08/15/2024
Happy 1st Anniversary to Casago Fort Lauderdale!! 🎉🥳 A year ago this month, my partner (Gabrielle Zahler) and I welcomed our first guests for a three-night stay at the sole property in our portfolio. In the subsequent six months, we onboarded fourteen additional properties and worked around the clock. From establishing and adjusting rates, obtaining licenses from the City of Ft. Lauderdale, marketing our services to potential homeowners, coordinating home renovation projects, to cleaning numerous properties until we found the best team of housekeepers (our most significant challenge by far). My days were long and physically demanding.
We now have 18 properties in our portfolio (with more coming soon!!), a wealth of resources throughout South Florida (maintenance, home renovation, designer, real estate), an excellent property inspector (the best in the business), and a great group of homeowners.
Here's a snapshot of what we've done right:
1. Property count is not our first concern, it's property upkeep + housekeeping. If our homes are the cleanest and best kept, we will continue growing our portfolio (word of mouth between homeowners is amazing). Casago Fort Lauderdale has been a Super Host on Airbnb (and a Premier Host on VRBO) for 9 out of the 12 months since the company was established. Performing well and earning 5-star reviews has a HUGE impact.
2. Having a local person (me!) set rates and continuously monitor the portfolio is significant, as I am well-versed in everything happening in the area and the impact those events can have on ADRs, occupancy, and so on.
3. Having a great partner is critical. Teaming with Casago has been a wonderful experience (resources galore, support, camaraderie, and great follow-up from the Casago University Team).
4. As a Co-Owner, conducting regular visits to our properties is crucial for maintaining an attractive portfolio of homes (I'm not just walking through properties, I'm looking at the condition of pots & pans, counting glassware, marks on walls, turning TVs on, checking internet speed, sitting on chairs, looking under sofa cushions, and the list goes on). We don't just depend on housekeeping, maintenance, or property inspections to assess the condition of a home. My partner and I know every detail of each property, which guarantees that there are no unexpected issues. Essentially, we've established a system of checks and balances, and it works extraordinarily well.
5. We are patient. We do not hastily jump at the chance to work with any homeowner or to manage a stunning waterfront property. Unit churn is important to us (especially when the property has numerous bookings). Therefore, if the conditions aren't quite right (homeowner expectations do not align with ours), we will decline the property, confident that a more appropriate one will become available in the future.
