AirBnB Revenue Collapse? Near 50% in some areas......?

[Bruce Woodruff]

[Andrew Steffens]

We are mostly in Tampa with 80 or so units.  Similar story: Solid until April, then fell off of a cliff.  In the beginning of May we hired a revenue manager in conjunction with our pricing software (RevMax).  Since then it has turned around considerably.  There are several issues at play IMO:

1 - Increased Supply - I would not quite say saturation (at least here) but higher supply means more options to guests and lower prices.

2 - Lower Demand - General Economic conditions coupled with high airfare cost and airfare hassle etc affecting demand.

Luckily for us FL is growing and has a strong historic tourist economy.  There will always be people wanting to visit Clearwater/Saint Pete/ Tampa beaches and other attractions. Our more unique/amenity rich homes with good locations are doing just fine.  The more run of the mill homes with cheap renovations and furnishings are suffering more.  To anyone suffering I highly recommend:

1 - Listing on more sites.  Airbnb brings in (across all properties) 40% or so of our bookings.  VRBO another 30%.  The other 30% are a mix from Marriott Homes and Villas, JetBlue/Allegiant Airlines, Google Vacation Rentals, Booking.com, out direct booking sites etc.  We are on 14 sites currently.

2 - Get serious on pricing.  We have had to lower our floor rates.  We have had to rent for prices lower than we would have ever imagined in June.  Inevitably the good properties will survive on slimmer margins and flourish again as the bad properties are forced out of the market.  Get good pricing software and consult with experts if that option is available.  

I hope this helps everyone!