Nicolas Fatou: expand your assets with automated subletting
His website: https://automaticbnb.fr
His contact: contact@automaticbnb.fr
His YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Automaticbnb
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Hello and welcome to the J'poster Complet channel, the channel which helps seasonal rental companies, seasonal rental concierge services, and professional sub-renters to increase their turnover.
Today I'm excited to introduce you to a guest who started from scratch. So his journey will be able to speak to you. He had the rigor and care to apply all the training he did. Step by step, he had the courage to take action. He went from having 0 to 8 apartments with his Rp, but he didn't stop there, he's hyperactive. He is on a permanent contract, he is also a business manager. He now has his company of 35 apartments for subletting, and you will see, we will talk about it, it is very interesting if you want to sublet. But as that wasn't enough, he also has a YouTube channel: a YouTube channel in which and for which he helps seasonal rental companies who want to automate their activities, and therefore, do like him, be able to have all these activities at the same time, while sleeping at night, and that's still nice. I am delighted to introduce Nicolas Fatou to you today.
− Hello, Nicolas.
− Hello, Élise. Thank you for inviting me to the channel.
− It’s true that I’m delighted to welcome you. It gives me great pleasure to ask all these questions, and I think there are lots of things that you are going to share with us that will help people a lot. For people who don’t know you, can you tell us about your background?
− My name is Nicolas, I started short-term rentals in September 2017. I started investing a year earlier. And so, since 2017, I have invested in real estate. I do short-term rentals, and therefore, I developed my assets, as you said, to have eight apartments plus my Rp, therefore 9 properties that I have in custody. And at one point, I was blocked by the banks, and therefore, I wanted to continue to develop short-term rentals. So I went to sublet. At the beginning, the idea was to only do a few, and in the end, as you said, I developed a whole business around it. So now, I manage several sublets: mine, so I have 20, and then 15 for other clients. That's why I have 35 sublets in this company. And since that wasn't enough, as you said, at the same time, as I had a lot of people asking me questions: how did you manage to do all that, to invest so much in real estate in such a short time, how you managed to create a business alongside your professional activity; I created a channel. I started creating this channel in March 2020. I created it during confinement, and afterward, for three or four months, I stopped. And then, I intensely started releasing videos at least once a week, to explain how I manage to automate and optimize all of my short-term rentals, to do all these activities in parallel, while enjoying life and the free time that I manage to create despite all these activities. So.
− Yes, because you should know that we were talking about it just before with Nicolas, Nicolas is coming back from vacation. You see her pretty tanned complexion, but I don't at all. I have a very white complexion. I accompanied my family on vacation, and I worked during the entire vacation. But Nicolas, we see that his society is built to allow him to have time, and you will see, that is what is very interesting. And your tanned complexion testifies to it. So, for people who discover subletting through our interview, I'm going to ask you, Nicolas, the question that, I imagine, all people who don't know about it ask: subletting is illegal, no. ?
− We will say yes. Subletting is illegal if you take a classic residential lease, and you sublet with that. Even if you have the landlord's agreement, you will not be able to rent beyond the rent you pay to that landlord. So, if you receive a rent higher than the rent you give to your landlord, even though he has given your agreement, then you are committing illegality. So, indeed, it is illegal. On the other hand, when we talk about subletting, that's why I like to use the term "professional", "professional subletting", we do not use a residential lease, but a lease specific to subletting. So, when we use this specific lease for subletting, we are completely legal. And you can imagine that if it were illegal, I wouldn't be talking about it in front of everyone on YouTube, and there wouldn't be other people talking about it as well. So indeed, it is legal from the moment you use the correct lease, and from the moment you control, precisely, this lease. Because the point of this lease is to be able to explain it to your owners, to the owners you are going to approach to sublet. Because like you, like everyone else, you will say to yourself: “It’s illegal”. Well no, you have to explain to them why it is not illegal when you use this lease. So a whole ecosystem must be created so that this system becomes legal, and it is completely legal. In fact, it is a system that has existed for decades, which has been democratized thanks to subletting. In fact, subletting has been around for decades. We often talk about subletting short-term rentals, but we can sublet, in fact, any property we want. It can be a box, it can be an apartment, shared accommodation, it can be a shed, it can be a business. So subletting has existed for decades, and it is completely legal as long as you use the right instruments.
− So, you sublet from the moment the banks started blocking you. Do you think that someone who watches our video and who is interested in subletting, but who would not have invested in real estate beforehand, do you think that it is realistic for them? to start subletting, or is it premature?
