What STR Investors Get Wrong About Cash Flow: The Numbers That Look Good Until They Don’t
Most STR investors model 65-70% occupancy and a 3% platform fee. StaySTRA data shows both assumptions are wrong by a…
Investigative Writer & Community Impact Correspondent
I came up through the investigative beat at a metro newspaper, where I learned early that the most important stories are usually the ones someone would rather you not write. I spent years covering housing, zoning, and urban issues before the STR boom pulled me in. It was the perfect collision of everything I care about: housing, community, money, and power, all tangled together in ways that deserved scrutiny. What I do now is pretty straightforward. When a new regulation passes, I go find out if it is actually working. I talk to the families who lost their rental income, the neighbors who finally got some quiet back, and the investors who found a workaround before the ink was dry. I sit through city council meetings, knock on doors, and read every public record I can get my hands on. Then I write it up so people know what is really happening, not just the press release version. I have been told I am relentless, and I will take that as a compliment. But the part of this work that matters most to me is making sure every voice gets heard, the long-time resident, the new host, the tenant facing displacement. These are complicated stories with real people at the center, and I think they deserve someone willing to dig until the full picture comes into focus.
Most STR investors model 65-70% occupancy and a 3% platform fee. StaySTRA data shows both assumptions are wrong by a…
Most Airbnb hosts know their nightly rate but cannot calculate their actual net payout. Here is every fee Airbnb deducts…
The real cash you need to buy an Airbnb goes far beyond the down payment. Meredith Lane breaks down every…
Newport News VA enforced its 2022 short-term rental ordinance starting August 1, 2025. When enforcement activated, only about 20 STRs…
What STR property managers advertise and what they actually collect are two different numbers. Here is the full breakdown of…
Airbnb's new Earnings Protection insurance, underwritten by MIC Global, promises to fill the income gap when disasters shut down your…
An investigation into the three-layer pricing system behind World Cup 2026 Airbnb price spikes. Documents show no single party controls…
An active Airbnb is not just a house. STR sellers face permit non-transferability, platform accounts that cannot be transferred, active…
Federal courts have blocked or limited STR ordinances in Jamaica Beach TX, Clark County NV, and Dearborn Heights MI in…
A growing number of short-term rental property management companies are marketing guaranteed monthly income programs to property owners. Meredith Lane…
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