Is Rental Arbitrage Viable in Clearwater/St. Pete? Looking for Insights & Networking

[Denis Orlov]

Hey everyone,

I’m exploring the idea of launching an Airbnb business in the Clearwater/St. Pete area and would love to hear from those who know the market well.

A bit about me — I’ve been in short-term rentals since 2013, starting with hotel management and rental arbitrage in Russia, then expanding to Germany in 2017. Rental arbitrage has worked really well for me in Berlin, generating solid profits with a high-margin model. Now, I’m looking at Florida, but it seems like most investors are focused on buying instead of arbitrage.

I'm aware of the zoning regulations, but I'm curious—how easy is it to find landlords in Business and Tourist zones who are open to leasing for subleasing? My goal is to start with rental arbitrage, build a solid property management team in the area, and then transition into acquiring properties for STR.

Would love to hear from anyone who has experience in this market:

• - Is rental arbitrage feasible here?
• - How do landlords generally feel about STRs?
• - Any major restrictions or city regulations I should know about?
• - Does it make more sense to go the DSCR loan route instead?

Also, I’ll be in the area for the next two weeks and would love to connect with people in person. If you know of any good networking events for real estate investors or short-term rental hosts, or if you’d like to grab a coffee and chat about these topics, let me know!

Looking forward to your insights — thanks in advance! 🚀