− Realistic. Afterwards, what is really important is to ask the question why. That is to say, is my objective to really create assets, or is my objective to create a business? So if my objective is to create a heritage, in these cases, I would say to this person, if you have the financial capacity, in these cases, to buy heritage, and to exploit it, either by renting short term, or in another way this good. If, on the other hand, the objective is to leave your job, to create a business, to create a company in its own right, in these cases, I would tell this person to go for professional subletting without any problem. Whether you want to create a professional subletting system or business, it is not complicated in itself. It's just that we need to think about why we're doing this. If it's just doing that because it's fashionable, and because a lot of people are talking about it on the internet, that's not the point. For example, my interest in doing this, at the beginning, was that I was starting to be blocked by the banks, and I wanted to continue doing short-term rentals. Because all of my properties were already in short-term rental, and I understood how it worked, and I said to myself: do I wait a year – two years – three years for the banks to refinance, or do I continue to develop my short-term rental business? I decided to continue to develop it, by doing the subletting business. Afterwards, if you are not, in fact, financeable, and you want to start getting into short-term rental, that can actually also be a good path to take. On the other hand, I repeat, and this is often what I say: when you are an investor or entrepreneur, always think about why. Why am I going to this or that thing? Why do I want to do this or that thing? So that it has meaning, and because there are times when it is a little less easy than others, and we must always, at that moment, when it becomes difficult, think about why. , we are doing this, so as not to leave with our heads in the handlebars. So if you can be financed by banks, I think it's more important, for me, to create wealth. If, on the other hand, your objective is to develop a business and not assets, indeed, get started directly with subletting. No special diploma is required. On the other hand, what I advise you is to document yourself, to train yourself for free, or for a fee, that's not a problem, but in any case, to document yourself. Because as soon as you start entrepreneurship, and what's more, in subletting, you are faced with a lot of what I often call legal codes, which overlap, and you still have to master them so as not to do anything. Afterwards, once you master them, it's not very complicated. But you still have to master them, so as not to go straight into the wall and do something stupid. On YouTube, and indeed everywhere, there is a lot of documentation now related to subletting. And I still advise you to do your research beforehand.
− What do you think made the difference for you in seasonal rental and subletting? Do you identify key points that made it work well for you? You spoke earlier about knowing how to take action. Do you see any other key points, or what makes it so… do you have any tips for having the courage to take action like that? Not everyone does, you see.
− It’s true that I have a temperament where I often take action. I start from the principle that if I follow training or if I read things that interest me, I have this temperament to want to test. Which meant that in short-term rental, for example, I succeeded. It’s because I added a lot of things that I learned. Above all, I learned that doing short-term rentals, if we wanted it to work, we had to professionalize it all a little. And it wasn't just putting an ad on Airbnb and waiting for the bookings to come through. So, I really researched this. I still research this every day, because in addition, short-term rental is something that is quite recent in time, and which is evolving quickly. Platforms evolve every day, people's needs. Morals in short-term rentals have evolved between 2017 and today. So I put a lot of things in place, but very simple things. For example, I hire a professional photographer to take photos... because we buy with our eyes. Afterwards, you should know that the triptych in a short-term rental is precisely the description, the price, and the photos. And so, the description, the price, and the photos, these are three things that I work on a lot. That is to say the order of the photos, what am I going to take a photo of, the price. I am very careful, precisely, that the price corresponds to the market so that it is rented correctly. Then, in relation to the description, I detail as much information as possible. Because in fact, people buy thanks to this triptych. And then, there are the customer reviews which are added to it, and which make it possible to increase all that. Then, behind it, we also have to ask ourselves the question: depending on the market we are in, and what we are aiming for, what type of property are we going to buy or sublet to do that? There you go, there are really a lot of things to check, to verify, for it to work correctly. Once you've completed this entire checklist — it's like a business, in fact, once you've done your market research, you can get started. But it’s true that I take action, so I also made mistakes. There are properties that I bought for short-term rental, or that I sublet, and which, ultimately, no longer correspond to the market, therefore, I arbitrate my assets, and conversely, others which work very well. But the idea is that you shouldn't be afraid to take action. It's certain that when we take action, we're going to make mistakes, but that's like all learning, you're going to make mistakes. On the other hand, you have to mark everything out by measuring the risk you take on each of the things. It's true that there, they say that I have 35 apartments sublet, I have eight properties that belong to me, plus my Rp, but at the very beginning, when I started short-term rental, I only had one possession. I practiced on just one thing. I did just one, I practiced. At first, I entered with a handover of keys. I saw that it was becoming time-consuming, so I automated it. There you go, I put a lot of things in gradually, based on my learning, based on my mistakes, and also based on customs and developments in short-term rentals. What's really important, even though you've had training, is to always keep up to date, and keep up with what's going on. Because in real estate investment, or in short-term rental, in the broad sense, things evolve very quickly. You really need to do your research, to always be up to date, and to ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible. Afterwards, what I just wanted to add, it is important, if you decide to invest in real estate, and in particular for short-term rentals, it is very important that your property is profitable, so even if it was not rented as a short-term rental. That is to say that it can be rented for the year, furnished, for example, and at that time it is profitable. If it is profitable at that time, you can do short-term rental, it's the icing on the cake. But above all, don't take a property just by saying: "It's profitable at 10 or 11% for short-term rentals." » Because the day when, as there may have been in March 2020, the economy stops, and then there are no more tourists, suddenly, we have to be able to turn around. I, for example, was able to turn around properly by renting a classic furnished apartment for three months, and everything was self-financed at a minimum. Be very careful when investing in real estate to have safeguards. And that is one of the important safeguards. As someone who coaches a lot of people, I have a lot of people who, in fact, have taken properties that were only profitable for short-term rentals, and not when they are rented for the year bare or furnished, and they got themselves into serious difficulties. So, it's important to take action, but be careful not to put the cart before the horse, and to carefully control each step.
