Honest Discussion on STRs

[Derek Fike]

Hey Everyone,

I know that there has been quite a bit of conflict as to whether an STR can be profitable or not, so I figured that coming to this community for perspective would be best. I keep hearing that STRs are dead and that Airbnb/Vrbo will be a bust, but I can't help but think that there are other factors that are somewhat contributing to this thought, such as people getting into the STR game not know what they are doing, defaults due to communities putting in heavy restrictions on STRs, etc. It seems like this could have been avoided if people did more research before purchasing a property for an STR.

I personally believe that this is still a sound business idea if executed properly, however, whenever I talk to family and friends about this, most of them "down" this idea saying that there is no money to be made. For example, I have a connection in Dallas, TX who purchased multiple STRs in Miramar Beach, FL and claims to only be breaking even, which I found extremely difficult to believe because I also have a connection who owns a one bed, one bath condo in Destin, FL who made $78K in rental income, including the lodging tax and cleaning fees, and was still able to net approximately $35K in 2023. Therefore, I can't help but think that my connection in Dallas executed their STR in the wrong manner, but at the same time, they are having others pay for their condos which isn't bad either!

I've been highly interested in investing in a condo to advertise as an STR in Gulf Shores/Orange Beach, AL, Pensacola, FL, Okaloosa, FL, or Destin, FL, but have been lacking internal support and confidence to pursue this. I know that this is a personal flaw and that I should go for it if it makes sense to me after doing my own research, however, I can't help but think that it may not work out the way I believe it could based on all of the negative sentiment I have received from family and friends. Therefore, I figured I would come here to engage with professionals who actually do have a good amount of experience and/or success/failures in this area for any guidance, advice, etc.

Thanks everyone and I look forward to engaging in a productive discussion!