West Hills, CA · Member since 2017 · 5 posts · 3 votes
Hi,
Are laws cracking down on Airbnb? I just heard on a BiggerPocket podcast that someone was killing it Airbnb. I got excited so I decided to look into it. Everything looked great in my area, Southern California, for Airbnb.
But then I started to see laws and permits against Airbnb and many cities in my area (Anahiem, Los Angeles, Santa Monica, San Diego) are not allowing Airbnb anymore and looks like that way for many major cities in the USA. It looks like its just getting worst.
Is there still opportunity in Airbnb and if so, where?
Specialist · Bozeman, MT · Member since 2016 · 237 posts · 153 votes
9y
In my market, we have a temporary ban on STR's, but my property is R4 zoning, so as restrictions get tighter, my profits increase because competitors drop out one by one. I've got one unit crushing it, and am remodeling 2 more units to get online ASAP. It's not like a traditional landlord type situation. You are in the hospitality industry at this point, and if you don't treat it as such, your reviews will take a hit, and your rankings will drop, and you won't make enough money.
My wife and I had years of hospitality experience before this, and we are loving it. It's amazing. Our guests love us. We are always booked, and getting repeat customers after 6 months (business people are our bread and butter, and being business owners, we know exactly what they need). They all hate hotels and motels because they are depressing. They always tell us how grateful they are that our place is like a home, filled with things to look at, read, watch, do, and play with. I've had people offer to pay me $3k per month to rent my unit, but I make more than that in the high season, and almost as much in the low. They just can't understand we would lose money if we rented it out to them long term.
With that said, there are a ton of pitfalls. Insurance, zoning are the two big ones. You will need to do your own research there, or just read my previous posts on it. As for taxes, I carry over lodging, bed, and the soon-to-be sales tax in my town, to my customers. Plus cleaning fees, and pet fees. A family traveling in my area isn't going to even blink at $100 cleaning fee. It is a crazy bargain for them to have their pet, 4 kids, and grandpa with them, rather than renting 3 motel/hotel rooms out. And I've got a nice landscaped yard with a firepit, and dog run for them... They love it. I have nothing but 5 star reviews across like 5 sites. Very satisfying business for us.
Are you still interested in doing the Airbnb Model?
My wife and I are doing it and LOVIN it. We have found great ways to manage it and we are in the southern california area. If you want to partner up, let me know!
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
8y
Don't underestimate reviews.
Last year I started all gung-ho with airbnb for 3 units. Since I had just started, I offered at very low rates, just to get reviews. Attracted cheap people and had 2 retaliatory 1-star reviews (1 of them they got mad that I woke them up at 11.30am, when their check-out was at 10am - airbnb deleted that review a month later - too late), (the other was a family that booked for July 4th, wife booked and husband decided he didn't like, so they left. Didn't cancel their booking and I couldn't rebook, so, I didn't give money back)
Airbnb then suspended my account for going below 4* average. I was new and didn't have enough 5* reviews to balance it out.
The average person doesn't realize that a 4* review is seen as a bad thing by airbnb. You'd think that it's below 'perfect 5*', so it's still a good rating - not so.
Rental Property Investor · Tennessee Florida · Member since 2016 · 4k+ posts · 5k+ votes
8y
There is a difference between an “AirBnB” and a Vacation Rental.
People have been renting out their homes on the beach to others since as long as the beach has existed. Centuries before AirBnB.
Rental Property Investor · Haverhill, MA · Member since 2016 · 25 posts · 7 votes
8y
In Massachusetts, there have been new laws proposed to have the host be responsible for paying the state and city lodging taxes. The thought being that AirBnBs are potentially taking business away from established hotels that already payout taxes. The ramification is that individual business owners aren't contributing in the same way that hotels and motels are.
However, the state is leaving the final decision to have towns and cities dictate whether and how they choose to handle short term rentals. Still lots of discussion here in MA!