− There is perhaps a question, too, that people will ask themselves. When you become a sub-let, like that, with several apartments, what are the differences and the points in common with the concierge service?
− What you need to know when doing concierge services, rental or subletting, it is possible to do that in the same entity, in the same company. For what ? Because there are commonalities. The big points in common are, for example, everything linked to logistics, everything linked to the cleaning ladies with whom you will work, everything linked to the storage of linen, or the partnership with laundries. , anything related to ad automation, or ad optimization. Whether you do concierge services or subletting, you will be able to do it in the same entity. A cleaning lady, when she goes to do a cleaning for a sublet or for a property that you have in concierge, she will not even know it, she will not see the difference. But you, your structure is already made. So you can link the two without any problem. Afterwards, if really, in the future, one of the two activities really takes over, in these cases, I would perhaps advise you to dissociate these two activities. For what ? Because concierge services, after a while, if you exceed a certain threshold, will be subject to VAT since you are providing services, whereas subletting, as you are not carrying out any activity parahotel, will not be subject to VAT. So, to avoid it becoming a gas factory, it might be interesting, in these cases, to separate the two entities. But at the beginning, when you launch an activity, you are not going to create two entities that will cost you money, when you can do everything in the same entity. And then, you create, and then after, either you develop the two branches, then there is one which will take over. But if one really takes over, it may be necessary to create two entities. Then, in the big differences, that is already one of the differences, that is to say that there is one of the activities which will be subject to VAT, and the other not. And then what's really important to know is risk taking, in the beginning. When you go into concierge work, there is very little risk at the start. That is to say that logically, you do not have a loan to put in place; if the short-term rental stops overnight, you are not committed to leases like subletting, you have not put deposits in place. And therefore, the risk taking is lower, but on the other hand, the gain is also lower. That's often what I say. Those are averages, eh? It all always depends on the goods that you are going to take from the concierge service or the goods that you are going to sublet, but in the concierge service, you are going to make between 150 and 350 euros per month per apartment, in profits, because you are going to have to pay your cleaning ladies, you will have to create your website… All of this is charges that you will have to take into account. And in subletting, there is a little greater risk taking. You will commit via a lease, even if there is a certain flexibility, because behind it, we can give notice. You will give one month, even two months of deposit; you will pay rent. There are higher fees to start up, but with greater potential gain. Often, we start with between 350 and 500, or even 600 euros in profits per month per apartment. So, actually, both are very good, because there are positives, and both also have negatives. That is to say that on the one hand, there is a greater risk taking on subletting than on concierge services, but on concierge services, there is a lower gain, and above all, accountable to customers. Above all, you must keep in mind that on the one hand, you are a service provider, when you provide concierge services. And when you sublet, you are all alone with your landlords and your own structure. So afterwards, it also depends on your temperament, and whether, in your customer relations, you feel comfortable or not. Because indeed, in concierge services, customers, and rightly so, owners are increasingly demanding. They are paying for a service, and therefore, you are also accountable. And you have to know how to organize it, because you will be accountable to your travelers, and accountable to your owners. Whereas when you sublet, the only people you have to answer to are your guests and your team. You don't have an owner to answer to, because the only thing to answer to your owners is to pay them every month in relation to the lease we agreed upon. And they don't even care about the good. It's just that every month there is the rent that was agreed together. So there are pros and cons on each side. I think if you want to start, do everything in the same structure. It's entirely doable. And then test both. And if you feel more comfortable on one or the other, really expand on that activity. But I know people who have developed these two activities in parallel. I wanted to do it, but I had joined forces, on the concierge side, with a partner, and it lasted a little over a year, but after that, we no longer got along, so I I stopped associating. So I sold his shares to my partner, but basically, I was going for that. And so now, I have focused solely on subletting, where I feel much more comfortable in it. That's why I always come back to what I said earlier: know why you're doing this, know your strengths and weaknesses, beyond knowing the risks of subletting. , concierge service, knowing where you will feel most comfortable.
