Any AirBNB Moguls Out There?

[Mackal Smith]

I've been fairly successful with duplex/triplex/quad acquisitions and rents over the past 2 1/2 years. I've ended up with a little over 25 doors and am happy with returns. My son recently picked up a SFR in the Bevo area and has it up on AirBNB. So far (even in the winter time which I figured would be really slow) he has pulled in about double the returns he had been seeing with his rental properties. Of course this caught my attention...

So... I'm looking at SFRs to do the same thing, but I would sure like to talk with someone who is already in the business just to make sure I'm accounting for everything as I start looking to expand into AirBNB. For instance, I have seen where Chesterfield, and Ellisville (in West County) have basically outlawed AirBNB. I have seen where other townships closer in to the city have done the same. I have also seen that AirBNB properties in the city are going to be charged a special tax, how would you track something like that and insure that those payments are made when they are due?

Some of the other questions I have are:

* Are there property managers for AirBNB properties or do "Moguls" manage the properties themselves?

* What are your thoughts on a multi-family vs single family as an AirBNB property? (Small multi-family ... like a duplex)

* As I'm evaluating properties I'm insuring that they would cash flow even if the city were to outlaw AirBNB so I think I'm being fairly conservative there, but what are some of your experiences with things like that happening?

I've done quite a bit of research (and listened to a ton of podcasts) on AirBNB properties, but like every new venture I would sure like to hear first hand about experiences others have had (especially in the City) with AirBNB properties.

[Account Closed]

Mackal Smith

One of the biggest challenges for newer hosts is getting the accounting down. Regardless if you have 3 doors or 100 doors having a systematic process in place not only will make running properties easier, but will allow you to scale much quicker.

I manage 45 of my own units, 150+ for clients. I over see all of them but my day to day interaction for each property is not as involved as far as responding to inquiries and checking behind cleaners. I utilize area managers (which in your case would be your son) but utilize a property management software to have an overview of the entire operation. I also do my best to be as hands on as possible. It’s a full time job and then some but very similar to my experience working in hotels.

When looking at properties I look at data from companies like Airdna, but also do my due diligence by going over listings in the area on multiple platforms, I walk the neighborhood, and in some cases I’ll book Properties to see what the competitive set brings to the table. Take your time run your numbers and remember “if it doesn’t make dollars, it doesn’t make sense.” Understand what you want your return to be and run conservative numbers. I also do a doomsday scenario (legislation changes, if I don’t generate the return expected, can I do LTR, corporate rentals, etc). Depending on markets I prefer multifamily, it doubles your property revenue and simplifies operations.

I hope this helps and if you have any other questions feel free to reach out.

Happy Hosting