Pueblo, CO-Short Term or Long Term?

[Eric Honas]

Hello all!

This is my first BP post! I look forward to anyone's insight on this.

I am looking to take the plunge on investing and have been looking at Pueblo, CO for some time now. I know that as prices rise in Colorado Springs people are moving further south to avoid the price hike, and Pueblo offers much less expensive options. I have a friend that recently purchased a 6 bed 3 bath property there and uses it as a short term place via Airbnb. He has reportedly made 3x his mortgage payment in the first month and is trying to convince me that this is the way to go if I invest in Pueblo.

Here are my issues with this. I am a Denver, Colorado native and Pueblo has never really been a "vacation" place and that's how I see Airbnb. We use companies like that to find cheaper options while on vacation rather than a resort. So what is bring people to Pueblo, CO to spend time off of work? If people are leaving CO Springs to move to Pueblo then they are looking to relocate, not rent an Airbnb and hang out for a weekend. 

Am I missing something or is long term rental the better option here?