− Afterwards, it's true that when you are a sublet, you have less time to spend defending the quality of the work to the owners. That's for sure. Now, don't you think that when subletting, there is still more time to spend prospecting? Because prospecting, when you are a concierge, is a bit easier than prospecting when you are a sub-tenant. No ?
− I think that on prospecting, time is similar. Above all, it’s about convincing the owners.
− Yes, that’s it.
− To actually convince sublet owners, it is more difficult than convincing owners who come to see you or you are going to prospect for the concierge service. So indeed, the crux of the matter in subletting is knowing exactly the arguments to offer to your landlords so that they engage with you to sublet. What does an owner want? What is a lessor? He wants his property to be properly maintained, and to be guaranteed payment. What is important when you sublet and go to see owners is to convince them on these two points. So on the guaranteed part of being paid, simply say: “We are a company, we do not sign a residential lease together, so as we do not sign a residential lease, there is no truce winter, and if one day there is an unpaid debt on the part of our company, as there is a termination clause in the lease that we are signing together, the specific lease, after a month, you can kick me out, and what's more, take me to the local commercial court, where I will have to answer to you at that time. But what is certain is that after a month, you will get your property back, and there is no question of winter break or anything else. So there, that’s a guarantee. What's more, every three months, I can send you haka bis to prove to you the good health of our business, whereas a person who comes to rent your apartment via a residential lease, gives you all the supporting documents at the beginning, but if in six months she loses her job, you'll never know it, and so it's a bit of a bigger risk. » For everything that is the guarantee of properly maintaining the property, I often give them the link to my ads: “You go to Airbnb, you go to Booking, and in real time, you will see the customer comments, so you will see that your property is well maintained. Whereas if you do traditional rental, you will not be able to follow what is happening in your home. You won't see it until the end, when you collect the keys. » So that’s important. And what’s more, in the specific sublease, there is a certain flexibility. Inside, there is a notice for the lessor and for the lessor, the lessee. So, the lessor, if at any given moment he considers that – I don’t know why – the reviews are not good enough, or he wants to get his property back, he respects the notice that we put in, knowing that the notice may be negotiable. It could be from one month, it could be three months, four months, five months, six months. And the owner recovers his property much more easily than in a residential lease. So, that’s a lot of upside for him. What's difficult is: "Yes, but why wasn't it offered to me before?" This is brand new, never heard of it. » It's true, that's where you have to convince. Often, you also have to try to convince the owners who are themselves investors. Often, you will convince investors more easily, because they will understand the logic of what you are putting in place. So for me, not often, but at the beginning, when I started, I was in business clubs, business clubs, because there, you are with people who have a certain purchasing power, who have real estate, but who don't have the time to take care of it, but who have this entrepreneurial spirit. And when you explain the project to them, they understand quite quickly. While an individual, I am not saying that it is feasible, because I am doing it now, but at the beginning, when you see an individual, he will see the fact that you are going to benefit, that is to say that you are going to rent a property for 700 euros per month, and you are going to make 2000 euros in turnover, because you rent on Airbnb. So they won't understand the logic. They will perceive it as: “You are going to make money off my back. » Whereas an entrepreneur will understand this as: “I have someone who can take care of my property, I have a guarantee, every month, of rent, I will be sure that it will be well maintained, and he does his business, he earns his living from that. » Now it's much easier for me. Now people are coming to contact me. For what ? Because now I have social proof. The YouTube channel is one thing, but above all, I'm starting to create a network, because I've invested in three cities, specifically. I don't disperse. And so, these are people who come to contact me now: individuals who contact me, because through word of mouth, people understand the benefit they have in going through me to do subletting. . But here, the tips that I wanted to give are above all that when you start looking for investors, business clubs or Airbnb clubs, go there. This is where you will be able to prospect more easily, because there, you will have people in front of you, in any case, a large part, who are open, and who will understand what you are doing. TO DO. If at the beginning, you go to the right place and just look for individuals, you will have a lot of refusals.
− I don't know if you realize it, but those are some nuggets that you gave us there.
− Yes.
− It’s true, frankly. You gave us a whole list of arguments. Frankly, if you want to become a sublet, or if you are already a sublet, watch the video back over the last five to ten minutes, and note all the arguments that Nicolas gave us. Because in fact, you gave us 3 – 4 arguments to give to owners to convince them. It was super interesting. We feel that you are used to convincing owners about subletting, and presenting them with information on this subject.
