What is the best calculator for a STR?

[Wendy Vigeant]

We have the opportunity to buyout our Aunt's beach house.  We want to rent it out VRBO and AirBNB.  How can we see if it a good investment?

[Jacob St. Martin]

Hello Wendy, I would not recommend just plugging it into a calculator. I would do a couple of things:

1. Type in the address on airDNA and indicate the number of beds/baths the house has and the number of guests it could hold (normally two per bedroom). This will give you a ball park of what your ADR and occupancy will be. 

2. AirDNA will give you comps to compare your potential airBNB to. Check those out and go on airBNB directly and put in the location and the same number of bedrooms/guests to see who your competitor are. Click through their listing and see how booked their calendar is, what are they charging, how good are their listing photos, how good is the interior design, how good is the listing description, what amenities do they offer, etc. Get a feel for whether you might be able to outperform them, meet their level, or underperform compared to them. Do they all have horrible flip phone photos? Great! that gives you the chance to outperform them all by getting professional photography? Do they all have amazing photos, hot tubs, and a personal chef to cater to your every need? You might need to estimate your numbers a little lower. 

3. Get a good idea of your expenses. These may include: Cleaning Fees, Property Management, home insurance, Property taxes, Repairs, Utilities, Landscaping/lawn care, Capital Expenditures, Annual, Principal + Interest, Short Term Occupancy Tax, HOA, Mortgage Insurance, Management Software, pool/hot tub maintenance, flood insurance, and more depending on the property and area.

4. Once you have a good idea of your expenses and how much you will make plug it all into a spreadsheet and look at your ROI.

I hope this is helpful! Let me know if you have any further questions and I would be glad to help!