We spent his morning meeting with prospective property managers for Parkview Mountain House. Here’s what we learned about the short-term rental market in Park City, Utah:

• Property management fees generally range from 20-35% of revenue (these are turnkey solutions)
• Airbnb is somewhere around 80% of the market here; though it does tend to skew toward slightly smaller rentals, whereas VRBO skews larger
• Sundance Film Festival and New Year’s Eve are the two busiest times in Park City (demand greatly exceeds the available vacation rentals — 120%?)
• Many Sundance guests tends to be people on expenses accounts: not price sensitive, but apparently very demanding
• Winter is obviously peak demand because of snowboarding and skiing, but demand is still strong in the summer because of cycling, hiking, golfing, fishing, etc.
• The two slowest times are spring (mud season) and fall
• Many PMs will track booking lead times, which is the period of time between booking and check-in
• This past winter season, demand was strong but average lead times were way down — meaning people were booking last minute and responding to snowstorms
• During heavy snowfall seasons, like the one Utah had this past winter, you’ll likely need to budget for roof snow clearing (a few thousand for the season)
• Heated driveways are a very good idea in the mountains
• The most popular / most searched amenity is by far a hot tub; servicing one will run you about $125 per month

I always find it fascinating to dig in and learn about a new industry and/or market. And that’s exactly what we did this morning.