− And then the argument was made gradually. Afterwards, we must not deceive ourselves. It's like any business, like any prospecting. In any business, at the beginning, it is much harder than later. So at the beginning, you should not be discouraged when you receive refusals, despite using, for example, the argument that I have just given. It's normal, it's part of any business. Even if you were doing another business, you would be a grocer or a car salesman, at first, people are reluctant, because you don't have social proof. And little by little... The hardest part is convincing the first customers, the first owners. Once you've managed to convince them, it's much easier. As I said, I shared it with you off-screen, but I have an owner who called me six or seven months ago now, who told me: “I have land, I'm going to build houses on it. If you want, we work together. You tell me everything you need to do to sublet, and the four little houses are for you. » However, he is an individual. It's just that he heard about me, and he was like, "With him, I'm guaranteed." I'm not going to find four tenants, I only have one. I'm sure I'll get paid every month, plus they'll maintain my property. » So there you have it. I started the subletting part in December 2019, so the whole social proof part is done gradually. But to tell you that afterwards, if you do things seriously, the prospecting part will take much less time. I don't even prospect anymore. On the sublet part, it's people who contact me, and it's even me who becomes difficult or I arbitrate my assets in sublet. There is even a property, there, for example, in December 2021 that I am going to stop, because it is not profitable enough for my taste. And so, I arbitrate the subletting part in this way. All this to tell you that at the beginning, it's like everything, you'll have to struggle a bit. And then, if you do things right, things will go well.
− Yes, and it is true that this posture, beyond having a society that functions, at a given moment, when you can start to make choices, as you said, it is also choices who take care to further increase the profitability of the company. It's true that you talked about it on social networks. We work for your apartments, Nicolas, and the fact that at a given moment, you can say: “That, yes, that no”; and a client who, for example, comes to see you saying: "I will do everything you want", for example, this client is apartments on which, even from the point of view of pricing... he implemented everything you asked. This is ideal! So afterward, from a pricing point of view, it's easier to do things that are ultra-profitable for you. So that's perhaps the second step for people who are starting out, but you have to know that at some point, you can get there. And you are right to talk about it. I know you are a coach. You talked about it a little. You coach seasonal rental companies who want to learn how to automate like you. Have you seen any mistakes that you can share with people, to help them avoid doing this? Do you see things that should be avoided?
− Indeed, I help many people to automate or optimize their short-term rentals. And it's true that on a daily basis, I see people who make mistakes, and mistakes that I have made. So I'm not pointing fingers. For example, people, as I said earlier, who will say: “I have a nice camera, so I will take the photos myself. Because I have an iPhone 10 or an iPhone 12, I'm going to take nice photos. “OK, you have a nice camera, but you're not a photographer. This means that the photos you post on Airbnb or Booking do not highlight your property as they should. It's not bright enough, you take portrait format photos, whereas you should only take landscape format photos. Airbnb and Booking give you the option of having them in landscape format, you put them in portrait format. All that. In addition, the photos, everything you put on them, there are lots of things where you have to clean up the photos. That is to say that everything that is trash, trash bags, must be removed when you take photos for marketing, and therefore to post your ads. Conversely, he brings these photos to life, by putting, for example, a breakfast on the table, by putting a bottle of wine on the table, to give emotion, and make you want . For what ? Because we buy with our eyes. It's like when you go to Amazon, when you buy a product, you buy it with your eyes. So if the photos are already not of quality, you unconsciously tell yourself, even if it is not true, that the product will not be of quality. People think the same thing when they go to Airbnb. If the photos are not of quality, we will think that the product is not of quality. While that may be false. But that's the first thing to put in place. Secondly, I have people like this on Airbnb, or even on Booking, who are not going to fill all of their listings. That is to say that on Airbnb, there are a lot of things to fill out. There are mandatory things and optional things. If you only do the mandatory things, the Airbnb algorithm will already consider that the ad is not complete. It will not be highlighted as it could be. So you already have to fill in all the elements. Same, on Booking, there are red dots when you don't fill out your ads correctly. Same, you have to fill everything out. The more elements you give to the Booking and Airbnb algorithm, it's not just that, but it's one of the factors which also allows your ad to be highlighted, and the same goes for travelers, it allows them to to have as much information as possible. That would be a shame, because you forgot to put that there is a dishwasher or a washing machine in the apartment and other people put it, your ad does not appear. So when I do coaching, they often tell me: “I can’t rent well on Airbnb and Booking. » The first thing he tells them is that we're going to see your ad together. So we keep the triptych, as I said earlier: the price, the photos and the description. And often, when we take stock, we realize that either the photos are not of good quality, if they are of good quality, we see that in the description, a lot of things are missing. For example, this person had parking, and it is not indicated. So the person, when looking for parking, puts the filter on, and their ad does not appear. So, these are very stupid things. Likewise, we also see people who lose turnover, because they want to cut prices, saying: “I want my occupancy rate to be high. » But when you are in short-term rental, you must not have the same logic as in traditional rental. The goal is not to rent as quickly