Airbnb vs. Furnished Finder

[Brandon Spurlock]

I'm a realtor/investor from Richmond, VA. Looking for some mid-term rental thoughts. Quick background: I currently rent 3 doors long-term. This would be my first crack at a mid-term rental.

I've got a property that I'd like to rent mid-term (30-90 days) to increase cash flow compared to a 12-month rental. Furnished Finder charges $99/year to advertise the property, and the landlord handles the rest (screening tenants, lease, rent collection, etc.). I'd likely use apartments.com to handle those details, as I do with my 12-month rentals. I'd assume the tenant base is mainly nurses and professionals.

The other option is to do a 30-day minimum on Airbnb, who collects a 3% fee, but handles the rest. A downfall of this process is the lack of tenant screening (background, credit, eviction checks) as far as I'm aware of. Feels like slightly more risk not being able to screen tenants outside of their personal Airbnb ratings/reviews.

Lastly, I could also market this by word-of-mouth to other realtors in the area and in my firm, as clients are always needing mid-term stays in between buying and selling their home. 

What else am I missing that may be a pro/con to FF vs. Airbnb? Are there other options that I'm not thinking of? Thanks!

[Bonnie Low]

Quote from @Brandon Spurlock:

Quote from @Bonnie Low:

I think you've captured it. Furnished finder is the primary source of leads from traveling medical professionals, though there are others like social media pages dedicated to travel nurses, for example. Furnished finder is pretty cheap and there are no fees because you don't actually book through their portal. It's just a lead gen source. Their communication platform is wonky, so be prepared for that. If you use Airbnb or another OTA you're going to pay their fees. Most people don't utilize a lease agreement for short term rentals but you absolutely will want to do this for an MTR due to tenant rights laws in your area. There's just a lot higher risk if you don't use one. Many people advertise on both because they tend to draw from a broader clientele if you use multiple platforms (i.e. more digital nomads on Airbnb). Whatever you do, don't skip the lease agreement and collecting a deposit. Those are far more necessary in the MTR space. 

That's a great point about including a lease, even with Airbnb. Would you advertise the need for a lease in your Airbnb listing in advance? Then once someone books, connect with them regarding the signing of a lease?

Yes, you would need to disclose it in your Airbnb listing. I don't personally list my MTR on Airbnb but I've seen plenty of people who do. And even some STR operators require guests to sign an agreement. It's less common, but some people do it. Generally speaking, you need to disclose EVERYTHING in your Airbnb listing because when people lodge a complaint about something, the Airbnb rep will look to see if it was disclosed and if it wasn't, 9/10 they're going to refund the guest without consulting you. Because Airbnb seriously penalizes you (and can kick you off the platform permanently) if you try to communicate with the guest off platform before it is booked, you have to deal with accepting the booking, then sending the lease agreement and hoping they sign it. I'm sure there are ways to make sure it gets signed - not providing the door code until it's signed would be one of them. Someone else could probably walk you through the logistics of how they handle this.

[Kayla Edgerly]

Quote from @Myka Artis:

@Brandon Spurlock FF & Airbnb both have their pros and cons. Furnished Finder for example depending on your market may not be the best option if you're renting out an entire place because nurses might not want to pay what you need just to make the mortgage and utilities however if you are renting by the room it may make more sense but of course, all of this is market dependent. You can google the average stipends for housing for travel nurses in your area and make that decision. 

Airbnb on the other hand is dependent upon how you set up your calendar. I get a lot of mid-term rentals through Airbnb because I have my calendar set up to attract them and I set my listing up to cater to business travelers.

You using your realtor network is a great way to get good clientele. You can also find people that are going through claims on their homes and need temporary housing. This is a great market because insurance is covering the cost of the stay. 

All and all its about knowing your target clientele and catering to them.

 Good thoughts! In what way is your AirBnB calendar set up to attract mid-term rentals?

[Kayla Edgerly]

Quote from @Conner Olsen:

Quote from @Brandon Spurlock:

Quote from @Conner Olsen:

 Personally 95% of my bookings are on Airbnb and my payout is higher from Airbnb than furnished finder.

Are you finding that guests booking through Airbnb are willing to pay a higher rate? And then even with fees, you're net is better than the lower rates you're offering at FF?

 Yes, here's an example of the rents for my property:

FF rent: $2,400

Airbnb guest pays: $3,100
Airbnb payout to me: $2,650

 Are you renting by room or entire home?

[Conrad Legé]

I like to give my units as much exposure as possible. I would list additionally on all other rental websites such as Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, Apartments.com etc. As far as Airbnb for MTR guests, I wouldn’t  underestimate it; some of my most profitable MTR bookings have been from Airbnb and I have had 0 issues thus far with any of the guests. I would certainly have them sign a short-term rental agreement prior to them checking-in however to protect your self from tenancy laws (not sure where you’re located). Harder to do a background check however I give that less emphasis personally due to the fact they are paying for that whole reservation in full upfront. I think if they were looking to stay 90+ days I would probably try and figure out a way to do a background check & screening.

[Jeremy Contreras]

I have a three bedroom townhouse that is within 5 miles of our medical district. I have it posted on both Furnished Finder and Airbnb. I have yet to host a tenant from FF. All have been from Airbnb. Yes, there are more costs associated with Airbnb but their platform provides me more inquires and smooth transactions. 

[Colleen F.]

@Jeremy Contreras  you make a good point about airbnb vs furnished finder.  FF since it was historically a health professional marketing tool leans itself towards smaller units (2 bed and below) or rooms because travels travel in ones and twos.  Roomies targets rooms.  And airbnb is a great place for larger units.