What Would You Do? San Francisco Medium-Term AirBnB Rental

[Ethan Cooke]

Hello BP Community - 

I would love to get your insight: I rented a 3BR/2BA home 5 blocks from my house with permission from the landlord to sub-lease to business travelers--very excited to start a rental business! I have spent the last 2 weeks painting, furnishing and feverishly buying bedding, towels and throw pillows. I just booked the rest of December for a net gain of about $1000 this month. I'm taking my inspiration from the OG Bay Area Rental Arbitrage Ninjas Al Williamson and J. Martin.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS about:

- how to improve the AirBnB listing below?

- how to maximize cash flow?

- how to find different tenant sources?

- key tips to scale the business? 

I WELCOME ALL CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK! (I realize the photos suck--the professional AirBnB photos will be ready any day now.)

@J. Martin

@Al Williamson

@Account Closed

The AirBnB listing is at:

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/21885572…

INCOME SUMMARY

I'm conservatively anticipating about $500/month in income before taxes during year 1 based on the numbers below, which come from my experience AirBnBing my own home in the same neighborhood. Once I've got my 3 AirBnB reviews and a good list of client organizations, I'm confident I can make $1000/month in year 2.

EXPENSES & ASSUMPTIONS
- Costs are about $4600 a month ($4000 in rent plus expenses of $500-$600 including utilities, wifi, renter's insurance, supplies, etc.).
- 20% vacancy for most of the year
- 15% discounted AirBnB rate for first 3 bookings

REVENUES & ASSUMPTIONS
I'm anticipating rent revenues of:
- $5500 for December (collected already)
- $4600 for January-February (break-even, including 15% discount)
- $5000 from March-May (including 15% discount)
- $6000 from June-September (assuming just 10% vacancy in summer)
- $5500 during Oct-November.

Once I book it out 5-6 months in advance, I can "introduce" my cautious wife to another rental home and start scaling the business...

Thank you folks for your wisdom!