as possible. That is to say that if, currently, you are three months ahead or two months ahead of your calendar, and you tell me that your calendar is full, it is because you have a problem with the price. It is not normal for your property to be full three months in advance. I made these mistakes at the beginning. I said to myself: “It reassures me, it's rented, I have peace of mind, I'm sure of having money at the end of the month, I can pay my bills, my credits. » What's more, now, with Covid, people want a lot of flexibility. They book a lot at the last minute, and so it's normal that for next week, you still have free dates. There's no point in slashing prices. People will come and book as they come. So I learned that the hard way. I also learned it with you, since you accompanied me on this part, and these are also mistakes that often happen. Likewise, a third error that often happens is in the referencing of ads. You go to Airbnb, you go to Booking, you go to Google my business, you go to Expedia: people have the same apartment, but put four different names. Which means that the Google algorithm does not understand that it is the same apartment. The thing to know is that people, and you all do this when you're looking for a vacation, you take the title of the hotel apart, that you saw in Google, you copy and paste, and you look at the other reviews, and if you can't find cheaper on the right or left. People, when you're going to do this on Airbnb, you paste the title into Google, and Google won't understand that Booking is the same ad as Expedia, it's the same ad. For what ? Because you didn't put the same title on the same ones on the ads. And you will see a hotel, the local Mercure hotel, it is called the same thing on Expedia or on Booking. It doesn't have two different names. It’s not “hotel with sea view” on one side, and on the other side, “4-star Mercure hotel”. It has the same name. For what ? So that people quickly realize whether it’s the same hotel, or the same apartment. And the same, so that Google understands in the algorithm that there are keywords which are repeated repeatedly on different pages, and that these are therefore important keywords. And so, that’s also how things come out. So what I mainly advise people to do is to put the same name on Airbnb, Booking, Expedia. All the ads where you put your ad, all the platforms where you put your ad, you put the same name so that it improves SEO, and so that people understand that we are in the same apartment. So that’s 3 – 4 very simple tips to put in place, but which already allow you to outperform your competitors. And also above all, the last point, to have calendars that are correctly synchronized. Because the platforms hate it when there are either overbookings, or calendars that are not updated. Platforms hate it, and so do your travelers. So, it's important to sync your calendars. I always advocate using a Chanel manager for this. Many people tell me that for just one item, it’s not worth it. I tell you that yes. It's worth it, because it allows you to sleep soundly. Synchronization is done correctly, and above all, the advantage of a Chanel manager is that it allows you to automate a set of things. And so, I highly recommend it. A Chanel manager, now, is barely the price of a night's stay, or even less, in one of your apartments. So frankly, for the price of a night, I find it a shame to worry about synchronizing your calendars every day, or to simply use the ical calendar that Airbnb and Booking offer you, with significant sources of errors. Because the i call is not what we call a two-way synchronization, it is a one-way synchronization. So, there are quite significant risks of errors. And I still see it daily, people who tell me: “I'm overbooked, yet I'm on an i call. » Indeed, i call is not designed to have instant synchronizations. And people who bother to send messages to their travelers every day always saying the same thing. I take the example of Amazon. When you go to Amazon or when you rent an apartment or hotel with Ibis, you receive an automatic message straight away. And yet, you still go there. Or you're going to take the Amazon product anyway. For what ? Because you don't care if it's a machine sending that message, or if it's a human being. You just want to have information regarding your order, or regarding your reservation. So it’s important to automate as many things as possible. Afterwards, your travelers will undoubtedly ask you more detailed questions about certain things. There you can answer, there is no problem. But in 95% of cases, most replies will be in your automatic messages. You will save a lot of time. And I see it on a daily basis, many people say: “Yes, but the quality of the notes is decreasing. " No way ! The quality of the notes does not decrease at all. Because the people I target are people who are looking to become independent, in a property, and who are not frustrated by automation. And it is stated in my ad that the entry is autonomous, it is automated, etc. So, the people who come to my apartments are people who are aware of this, and who don't particularly want to meet the owner or meet people. On the other hand, they want something to feel at home and feel comfortable. On the other hand, people who actually aim to seek human contact or others, they will look at certain more specific advertisements on Airbnb, or look for guest houses. I wouldn't have told you that in 2017, at the start of my short-term rental adventure. But now, automation, automatic entry, automatic messages, it's become standard practice. And people, a lot of people are looking for that when they go to Airbnb. These are really the customers you need to target.
− Absolutely. Like you, I have also heard prejudices about automating, particularly arrivals. And there is also an important point that people forget. People who have not yet tested automation, autonomous check-in, may say to themselves: “Yes, but which clientele? » You see, what type of clientele is going to be interested in this. In the end, we forget that the business clientele, which is an excellent clientele, that we really want to capture, they love that, precisely, autonomous arrivals. Because the guy who is in sales doesn't want to go through the hassle of finding someone. He doesn't know what time he's going to arrive, he doesn't know when his client meeting will end. The person in training, the same. And these are people who love autonomous arrival. It's not necessarily a particularly negative clientele, it's people we want to have in our apartments.
