STR Analysis: Rabbu vs. Airdna vs. ENEMY Method vs. Other

[Josh Green]

Hi All,

Looking to see people's opinions on their preferred STR occupancy and ADR analysis tools/methods. Which of the following do you see being the most accurate for you and your area and why? (Rabbu, Airdna, Enemy, other?).
For example, I see the following Pros/Cons for properties in the Tampa area:

Rabbu:

cons - revenue average even after looking at the top 75th percentile seems to underestimate real-world STR performance. Might have to do with their software taking all comps nearby despite several not really being made available 365.

pros - quickly pull nearby comps to get a visual idea of the top performing properties and what numbers to expect (by ignoring outliers in the mix).

AirDNA:

cons - occupancy in most cases seems to be underestimated when I compare to real-world STR owners. Often I do not look at their ADR but sometimes it is spot on based on my analysis

pros - general city stats and subject property analysis for occupancy rate estimations (conservative generally)

ENEMY Method:

cons - I've looked at live listings and their calendars and this doesn't often match up with what the host actually gets.  For example, I look at the next 6-8 weeks on their calendar and it might be 50% occupancy but the host actually gets 85-90% on average annually.  This might be slightly influenced by the seasonality but in many cases still doesn't always explain/justify using this method to get an accurate occupancy rate for a subject property.

pros - I like this method for getting an ADR.  Pull a handful of comps and see the live ADRs.  What you don't get is true ADR because their daily rates at the moment you look may be lower or higher than their annualized ADR due to seasonality.

OTHER Methods??

I know everyone raves about the enemy method on BP but wanted to see others' experience in their markets and what trends they see between these different tools and their accuracy/ability to estimate occupancy and ADR well.

[Christy Flora]

I primarily used the enemy method combined with Pricelabs market reports for my areas of interest. I started with about 10 areas ($100 for reports @ $10 each) and quickly weeded them down to my preferred two locations and then made an offer (and by "made an offer" - I made 10 offers until I got one in the crazy spring '22 market).  The Pricelabs market reports really helped me see my local competition and what I could "safely" offer on a home in the area.

[Bonnie Low]

Thanks for asking this question, @Josh Green. I'm interested in what people are using, too. I currently use Rabbu but recognize its limitations. Airdna is really expensive. The Enemy method is extremely manual and time consuming. I haven't found an efficient and reliable method yet.

[Michael Baum]

I have found that AirDNA overestimated our revenue. The enemy method seems to give me the best data.

[Robert Calabro]

I'm researching multiple markets, and AirDNA seems to be very pricey if you want access to multiple markets. Any suggestions on sources that are good for quick analysis before you dive deep on a certain property? 

[Nathan W.]

There's a lot to like about Rabbu. It's free, you can view seasonality, and you can filter results (pools, reviews, etc..). 
I do agree that their Revenue Projections can be on the low side though. My favorite feature is their Map tool. This gives you a quick snapshot of how the homes nearby are performing and a link to their Airbnb profile. 

I use a combination of Rabbu and the "enemy" method. One thing to look out for when using the enemy method. A lot of hosts jack up their rates for anything over 90 days. It's easy to look 5 or 6 months out and just assume they are getting a higher rate than they really are. 

[Bruce Woodruff]

I usually just check the competition directly, seems to make the most sense to me. I'll check out Rabbu and see what it does since it's free.....

[Josh Green]

@Christy Flora thanks didn't know pricelabs had this feature and I'll definitely look into it!

[Ryan Moyer]

They all have their pros and cons.  The big issues with each are...

AirDNA - Estimates are based on 1 year trailing data.  So when the market is shifting quickly (as it is now) the data lags and it ends up inaccurate.  IE in 2021 when the market was kicking, Airdna was using 2020 data and projecting low.  Now in 2022 with a bit of a slowdown, it's using outlier 2021 data and over projecting.

Rabbu - Rabbu I believe uses the next 90 days of calendar for its data.  So it is pretty subject to seasonality.  They try and use past seasonality ratios to calculate based on next 90 days calendar so they're accounting for it, but not using hard data, but if you pull up the same house in July and January it will give pretty different annual projections so obviously there are some issues with not having a whole year's worth of data.

Enemy - Good in a year round market like Orlando.  Difficult in highly seasonal markets.  If you pull up Destin at the start of June you see June/July calendars, which are going to look awesome, but you have no idea what it's like in the fall or winter.  Same thing if you look in the winter, you're going to see a bunch of places with empty calendars, but obviously houses in Destin aren't doing like $30k/yr like projecting out December numbers would give you.

As with most things, the answer is a combination of all 3.  Enemy method I think is more broad "is this place renting well or not?".  Luke has obviously used it with great success for both himself and his clients, so there's lots to be said for real world results.

[Allen Frantz]

Quote from @Christy Flora:

I primarily used the enemy method combined with Pricelabs market reports for my areas of interest. I started with about 10 areas ($100 for reports @ $10 each) and quickly weeded them down to my preferred two locations and then made an offer (and by "made an offer" - I made 10 offers until I got one in the crazy spring '22 market).  The Pricelabs market reports really helped me see my local competition and what I could "safely" offer on a home in the area.

 I really like this method. Pricelabs shows actual numbers for the trailing 12 months+, so you can see variability from one year to the next. It's especially handy when you compare monthly ADR while also allowing for monthly OCC numbers rather than yearly or seasonal numbers. 

The report also allows you to create custom comp sets and then look at each listing that you are interested in to compare using the enemy method. It's a bit more time consuming, sure, but using real numbers decreases the fumble factor a bit. 

As always, your mileage may vary...

[Carson McGee]

Our favorite tool to use is Pricelabs market dashboard. This is $10-$20 per 50km radius around a given city. It gives you insight into direct competitors annual revenue, occupancy, location etc. A pretty accurate and affordable tool to know what areas are worth the time to research further.

[Yna P.]

Check out this comparison for STR analysis!

[Nicole Balsamo]

I'm a huge proponent of Rabbu — all of their tools recently became completely free so it's a super quick & cost-effective way for me to do market and address-level research. I've read from some other people on the forums that the initial results seem a little off (I've seen it myself too), but I've found that if I select/deselect the comps they're pulling, the number seems to get a lot more realistic. 

[Paul Politte]

I've been using a combination of Pricelabs, Rabbu, and AirDNA. Am I correct that AirDNA includes cleaning fees in the Rentalizer's revenue projections and ADR numbers (as well as its data from comps), while Rabbu and Pricelabs do not?  

[Jason Wolohan]

I'm a fan of PriceLabs Market Dashboard. It's $10 per month (you can cancel after the initial load as you're not likely to need the data for more than 30 days) and you can select your radius.

You'll be tempted to go for the widest possible radius, but I'd suggest being more narrow, even if it means paying for a couple dashboards. This will help you narrow down to the neighborhood/resort that is most like the property you're looking at.

Once you have the dashboard, it'll give you estimated earnings for the last 365 days, average occupancy, and - my favorite - links to the Airbnb listings of those properties. Generally, I sort by highest revenue, then click my way down each link until I find the sweet spot for where my property would fit immediately. Then I have a goal and an idea of what it would take to move it into the higher tier.

The true answer here is a combination of a few of these sources though. Definitely don't rely on just one.