SEMO Short Stays — filling a rental niche

Success in business sometimes turns on finding an unserved gap in a market and finding a way to fill it.

Amber Kimbrell, a real estate broker saleswoman with eXp Realty and a 2007 Jackson High School graduate, said she believes her family-owned business, SEMO Short Stays LLC, is addressing such a niche.

Kimbrell's endeavor, which registered with Missouri Secretary of State John R. "Jay" Ashcroft's office in February, is aimed at addressing the dearth of short-term rental properties in the region by utilizing her own properties but also through her management of Airbnbs owned by others.

The 2010 Southeast Missouri State University alumna gave an example of a Cape Girardeau customer who had a near-desperate need for her services earlier this year.

"A husband-and-wife had sold their house to take a job elsewhere. The job fell through, however, and they had to stay local. I was able to find them a short-term rental. Within a few weeks, they were able to move on with another out-of-state opportunity," Kimbrell said.

"Sometimes closings don't happen when they're supposed to and someone's left homeless for a few days or longer. If I have a furnished rental, I can provide housing, and this was actually one of the thoughts I had whenever the business was conceived," said Kimbrell, who also noted people who "flip" property as a side business may need a place to stay between flips.

Flipping, according to ATTOM Data Solutions, a California-based provider of real estate and property data, is a term used by investors to describe the process of buying, rehabbing and selling property for profit.

Terry Baker, association executive for Southeast Missouri Realtors, is an owner of short-term rental property herself in the Branson, Missouri, area and told the Southeast Missourian she's appreciative of Kimbrell's entrepreneurship.

"It's a pretty cool (idea) and I know other owners who've recognized a need for short term rentals in our five-state region," said Baker, who has led the Cape Girardeau-headquartered real estate association since 2017.

Rental market

According to an analysis by Seattle-based Redfin brokerage, not only are there not enough rental units available, rents in the U.S. increased by 14% in December, the highest one-month jump in more than two years.

Austin, Texas; New York City; and the state of Florida as a whole, Redfin reports, saw rents surge by more than 30% in 2021.

A recent headline on www.americamortgages.com, illustrates the problem: "High rental demand, soaring rental prices."

Outlook

Kimbrell said she is eager to expand.

"I am looking to take on other owners who have their own properties that they'd like to make into an Airbnb and don't have a desire to manage it or know how to furnish it. I'd like to properly manage furnished short-term rentals for them," she said.

More information may be found at www.semoshortstays.com.