STR Knowledge Base

Send check-in instructions exactly 48 hours before arrival with: exact door code, parking spot number, WiFi name and password, and the nearest grocery store. Use bullet points, not paragraphs. Hosts who do this see roughly 40% fewer day-of questions and higher communication sub-scores.

Within 1 hour of booking, send a 3-sentence warm confirmation: thank them by first name, confirm the dates, and promise full check-in details 48 hours before arrival. Avoid dumping all info at booking time — guests forget it and re-ask later. Personal greetings at booking correlate strongly with 5-star communication ratings.

If the turnover gap allows, offer a 1-hour late checkout free as a loyalty gesture; charge $25-$50 for 2-3 hours; decline politely if a same-day arrival is scheduled. Always respond within 2 hours and explain the cleaner schedule rather than just saying no — guests accept the no when the reason is concrete.

Default check-in is 4pm. If the previous guest checked out and the clean is confirmed complete, offer early check-in after 2pm free. For before 2pm, offer the early-check-in upsell ($39-$79) instead of free — it signals the cleaner turnover has real cost. Never promise early access before the cleaner confirms.

Send the review request 2-4 hours after checkout on the same day, not 1-2 days later. Lead with a thank-you, mention one specific detail from their stay (nights booked, the group type), and explicitly ask for a 5-star review if everything met expectations. Same-day review rates are roughly 2x higher than next-day requests.

Define 4 explicit seasonal bands (peak, shoulder-high, shoulder-low, low) instead of daily continuous curves. Peak should run 1.6-2.2x low-season base; shoulder-high around 1.3x; shoulder-low around 1.1x. Discrete bands are easier to audit against comp sets and harder for dynamic-pricing tools to over-correct.

Within 7 days of check-in on an unbooked night, drop 10%; within 3 days drop 20%; within 24 hours drop 30-35%. Set a floor equal to (variable cost + target contribution margin) — never drop below. An empty night earns $0, so filling it at 70% of rack rate beats holding firm, as long as you're above true variable cost.

Friday and Saturday nights should price 20-40% above weekday base in leisure markets, 10-15% above in urban/business markets. Sunday should price equal to a weekday, not a weekend — many tools over-weight Sunday and kill shoulder demand. Re-check weekend multipliers quarterly against your 3 closest comps.

Offer a 7% weekly discount and 15-20% monthly discount — these are the thresholds Airbnb search filters on. Anything between those tiers (8-14%) captures no additional search traffic and just leaves money on the table. Monthly discounts also reduce cleaning frequency, so the effective margin hit is smaller than it looks.

When a major event is confirmed (concerts, conferences, festivals, sporting finals), raise rates and set a minimum stay length 90+ days before the event. Early-booking travelers are less price-sensitive; waiting until 30 days out means the budget-conscious inventory fills first and caps your ceiling. Use a 1.8-2.5x multiplier for anchor-city events.

Twice a year (spring and fall), change filters, flush the condensate drain line with 1 cup of vinegar, clear 2 feet of foliage around the outdoor unit, and run a full heat-and-cool cycle before guest season starts. Skipping the condensate flush is the #1 cause of mid-summer AC failures — the clog trips a float switch and the unit just stops.

Every 90 days: pour 1 cup of baking soda then 1 cup of vinegar down each drain, flush with hot water after 15 minutes; test every toilet flapper for silent leaks using food dye in the tank; inspect all visible supply lines for corrosion. A silent running toilet wastes $40+/month and flags guests on 'weird noises'.

Acknowledge within 15 minutes in writing, dispatch a vendor or show up within 2 hours for anything affecting habitability (AC, heat, hot water, plumbing). Offer a credit proactively ($50-$100 or a free night for 3+ night stays) — guests who receive proactive credits leave 4-5 star reviews roughly 70% of the time, versus 30% when the credit comes only after they ask.

Check the breaker first (electric) or pilot light (gas) before dispatching a plumber. If the tank is leaking visibly, shut off the supply valve on the cold-inlet side immediately — water damage escalates 10x per hour. Keep one vetted 24/7 plumber on speed-dial per market; the premium over daytime rates is still cheaper than a ruined stay refund.

If using a smart lock, remote-unlock from the app — this is instant and free. If mechanical lock, dispatch the on-call key runner with a 30-minute ETA target and offer a $25-$50 stay credit if it takes longer. Never give out the backup code over the phone without verifying identity against the reservation — this is the most common social-engineering attack on STRs.