− It’s sure. For people who are afraid of having a certain clientele in their home, it is mainly the price that must be considered. And therefore, precisely, do not undercut the prices. Because when you cut prices, that's where, in fact, you can have a clientele that puts you in difficulty, and who does not meet your expectations. On the other hand, automated entry is not the basis for whether or not you are going to filter customers. What's more, indeed, automated entry is increasingly sought after by people, even tourists. I see him in Dijon. I have a lot of Dutch people, for example, who cut the road in two to go down to the south of France. They don’t know what time they will arrive in Dijon, they tell me straight away: “I don’t know, with the road, the traffic jams, I can maybe arrive at 5 p.m. or 10 p.m. How does the entrance work? » So, I tell them automated entry, and that reassures them. They say to themselves: “I'm not going to be blocked at the door, I have the code, I can come home peacefully with my little family, and I don't have to wait for you to hand over the keys. » So that's why I say that it has become part of the customs. A lot of people are interested in this, a lot of people are more and more mobile, and need a certain flexibility to get into apartments or properties. On the other hand, people who are really looking for human contact, don't worry, they will look for places where they will have this human contact, as I said earlier, guest houses where they can sleep with locals. , where there, indeed, they will be in contact with people, but they know it very well.
− Yes, that’s it. Well, I think that here, you have given us a nice overview of the expertise that you have developed over all these years. It was super interesting, both about the company, subletting, and even your external seasonal rental properties. Now the question I think we're all asking ourselves. I speak on behalf of the people watching us. Nicolas, how do you do that? Having done all that for all these years on top of your permanent contract, knowing that people may not know it, but I know it, because we know each other a little. I mean you're not a geek alone in your apartment, behind your computer, that is to say you have a wife, you have friends, you were on vacation with a friend last week, you see. So there you have it, you have a completely normal and fulfilled life, a social life, a professional life, and a life as a business manager. Are there any keys that made you think it worked for you?
− One of the keys, I come back to what I said initially in the video, I always remember why I initially started investing in real estate, and after becoming an entrepreneur, that is to say to free up my time and have a certain freedom. So for me, indeed, everything I create around my main professional activity, like my investment or my entrepreneurship, behind it, I create a structure which can turn on its own, which must turn on its own. So that's why, and I often say it, I, in my structure, in my company, have three pillars. The first is to automate everything I can automate. Everything that I cannot automate, I delegate, so that it is not up to me to work in the business, but I work above the business, so that I can manage it. And thirdly, I standardize as many things as possible in my short-term rentals. Standardization does not mean that everything is the same, but that there are certain things that are similar. For example, all my dishes are Kia. My entire coffee machine is Senseo. For what ? Because if I have a problem, a dish that breaks, my team or myself, we are not going to run from right to left to find exactly the same dishes. We go to Kia, we know that we will meet again, our supplier will be able to give us everything we need. I have a problem with a coffee machine, I know exactly where I bought it, I'll get the pesetas back or I'll buy a Senseo directly. And I'm not going to bother when I go to restock, grab some coffee pods and say to myself: "That's Nespresso, that's from Gusto, that's something else." thing”, and struggle when we go shopping. All of this means that we save a lot of time and energy over time. Indeed, with delegation, we can say: “Yes, but that means losing margin and profitability. " It's true. If I do everything myself, I gain in profitability and margin. On the other hand, I no longer have a life, and indeed, I become a geek, and all day I spend hours behind my computer, or either in the field managing things. The problem is that in these cases, it would no longer correspond to my why. My why is to create a side activity, which will allow me to free up time later. For what ? Because my goal is one day to leave my current professional activity. But for now, I'm not leaving her. Why don't I leave her? For several reasons. The first, I still love what I do. Secondly, I have a professional activity which still allows me to borrow from the bank easily. This is also why since 2017, I have managed to buy my eight properties for rental investment. So there you have it, it’s a big advantage, so I’m keeping it. Because we must not forget, even if many people will sell you dreams on the internet or on YouTube, when you become an entrepreneur, you will break out of all the boxes of the banks. So that means that for several years, it will be complicated, at least on your own, unless you join forces with people, to continue investing in real estate. I'm not saying it's impossible. Everything is always possible. But in any case, it's difficult. That is to say, even if all of a sudden, you say to yourself: “I manage to get 1500 euros and 2000 euros out of my salary company every month. » Knowing that if you take out 1500 or 2000 euros in salary every month, it is not 2000 euros that you need in profits in a company, but at least double, and above all leave cash in the company for the protect. After all, you are not going to become a banker easily. The bank will tell you: “You no longer have a permanent contract, you have just created a company, you do not yet have enough balance