San Diego Vacation Rental vs. Regular Rental

[Paul Brockland]

Hello BP community, I'm a new member from San Diego. I'm adding a second story to my house with the plan of living on the second story (2bd/2ba) and renting out the first story (3bd/2ba). I live about 2 blocks from the beach and after looking at airbnb and vrbo, I got the idea to use the first story as a vacation rental to increase revenue.

Any thoughts on whether this is a good idea or anything I should be aware of? I know that it'll be more work than a typical rental but I feel that if it becomes too much I can always go back to renting it long term. Appreciate any comments.

[Evan R.]

Hey @Paul Brockland Welcome to BP!

Your thoughts are on the money about the extra work associated with a vacation rental. To handle turnover, you can set a minimum stay, and you can hire cleaners to get your first story ready for the next guests.

To handle key exchange, you can use a keypad lock that lets you program a temporary code for your current guest.

I looked at all 70 listings on AirBnB west of I-5, between Point Loma and La Jolla in San Diego that have three bedrooms. The average listing per night is $376.

The forecasted vacancy rate is 43%. This means that you can expect your first story to be vacant three nights a week.

If you want to look at the numbers, you can download the spreadsheet here.