Respond within 24 hours in a calm, 3-sentence structure: thank them, state the factual correction or context neutrally, and close with what was improved as a result. Do not argue, never accuse them of lying, and never mention money, refunds, or resolution center specifics. Future guests read the response more than the review itself — composure converts prospects.

Respond to every 5-star review within 48 hours with a personalized line referencing something specific they mentioned (not a generic 'thanks for staying!'). This signals to prospects that the host is attentive and engaged. Listings with host responses on 80%+ of reviews convert noticeably better than those with sparse responses.

Flag for removal only when the review violates a platform policy: discusses matters outside the stay (competing listings, host personal attacks), is left by a guest who didn't actually stay, contains discriminatory language, or reveals private personal info. Do not flag just because the review is harsh — platforms deny those and log the attempted manipulation.

If the stay went poorly (maintenance failure, cleanliness miss), reach out within 2 hours of checkout before they write the review: acknowledge what went wrong specifically, issue a partial refund proactively (15-25%), and ask nothing in return. Guests who receive unsolicited recovery are 3-4x more likely to leave 4+ stars than guests who only get a credit after requesting one.

The private feedback field is where guests list actionable issues (slow drain, worn bath mat, missing amenity) — mine it every review cycle and fix the top recurring items. Public reviews are marketing; private feedback is product. Most hosts ignore private feedback and the ones who act on it compound quality gains over time.

Tier the early-check-in upsell: 2pm = $39, noon = $69, 10am = $99. Offer it 24-48 hours before arrival via automated message only if the prior night is vacant or the cleaner confirms a morning turnover. Roughly 20-30% of eligible guests purchase when offered proactively, versus 5% who request unprompted.

Offer late checkout in 2-hour increments: 1pm = $29, 3pm = $59, 5pm = half a night, 7pm+ = full night. Enable only when no same-day arrival. Automated offers on the morning of checkout convert 15-25% of eligible stays and are nearly pure margin (no extra cleaning, no added wear).

On day 2 of a 3+ night stay, if the following night is vacant, offer a 15-20% discount to extend. The incremental booking has zero acquisition cost (no ad spend, no platform fee split on some platforms for direct extensions via messaging). Target guests who messaged positively mid-stay — conversion there runs 2-3x the overall rate.

Partner with 3-5 local operators (kayak rental, wine tasting, chef service, photo tour) and offer them in the pre-arrival message with a single-click reservation link and a 10-15% host commission. Curated partners outperform generic concierge links because guests trust a specific recommendation from the host. Book the partnership handoff before arrival, not during.

Charge a flat pet fee ($75-$150) rather than a per-night fee. Guests mentally compare per-night pet fees to the room rate and anchor negative; flat fees read as a one-time cleaning premium and convert better. Add a $50 'oops' deposit held against damage — it's almost never triggered but it signals seriousness and deters pet-on-bed issues.

Every turnover must produce 10-12 dated photos: all beds made, all bathrooms, kitchen counters, fridge interior, trash empty, each smoke/CO detector, AC set to 72, door locked. Photos verify completion and create a damage timeline if the next guest reports an issue. Cleaners who resist the photo step typically miss the most items — it is the single best quality gate.

Maintain par stock per bedroom: 2 sets of sheets, 3 bath towels, 2 hand towels, 1 bath mat, 8 toilet paper rolls, 4 paper towel rolls, dish soap/laundry pod refill. The cleaner reports below-par levels at turnover and restocks from an on-site closet — ordering only when closet is low prevents panic Amazon runs and 2-day downtime.

Before peak season: HVAC service, pool/hot tub open and chemical balance, outdoor furniture inspection, pest treatment, gutter clean, irrigation test, ceiling-fan direction switch to counter-clockwise. Block 3 days off the calendar for the prep turnover — trying to do it between back-to-back bookings creates misses that guests notice.

Before cold season: winterize exterior plumbing (disconnect hoses, shut off outdoor spigots, drain irrigation), HVAC changeover, ensure heat is tested at 65+ before any vacant nights below freezing, stock salt/sand, inspect roof and gutters. In freeze-prone markets, add a freeze monitor that alerts if interior temp drops below 55 — burst pipes can cause five-figure damage.

Set reorder triggers based on guest-nights, not calendar: toilet paper every 50 guest-nights, paper towels every 60, dish pods every 40, laundry pods every 30, cleaning chemicals every 80. Amazon Subscribe-and-Save the bulk items and run a monthly audit against cleaner reports. Running out mid-stay is a guaranteed review complaint.