Airbnb vacation rental

[Kim Herrick]

I finally took the plunge and purchased my first property last month and now I have the fever! LOL. I am now zeroing in on short term rentals. Specifically in Galena, IL which from first glance seems to have the ability to generate renters throughout the year and is a vacation destination area.

I am interested in receiving some feedback regarding Airbnb rentals in a vacation area. For those of you who have experience in AirBNB would you recommend a SFH over a condo or townhouse? Since this is a vacation area the HOA does not have an issue with the townhomes or condos being short term rentals.

Besides Airbnb what other platforms hav you all had success with. I know I’m late to the party with this. Is Airbnb pretty much what everyone uses exclusively? Is there anyone out there who has their short term rentals booked between 7-10 months out of the year? If so what do you attribute your success to

Any advice, feedback, tips and tricks would be greatly appreciated!

[Account Closed]

As the previous responses stated it really depends on the area. I list on everything from Airbnb to Homeaway to Booking.com. I even get into the specialty platforms like CanadaStays and MisterBnB.

What it really comes down to is what you are looking to get out of diversifying your listing platforms. For most 1-3 are more than enough to fill the calendar up but that usually consists of Airbnb, HomeAway, and TripAdvisor. These 3 platforms equate to 73% of all bookings and they’ve spends more than enough to ensure that they maintain that share.

What you also need to think about is not just where you list but WHAT you list. Quality listing, professional photos, strong focus on cleanliness and consistency. If you haven’t already there’s tons of information, videos, websites, guides, etc to educate yourself here on Bigger Pockets.

If you have any questions I’m more than happy to help out.

Good luck and happy hosting!