STR with Leslie
Leslie, founder of STR with Leslie

A little context

I didn't start STR with Leslie because I wanted to become an Airbnb guru.

I bought an STR — and then discovered how much of the education starts after you own one. My property is in Panama City Beach, Florida.

I researched the market extensively before buying. I toured properties. I compared communities. I intentionally chose someone who represented herself as experienced with short-term rentals. I wasn't walking into this blindly.

And I still learned things after closing that I wish somebody had made me think about beforehand.

What I learned after closing.

  1. 01

    Cash to close and cash to launch are two very different numbers.

  2. 02

    "Turnkey" doesn't necessarily mean guest-ready.

  3. 03

    I can love something guests barely care about.

  4. 04

    The boring operating stuff can matter more than the beautiful stuff.

  5. 05

    Pretty can be expensive — and ugly can sometimes be opportunity.

  6. 06

    The spreadsheet can be mathematically perfect while the assumptions underneath it are fiction.

  7. 07

    Owning the STR and marketing the STR are two completely different jobs.

Bunk room set up for families in Leslie's rentalCoffee station set up for guests

A bunk room families actually book for. A coffee bar guests mention in reviews.

Some of what mattered most in my property wasn't what I expected to matter — and some of what I loved barely registered with guests. That gap is most of what STR with Leslie is about.

You can borrow the lessons without having to pay for every one of them yourself.

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