sheets, you are therefore a person at risk for us. We cannot continue to finance you in this way. » That's why when I hear, on the internet: "You can earn a minimum wage with two sublets", yes, it's true. Technically, that’s 1200 euros. But already if I take these 1200 euros out of the company, it no longer makes 1200 euros. And if you go to the bank to invest with that and build wealth, there's a good chance they'll tell you no. This is reality. So for me, that’s why today, I maintain my professional activity on the side. And recently, the advantage of having a professional activity on the side forces me to do what I said at the beginning, that is to say, to create a company that can run on its own. That is to say that I have my professional activity, and as I have my professional activity, I don't think about subletting, I don't think about my business, it happens by itself. Because I have people who are there to make things work. And precisely, my objective is that the day I leave my current professional activity, it is not to create a second profession. Otherwise, I keep my current job and I don't need to worry about that. So the idea is, on the other hand, when I leave my professional activity, to have even more free time than I currently have, and to bring, precisely, the added value that I wish to bring. That is to say, helping people, coaching people. That's really the added value that I want to bring, because it corresponds to my personality, it corresponds to my why. So it's true that it's I come back to what I was saying earlier, I always think about why I wanted to do that. Afterwards, there are people, perhaps they have a very difficult professional activity, and they want to leave it; because they are burned out, they are in difficulty, etc. And perhaps they will have a completely different state of mind, telling you: "I don't want to delegate anything, but I want to do everything on my own as much as possible, because I know that in any case, that will always be better than what I'm currently experiencing. »And why not? There is no better or worse. It's just that you always have to think about why you are doing that, for precisely, for those who do not want to create a second activity, you create a second activity and you become a slave to short-term rental, and that would be a serious error. Or conversely, those who really want to leave their current professional activity, because it becomes very difficult for x reasons, in these cases, to develop that, perhaps, by delegating a little less. But on the other hand, we will still have to automate and standardize many things. And that's why when I do coaching, it's the first thing I ask. I ask the person to introduce themselves and explain why and how they want to put things in place. And then, we personalize the support that we put in place based on the reason for this person. The idea is not that people do exactly, down to the comma, what I do. It fits my personality, and not everyone has my personality, and fortunately so.
− Nicolas, if we want to find you, what do we do? Where are we going? Tell us. How can we contact you, watch your videos, follow what you do?
− To follow my content, you either go to Instagram, YouTube, or its website, automaticbnb.fr. And so there, you will have all the tips and tricks to optimize and automate your short-term rental. And if you want to contact me personally, it’s on contact@automaticbnb.fr. As I say regularly, it's me who responds personally, so maybe, you will send me a message today, I will only respond to you in 10 days, because there is no one someone else who answers for me. And since I receive a lot of emails, I try to provide a substantiated response to your emails. It may take a while, but in any case you will get an answer. So if you want to contact me personally, it’s contact@automaticbnb.fr. If you want to follow content, it's on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook page, and my website called automaticbnb.fr.
− And if we have an owner who looks at us, and says: “I would definitely entrust my apartment to Nicolas so that he can sublet it. »Can he contact you?
− He can contact me. Me, as I said, on the other hand, at the beginning, I do it in three very specific cities, three very specific sectors! So if this person is in the specific sector in which I am, it will be with great pleasure. If I'm not in the sector, I can always put him in contact, if he wishes, with other people I know, and who might correspond a little more to his sector. My goal is not to go all over the place, precisely, to maintain this flexibility, and then this free time that I have. Because to have this free time, as I said, I have a team behind it, and my team is in very specific sectors. The idea also is to do quality work, so I'm not going to say yes to an owner just to please them. On the other hand, with great pleasure. I will accompany him, I will help him find either another sub-let, or conversely, if it is in my area, I will come and visit the property with great pleasure, I will meet him with great pleasure. And if we can do business, it will also be with great pleasure.
− Great, great. Listen, I'll put all the links you talked about, so the link to your YouTube channel,
− I would put your email just below, in the info bar, so you will just have to click if you want to subscribe to Nicolas's channel, which is super interesting. So, don't hesitate to go see him, or write to him directly. Thank you very much, Nicolas, for everything you shared with us. It was super interesting.
− Thank you again for your invitation, and then as I tell everyone, we just have to take action now.
− Great, great. That’s a good final word.
If ever, on the I'm displaying Complete side, you are not yet in our Facebook group called seasonal rental prices and maximization of turnover, I will also put the link just below. Nicolas, he is also with us in this group. So, don't hesitate to meet us and so, I'll see you Thursday.
− Thanks again to Nicolas for being with us today.
I'll see you soon for the next video.