Vacation Rentals & airbnb's can be a great way to exponentially increase the returns on your real estate investments.  But there are also many pitfalls that investors must avoid and be aware of in order to be successful. On February 23, 2018, the RPOA hosted an expert panel to discuss short-term vacation rentals - how they work, why they're such a great strategy for real estate investors, tips on being successful, and how to avoid the pitfalls that can cost you extra money. Here are the four investors & experts you'll be hearing from: Gary Hall is in the process of converting a low-income 11 unit into an airbnb.  Gary is an entrepreneur, passive income strategist, and the operations manager of Westshore Property Management in Muskegon. Gary was also a guest on the podcast – episode #89 and the Halloween episode Frederick Kidd  is a licensed realtor in Illinois, and has been managing and operating short-term rentals for the past eight years. He personally owns and operates  five short-term rentals in the West Michigan area and the Chicago metro market. He also provides full-service management of short-term rentals and rental properties through his company, Silver Lakes Property Management – which is currently managing 20 short-term rentals for clients located in Benton Harbor, Grand Haven, Spring Lake and Manistee, Mi.  Kim Post  has 10 Units in Cadillac Michigan that she’s in the process of converting to short-term vacation rentals.  Kim’s been a real estate investor for over 30 years and is the owner of Post & Associates Appraisals and Next Door Properties, LLC You can hear Kim on Episode #28 of the podcast. Clay Powell is going to give us the perspective of someone who rents and stays in airbnb’s – so he’ll be representing the end-user – what they expect and what they respond to.  Clay is also the Director of the RPOA. Clay has been on the podcast several times, including Ep #6 & 72 Enjoy the show!