Airdna Data Accuracy + Example

[Chris Cantrell]

Hi All,

I am building up a short term rental portfolio. I have seen various posts praising and critiquing different STR revenue estimators (Airdna, Mashvisor, etc.)

I am getting some value from Airdna but there are specific recurring issues which leave me confused. Curious if anyone else is encountering.

Common "error":

Stats from Airdna: 

  -Property Average daily = $120

  -Occupancy = 70%

  -Annual Revenue = $20k

You would expect $120 x 365 x 70% = Annual revenue however it calculates to ~$30k (not $20k) AND this is supposed to include cleaning fees.

This disconnect is present on way too many listings to mark it up to "calendar is mostly blocked."

Either Airdna is using hidden assumption or providing extremely poor data.

How exactly is their revenue calculated? 

Thanks!

-Chris

[Julie McCoy]

There are things about AirDNA I find useful as guidelines (I like that it'll map demand across months, for example) but I don't think the hard data is credible.  I would definitely not use it for estimating revenue.  As @Luke Carl said, the best way is to just spend a bunch of time on AirBNB and VRBO looking at comparable properties and their calendars.  It's tedious because those systems aren't designed for that, and calendars aren't always accurate (and don't show any history of booked days), but it's the best you're going to get at this point, I think - unless you can get an owner to talk to you!  That's REALLY the best way.  :)