The Making of Havana Haus: A New Braunfels Vacation Rental

In the summer of 2018 we decided the New Braunfels vacation rental market was in need of something different. We’d seen every German, shabby chic rental NB had to offer and undoubtedly knew it was time for something fun and funky to hit town. Loaded with determination and copious amounts of luck, we landed a contract on what would soon become, Havana Haus. It was sweet and charming and best of all, centrally located and walking distance from everything! Just it’s location meant the return on our investment would be great and the bookings would be steady.

“What does New Braunfels need?” we found ourselves asking. The answer came swiftly - something bright, something playful, something a little retro and a little modern. In most of my design jobs I like to ask the client what they want their home to say. When guests arrive, what words will your home sing?

Ours will joyfully croon: Collected, Vibrant, Leisure, Airy, Adventurous, & Traveled. And thus, Havana Haus was born.

By the time our July closing came round, we had a comprehensive plan and two months time to execute (i.e. not much time at all!). With Havana Haus being our first rental, it was certainly a learning curve. You ask yourself questions as a designer, as a home owner, as a vacation rental owner and they don’t always mix and mingle.

What a lot of vacation rental owners fail to realize is:

1. You catch more flies with honey (insert: money). You’re creating an experience. And creating that experience comes at a cost. No it doesn’t have to be a financial burden, but it does take money. So many owners purchase a home, throw random craigslist furniture together and think it’s going to start raking in the dough. Coming from individuals who put meticulous thought into the design and a decent amount of money into the execution, I can say with certainty that doesn’t happen. We had a small budget which meant we had to methodically plan every detail, down to whether or not vacation renters really needed a kitchen spoon rest. Which leads to my #2…

2. It takes time. Ours has been a slow trickling of stayers, a slow tricking of 5 star reviews, all of which will only help our rental become something great. Even in a rental town as busy as New Braunfels, it didn’t happen overnight and we’re still far from where we’d like to be. Because of that you need have two very important facets of vacation rental ownership squared away: Reserve Fund & Management. We had 2 months of expenses saved for slow months and what we expected to be a gradual uphill hike. In reality, we really need 4-6 months saved. We also weighed the pros and cons to managing the place ourselves. Sounds simple enough, right? Ah, but there are so many things to consider. Bookings, cleanings, maintenance issues, communication with stayers, renter complaints and damages, price fluctuation based on the market, the list goes on. Ultimately we decided our day jobs weren’t going to allow us to handle management. We partnered with Vacasa and they take care of everything (at a cost, of course, but worth it for us).

3. It’s an ongoing process. Yes, our house is on the rental market and yes, we have a team managing it’s every move, but that doesn’t mean we’re hands free. We take the occasional call that something is broken or has been damaged, we’re checking to make sure it’s in tip top condition before each rental, and there’s the biweekly yard upkeep. We know there are future expenses and additions we’d like to install to add it to it’s appeal.

Learning curves aside, it’s been a great experience and we truly love being vacation rental homeowners. Designing an enjoyable space for families to make memories is the heart of our endeavors and why we hope to continue to add additional rentals to the market.