converting to short stay accommodation

I have had a quick search of the forum so apologies if this topic has been covered before but I am looking at the concept of converting some near city apartments from long term regular rentals into short-stay accommodation.

My plan was to convert one, create and refine the system through that then roll it out to the others if all went well.

Does anyone have experience with such a conversion? Anything I should look for? I am looking to use the services of a consultant who has a few of these and seems to have enjoyed quite some success.

The first apartment has always been in demand with vacancies totalling no more than 6 weeks over a five year period. It is close to Fremantle and has a precedent of another identical apartment in the building having been converted to short stay. I do not know how this panned out for the owner.
 
Hi Mal

We are looking to do the same thing in Brisbane. We found the specialist executive leasing property managers to be a great source of knowledge in this market. Just google "executive leasing perth". The search results look promising.

Cheers, Paul
 
We've done this. I would regard it as highly successful for us.

You do need to decide a few things regarding your strategy first. For example, will you be outsourcing stuff like cleaning the vacated units? We've chosen to do that side of it ourselves. This means cleaning everything from the oven to any dirty dishes left, and also checking all linen provided etc. Pluses include cost minimisation, and being able to plan ahead so it fits into our schedule. Minuses include the fact that it's a major time suck, particularly as we both work full time. There's nothing like doing a ten-hour day at work, then cleaning an oven you didn't actually use yourself.

You also need to think about how you define short stay. As we do all the turnover work between tenants ourselves, we don't rent for less than six weeks. However if you outsource the cleaning etc you may well be happy to go for shorter time periods. The problem with this of course is that it tends to increase your vacancy time, and outsourcing increases your costs.

Anyhow, I could write all night about this stuff. Please feel free to ask any questions you might have :)

Jen
 
Hi Jen,

Welcome to the thread and thanks for your contribution. I have a zillion questions like

1. do you include internet access, if so, do you charge extra for it or include it in the room rate?

2. how do you determine how to furnish an apartment? Do you go for a broad appeal or do you have specific clientele in mind i.e. would you furnish with upmarket decor for an inner city apartment targetting executives as opposed to a place by the coast which would be targetting families?

3. do you arrange pickup for your clients from the airport or leave that up to them to arrange?

more questions to come.
 
I have a business contact in Brisbane that does this for investors. It's a sublease arrangement where you are guaranteed 10% minimum over market rents + no PM fees, equates to around 1%+ extra on gross yield with upside based on turnover, seems like it's a real market opportunity with plenty of demand.

* Have to furnish the property, net + pay tv etc, basically ready to be lived in. 10k is the stated guideline for a 3BR house.
* Income is not steady, need buffers in place

Do all the work yourself could potentially be worthwhile, one example for a property in Hawthorne Brisbane.

$490 market rent
$585 achieved by investor after 10k fit out (plus no PM fees)
$1000-$1200 wk gross income
 
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