(#5) Cabin Chronicles: The Time We Hosted Our First Guests and Everything Broke
"Hey, we just noticed we have no hot water and the microwave doesn't work." This is the message we received from our first-ever rental guests right before midnight on the first night of their stay.
We stared back at the phone in disbelief. After months of work, it was finally time to experience hosting for the first time, and our guests were in Montana—in the dead of winter—with no hot water and no quick way to heat food. And where were we? 1,200 miles away in Texas, completely helpless.
Welcome to remote hosting, where your midnight panic attacks come with a side of what were we thinking?!
A Fixer-Upper Reality Check
While the property was undergoing major transformation in the backyard, we were busy at work on the Main House. At first, we were riding the high of this new chapter. It had potential! It had character! It had charm! But the more we started pulling back the layers (and hauling them to the dump), the more we realized what we were really in for.
A quick win like replacing a sink stopper turned into a plumbing disaster ending with a corroded pipe, three trips to the local hardware store, and emergency foam sealant… eventually requiring total pipe and sink replacement. (Whoops!) Every time we went to fix one thing, we ended up creating (or uncovering) a bigger problem.
That's a glimpse into what it was like those first few months. Our to-do list grew faster than we could cross things off, and with our first guests arriving soon, we knew the place wouldn’t be finished, but we at least wanted it to seem on its way.
Running a Short-Term Rental from Another State
Managing a property near Yellowstone while living in Texas seemed ambitious, but we figured: We’re travel-savvy, we’ve stayed in dozens of short-term rentals ourselves, we can figure it out. Spoiler: We are figuring it out, but plenty has still gone hilariously, stressfully wrong along the way.
We bought our cabins at the end of 2023. During our initial walkthrough, it was obvious they weren’t perfect, but the Main House was largely functional. We spent December and early January fixing some sketchy electrical work (yes, that was the actual description on the invoice) and putting a few cosmetic touches on the Main House.
At the end of January, we ripped off the band-aid and listed it for rent.
We were honest, posted current photos, and wrote a description that made it clear this was a work-in-progress and a home under renovation. This would be more of a Yellowstone basecamp than a luxury escape, but for the right guest, we were going to offer it at a steal.
The Midnight Hot Water Crisis
Fast forward to that midnight message from our first rental guests. No hot water? But we had just replaced the water heater tank and rewired the entire electrical panel. We thought we had done everything right, but clearly something was still amiss, and there was nothing we could do about it until morning.
It was too late to call our electrician, but we were too anxious to sleep. By 3 a.m., we were still wide awake… reading forums, troubleshooting possible causes, and digging through posts from other hosts who’ve dealt with similar issues.
As soon as the sun came up, we called our electrician and narrowed it down to two possibilities:
The breaker for the water heater hadn’t been flipped back on, or
There was a deeper electrical issue with no quick fix.
Although we were handling all guest management, communication, scheduling, etc., we still had a small local team for the things we simply couldn’t do from afar, like local property management and cleaning/turnovers. We messaged our local property manager and asked if she was available to take a look.
We were certainly hoping it was something as simple as a forgotten breaker, but we also couldn’t help feeling frustrated that it might have meant the whole situation could have been avoided. On the other hand, if it wasn’t the breaker, then we had a much bigger, much more expensive problem on our hands.
She made her way to the property while the guests were out, flipped the switch, turned on the water at the kitchen sink, and sent us a text five minutes later: “All good!”
Just like that, our first guest crisis was averted. The guests appreciated the quick fix; we felt relief and took note of our first lesson in remote hosting: ‘Boots on the ground’ are non-negotiable.
How to Manage a Short-Term Rental Remotely
Our first hosting experience turned out to also be our first guest problem to solve and the beginning of our crash course in remote hosting. Here are some other things we’ve learned about managing an Airbnb remotely.
1. Build Your Local Dream Team
You don’t need a traditional property manager if you don’t want one.
