and hard to break. But lots of thermostats have these two characteristics. We’ve started using the Nest thermostat because not only is it easy to use and hard to break, but it helps us save on our utility bills, and we can watch and even control it from the comfort of our own home. The peace of mind of knowing what’s going on in our listings when a guest is there is worth the higher price tag of the Nest. If you don’t need that peace of mind, then I’ll argue that you should go for a low cost thermostat with an easy to use interface. Does You Thermostat Even Matter? Yes, and no. Your thermostat must work and it must be…
The Best Lock Box For Airbnb Check-In
A lock box is one of the best systems for checking in guests at your Airbnb. I’ve been storing physical keys in a lock box on the premises of our listings for several years now with great success. We use our lock boxes as a backup to our primary check in process, but they’ve been hugely important in guaranteeing a great check in for every guest. Today, I’ll share with you the lock box we use, and one lower priced alternative. So let’s get to it. Two Uses For a Lock Box I think there’s a good argument that every Airbnb should have a lock box on site. If you’ve stayed in many short term rentals while traveling, then you’ve likely gained access to your accommodations using a lock box a few times. One of the challenges of hosting is…
How To Persevere in Blogging: Article 100
I wouldn’t call my life a big raging success, but I’ve set out to do lots things and I’ve achieved some of them. This is the 100th article published on Unbound Investor, so I’m going to spend the rest of this essay pretending like I know something about blogging and perseverance. I’m not sure what I’m trying to say in this article, I just wanted to reflect on what it took to get to 100. Here are some of my random thoughts and lessons: New bloggers spend a long time writing to nobody 10 articles is more than it sounds like Keyword research is super important It’s much easier to write what you already know than it is to write about something you need to learn Making your first dollar online is super exciting, but your second dollar is not…
The Three Rules Anyone Can Use To Save Money
An argument could be made that there is really only one way to save money, by spending less than you currently spend. However, I don’t think this observation is particularly helpful. It’s quite easy to come up with examples of money saving habits, but each example only applies to some, not all. I wanted to come up with a few generic rules that can be applied to everyone. Here’s my attempt at creating the three rules that anyone can use to save money. Budget Reduce recurring expenses Rework your debt Before we get started, let’s set up an example that we can reference throughout the article. Here’s your imaginary finances: Income: $2,000 per month Mortgage: $700 per month Student loan: $400 per month Rule #1: Budget (of any kind) First and foremost, a person must have an awareness of what…
How to Increase Listing Views on Airbnb
The two keys to increasing your listing views on Airbnb are performing better in search, and improving your click through rate. Performing better in search is a somewhat complicated thing, but I have gone in depth about it in the past. Search results take many factors into account, including reviews, response rates, cancellations, engagement and filters. Improving your click through rate is all about how your listing looks when it appears in a search result. That means your title, reviews, rating, price and Superhost status. It’s not always easy to see exactly how to increase your views, so today we’ll look at the most important items to critique. What is a View? Just so we’re on the same page, let me define a view. A view is when someone views your listing page. This can happen either when someone clicks…
50 Ways to Invest
The word "invest" is typically attributed to the act of putting your money to use in some way, often with the goal of making more money. But I like to think of investing a bit more generically sometimes.
How To Increase Your Airbnb Booking Rate
Kate and I opened our first Airbnb about 4 years ago and we had so much success that we've been opening new listings ever since. Today I'm sharing what we've learned about increasing the booking rate for our Airbnb listings.
Claim Financial Freedom With Cash Flowing Assets