So What If Airbnb Is Crashing Right Now...

[Erin Spradlin]

I'll try to limit my rant here, but since the Wall Street Journal published a somewhat nasty article about Airbnb investors in late April and I represent a lot of Denver Airbnb Investors and Colorado Springs Airbnb investors, I think it's important to point out a few things, and see if my fellow BP-ers are of the same opinion or a totally different opinion. 

• Airbnbs (and short-term rentals) have classically been a good investment, with returns that were often 2-3 times that of traditional long-term investments. By that standard, even with the downturn, you have a 2-3 year pocket against a long-term investment 
  
• Yes, a lot of short-term investors leverage their properties to buy more properties (utilizing a HELOC), but that's not any different than what many standard long-term investors do

• This situation is awful for a lot of reasons, and may keep short-term rental numbers depressed for the next year- but a lot of short-term investors already know what a depressed season is like because rentals don't do as well October-March. In that case, they get converted to medium-term rentals, and that can and has been happening here as well
• We're a little vulnerable right now, but not making decisions because a once in a lifetime pandemic might show up does not seem like a wise investment strategy to me