Landlord + AirBnb - investment versus payoff?

[Matt Oberski]

Hi all. I’m a property manager by day (so wish I could type out a cool superhero gig), and I rent my house to two roommates who pay my mortgage plus additional Cashflow. I need your help please!

Do you have experience in Airbnb? Is that the best method of renting out a shed about 200sf, and what type of experience do you have with it? Do you typically have people book for ...x days, weeks? My home and shed (not fixed up yet, so also part of the question is how quickly I should prioritize the build out) are located near the EdisonFord Estates in gulf side Fort Myers SWFL.

How much time does it take to run a successful Airbnb? Again is that the best method for renting it out, or VRBO? What types of food/items/amenities do you provide - Netflix, Cable, microwave, stove, cups, silverware, toothpaste etc the list can be exhausting.

[Kyle Parks]

@Matt Oberski

From my experiences -

1) Superhost

2) Ratings / Reviews

3) Amenities

4) distance from city center

5) price

When launching an airbnb i think of it like an airplane taking off. You need to hit the gas as hard and gain speed before you run out of runway. You do this by :

A) setting up the airbnb up front. I dont want to have to add stuff later. Exceeding guest expectations is the name of the game.

B) having a median rental price with the 20% discount for the first booking. (I don't try to make money at first - I try to get good reviews).

C) Have the best looking/ best photos of any listing in the area. Im lucky to be married to an iPhone genius. Her photos look straight out of home and garden.

Once you are in the air (to stay with the metaphor) and at a decent cruising altitude of 10-15 five star reviews- now you raise your rates a little and start to pay off the accrued debt from furnishing the place.

Many people dislike 1 night stays. I love them! More fast and easy reviews. The more reviews the more trustworthy your place is.

Get to cruising altitude. Get 5* reviews. Under promise. Over deliver. We have beers and bubble water waiting in the fridge for our guests. We put up a Christmas tree and decorations. Its your anniversary? Hand written note with a bottle of bubbly on ice waiting for you.

Other places have in their listing "bottle of wine waiting for you". Its tacky. Not the gifting of the bottle - but the fact that people are making a big deal of it.

Thats my 2 cents. I'm sure many disagree with how we do things but it works well in our market :)