3 Innovative Income Streams for Landlords

Landlords can now offer their services to more people than just their tenants. Boutique hotel, Wi-Fi distribution, and buyer’s club opportunities are wide open to apartment owners of all sizes. Here is how you can get started developing these income streams:  

1.   Tap Into the Hotel Market

Repurposing one or more of your units as a hotel room might be quite lucrative. If your building is in a metropolitan area or near a popular tourist district, you may be able to charge hotel rates instead of apartment rates. Get started by placing an ad on . That is all it takes for your furnished unit to be considered by travelers looking for alternatives to a hotel rooms. Airbnb and other peer-to-peer websites are quickly growing in popularity as people look to share resources and save money.

Alternative hotels attract people looking for comfortable homes away from home where they can save money by cooking for themselves and not paying for a housekeeper. Since airbnb manages your calendar, making it possible for travelers to effortlessly book weeks at a time, the offering should be pleasant for your guest and lucrative for you. Add keyless locks (either a simple combination style or Wi-Fi supported locks) to your doors to simplify the check in/out process.

Reframing how you rent your unit(s) could be an easy way to create more money with your existing asset.

2.   Tap Your Wi-Fi Profit Center

It’s time to take a fresh look at providing Wi-Fi to tenants and surrounding neighbors. Technology is always changing. Now you can install a cloud-managed router that allows multiple users to have their own password-protected accounts and share one broadband access point. These smart router devices intelligently manage bandwidth to direct any unused capacity to whoever needs it at the time.

How does this help you make money? You simply charge a small monthly fee for a newsletter and give subscribers complimentary Wi-Fi access. Structuring yourself in this manner allows you to operate just like a Starbucks or any other business that gives complimentary Wi-Fi to customers.

Super charge your tactic by extending your “newsletter” service to surrounding neighbors. If the neighborhood is densely populated or if you have a powerful Wi-Fi signal, you should be able to generate a sizeable cash flow.

3.   Tap Into the Collaborative Economy

All too often we pay market rates because they don’t collaborate with neighboring landlords or homeowners. A number of profitable opportunities exist for those willing to assemble a buyer’s group. By coordinating neighboring property owners to negotiate group rates on reoccurring expenses, a typical landlord can become an association manager worthy of compensation.

For example, one savvy landlord collects money from her neighbors for landscaping services and pays the gardener $75 less than she collects. She plays the middleman. This same tactic can be used for weed abatement, gutter/window/carpet cleaning, snow removal, etc. The potential deals are endless, but the principle is the same. If your surrounding property owners need a reoccurring service, then you have an additional income opportunity.

Landlords Are Not on Fixed Incomes

Landlords can create additional income by creating savings for travelers, their tenants, and surrounding neighbors. It’s just a matter of extending existing services into new markets. This mindset will help you grow your cash flow even ESPECIALLY during recessionary times.

Al Williamson collects cash flow ideas for landlords. Follow his at www.leadinglandlord.com.