Steve Fogarty — Jun 04, 2021
I took possession of a new cabin from Chuck Smith 20 weeks ago.
I remotely manage my cabin in the Smokies for the short term rent…
I took possession of a new cabin from Chuck Smith 20 weeks ago.
I remotely manage my cabin in the Smokies for the short term rental STR market, Airbnb and vrbo.
Any negativity in this review does not pertain to the quality of the cabin itself, which I have not yet visited, and that my guests seem to like.
My review is for any investors considering hiring Chuck Smith to build an investment cabin for the STR market, and my review is only concerned with the One Year Warranty offered by Chuck Smith, and concerned with Chuck Smith's very poor communication skills.
I have been consistently very disappointed with Chuck Smith's response to the needs of my guests when things go wrong.
Airbnb is all about the reviews. Anything less than a 5-star review from a guest can cause serious damage to an STR property's future income. Not only will low ratings repel potential renters, but low ratings can get your property de-listed.
A de-listing could mean financial ruin.
In the STR space, guests expect excellent communication and rapid resolution to their problems. Chuck Smith does not seem to appreciate this fact.
To illustrate my warning I will give just the latest example of dozens I've experienced since January.
This past Sunday my guest reported that my brand new washing machine was not draining. It is covered under warranties from the manufacturer and from my builder, Chuck Smith. Chuck tells me he turns his phone off after 5pm Fridays and doesn't turn it back on until the following business day. Either way, he is non-responsive on weekends.
So I started calling around to every appliance repair service I could find, even though I would likely have to pay for this repair out of pocket.
No one I called was available to even look at until at the unit until at least Monday. Knowing that Chuck would not answer any call or text over the weekend nor the Memorial Day Monday, I texted him first thing Tue morning letting him know of the issue.
24 hours later, Wednesday, I texted again 'Status on fixing washer?'
45 minutes later he texted 'I am not where I have that info right now I will have the secretary go back and pull the receipt and get it to you'.
And that's the last I've heard from him.
In the 20 weeks that I've had possession of the cabin, I have asked him repeatedly to provide me a list of all the relevant information about all the appliances and systems in my cabin. Make, model, serial numbers, purchase place, purchase date, name & number purchase was made under, contact information for manufacturer's warranty support. Nothing.
When you remotely manage an Airbnb, you have to be able to answer questions like "how do I turn on the dishwasher?" and "how do I configure the TV for Netflix" and "how do I heat up the hot tub" etc.
An owner needs to know the make, model number, serial number etc for all things in the house in order to download user manuals, download Youtube videos, and to know who to call for fixes when the builder's warranty is non-operational because he's checked out for the weekend and isn't answering his phone.
So 6 days after my guest let me know my brand new washing machine isn't working, she's had to bring her family's clothes down to the laundromat several times now. 'We packed light' because my cabin has a washing machine.
There's no way I'm going to get a 5-star review from this fine family. Very likely I will get a 4-star or even 3-star for 'Inaccurate Description'.
Negative reviews directly affect my bookings and my revenue, and risk getting my cabin de-listed altogether.
Nearly all of the less than 5-star reviews my property has gotten have been because of this kind of situation, where things in my cabin are broken, and my builder is not responding in an STR timeline.
He seems to think that a four or five day or eight week-I'm referring to the hot tub fiasco-response time to problems is acceptable in the hospitality space that he has sold warranties into.
It is not.
I'm leaving this 2-star review of Chuck Smith to warn potential investors that, once Chuck has been paid, you are likely to be on your own should anything break, and his one year warranty is effectively useless if you have purchased your cabin for the STR Airbnb vrbo space.
Good luck getting him to respond to your texts and phone calls, too. His communication skills and his appreciation for the always-on nature of the STR marketplace into which he has sold and to whom he has made warranty guarantees are truly awful.
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I took possession of a new cabin from Chuck Smith 20 weeks ago.
I remotely manage my cabin in the Smokies for the short term rental STR market, Airbnb and vrbo.
Any negativity in this review does not pertain to the quality of the cabin itself, which I have not yet visited, and that my guests seem …
I took possession of a new cabin from Chuck Smith 20 weeks ago.
I remotely manage my cabin in the Smokies for the short term rental STR market, Airbnb and vrbo.
Any negativity in this review does not pertain to the quality of the cabin itself, which I have not yet visited, and that my guests seem to like.
My review is for any investors considering hiring Chuck Smith to build an investment cabin for the STR market, and my review is only concerned with the One Year Warranty offered by Chuck Smith, and concerned with Chuck Smith's very poor communication skills.
I have been consistently very disappointed with Chuck Smith's response to the needs of my guests when things go wrong.
Airbnb is all about the reviews. Anything less than a 5-star review from a guest can cause serious damage to an STR property's future income. Not only will low ratings repel potential renters, but low ratings can get your property de-listed.
A de-listing could mean financial ruin.
In the STR space, guests expect excellent communication and rapid resolution to their problems. Chuck Smith does not seem to appreciate this fact.
To illustrate my warning I will give just the latest example of dozens I've experienced since January.
This past Sunday my guest reported that my brand new washing machine was not draining. It is covered under warranties from the manufacturer and from my builder, Chuck Smith. Chuck tells me he turns his phone off after 5pm Fridays and doesn't turn it back on until the following business day. Either way, he is non-responsive on weekends.
So I started calling around to every appliance repair service I could find, even though I would likely have to pay for this repair out of pocket.
No one I called was available to even look at until at the unit until at least Monday. Knowing that Chuck would not answer any call or text over the weekend nor the Memorial Day Monday, I texted him first thing Tue morning letting him know of the issue.
24 hours later, Wednesday, I texted again 'Status on fixing washer?'
45 minutes later he texted 'I am not where I have that info right now I will have the secretary go back and pull the receipt and get it to you'.
And that's the last I've heard from him.
In the 20 weeks that I've had possession of the cabin, I have asked him repeatedly to provide me a list of all the relevant information about all the appliances and systems in my cabin. Make, model, serial numbers, purchase place, purchase date, name & number purchase was made under, contact information for manufacturer's warranty support. Nothing.
When you remotely manage an Airbnb, you have to be able to answer questions like "how do I turn on the dishwasher?" and "how do I configure the TV for Netflix" and "how do I heat up the hot tub" etc.
An owner needs to know the make, model number, serial number etc for all things in the house in order to download user manuals, download Youtube videos, and to know who to call for fixes when the builder's warranty is non-operational because he's checked out for the weekend and isn't answering his phone.
So 6 days after my guest let me know my brand new washing machine isn't working, she's had to bring her family's clothes down to the laundromat several times now. 'We packed light' because my cabin has a washing machine.
There's no way I'm going to get a 5-star review from this fine family. Very likely I will get a 4-star or even 3-star for 'Inaccurate Description'.
Negative reviews directly affect my bookings and my revenue, and risk getting my cabin de-listed altogether.
Nearly all of the less than 5-star reviews my property has gotten have been because of this kind of situation, where things in my cabin are broken, and my builder is not responding in an STR timeline.
He seems to think that a four or five day or eight week-I'm referring to the hot tub fiasco-response time to problems is acceptable in the hospitality space that he has sold warranties into.
It is not.
I'm leaving this 2-star review of Chuck Smith to warn potential investors that, once Chuck has been paid, you are likely to be on your own should anything break, and his one year warranty is effectively useless if you have purchased your cabin for the STR Airbnb vrbo space.
Good luck getting him to respond to your texts and phone calls, too. His communication skills and his appreciation for the always-on nature of the STR marketplace into which he has sold and to whom he has made warranty guarantees are truly awful.
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