We personally love communicating with guests and managing the guest experience. It’s one of the main reasons we got into short-term rentals in the first place. However, no matter how involved or not involved you want to be in your Airbnb or VRBO, you will need a local team.
Our setup includes:
A reliable cleaning team for guest turnovers
A local property manager for emergencies and property check-ins (someone who can physically put eyes on the property and tell you what’s going on)
One or two trusted handyman contacts or contractors for issues or repairs
This is the trio that makes remote hosting possible for us, and we’re glad we budgeted for it from Day 1.
2. Be Honest in Your Listing
It was important for us to be incredibly honest about what guests were getting, especially since we were a home under renovation. However, this is important for everyone, whether you’re renovating or not, whether you’re remote hosting or not.
Tell (and show) guests exactly what it looks like right now, so there are only delightful surprises if things happen to be better by the time they arrive.
For us, that meant showing unfinished trim, scuffed floors, and even an entire bathroom that was functional but unfinished.
We priced accordingly, and our guests have been incredible. They're kind, understanding, and appreciative of the location and the value, because we made sure to price the property, not the market, while getting it up and running.
3. Expect the Unexpected
Any Big Brother fans out there?
No matter how well you prepare, things can (and sometimes will) go sideways.
Your first guests are your first real test. We upgraded all the electrical in the house, but a breaker wasn't reset. We installed a brand-new water heater, but our guests still had cold showers.
Gardiner is a small, remote town with a population of ~800, located at the entrance to Yellowstone National Park. Sometimes the Internet drops, and utility workers show up unannounced to fix it while your guests are in the middle of breakfast because, in a town this size, they come when they come. (Usually without warning.)
Flexibility is part of being a short-term rental host, and that’s even more true when you’re managing remotely and have to rely on others more than if you were down the street yourself. The trick is to roll with it as best you can, be willing to problem-solve and pivot when needed, and trust both your guests and your team to handle the things you can’t from afar.
4. Care About The Guest Experience
We were nervous about hosting for the first time from so far away, especially with a property that wasn't perfect. But we also knew: We’re good at problem-solving and we care deeply about our guest experience. This turned out to matter more than anything else.
Our number one priority, then and now, is to do right by our guests. It doesn't mean things go perfectly, or that we nail it 100% of the time, but we show up fully—even remotely—because we understand our guests are trusting us with their vacation, and we don’t take that lightly.
Sometimes, deeply caring about the guest experience makes things harder because you’re frustrated when even a small thing goes wrong. But caring is also why we received such great reviews from our first guests, despite being a work in progress.
If and when something goes wrong, do your best to keep the guest experience at the center of your decisions. It makes a huge difference!
Here’s what some of our early first-year guests had to say.
5. Embrace Automation
The property didn’t have any smart features when we bought it. There were no temperature controls, leak sensors, or keyless keypads. Normally, that suits us fine, but for a 1930s house in Montana, while under renovation, that we’re managing ourselves from 1,200 miles away? We embraced automation upfront, and we’re so glad we did.
We installed:
Exterior ring cameras on entrance doors pointing toward the street, walkways, and entrances
Basement and crawl space cameras (no guest access) pointed at water heaters, plumbing, and foundations
WiFi-enabled temperature, humidity, and leak sensors for the basement
Smart locks with keypad entry for guests and vendors (this was the largest financial investment, but worth every penny to lock and unlock remotely and manage access)
Automation gives us massive peace of mind while managing our short-term rental remotely.
What’s Next?
Running a renovation and short-term rental from four states away is a lot, but it’s doable. We learned so much in those early weeks about hosting, systems, and remote management, and we’re better hosts because of it.
The property has come a long way since that first hot-water crisis (yes, there will be a second 🤦♀️), but we've still got plenty of projects ahead!
Soon, our first full Yellowstone rental season will kick off, and we’ll be attempting a mid-season kitchen renovation (between bookings!), complete with one very dramatic royal blue after photo.
Keep Following Along… (#6) Cabin Chronicles: Before and After 1930s Kitchen Renovation
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