Quote from @Luke Carl:
Looking in Nashville was your first mistake. That's one of the worst places in the nation to try to short term. It's no surprise it left you disinterested. Short term belongs in vacation towns with very few hotels. Not big cities.
Yes there is an over saturation in Vacation rental markets, but with the right amenities, stylings and hospitality experience a differentiation can be established resulting in consistent ROI. AirBnb has 50% turnover with hosts, changes in regulations play a part, but a majority of the attrition is due to the fact that people think its a "get rich quick" platform and don't do the work of learning the market, learning the business, and learning the resources available to supercharge their service... so they get frustrated and quit. We operate in Orlando, FL an MSA larger than that of Nashville and have had sustained success for the last 6 years. Success can be had in any market, be it flyover country, beach front or fifth avenue Manhattan... you just have to work for it.
As far as the "shine" wearing off of STR's... is a quarter still worth .25 cents if the varnish is stripped and stained a little? Value is what matters most not appearance. It's frankly a good thing that there is a cooling off in the eyes of the average bear on the viability of STR's as a solid investment vehicle to deliver them a better tomorrow. The frenzy moving from the forefront to an afterthought in the public consciousness takes a lot of air out of the bubble and pressure off of everyone involved--pressure off aspiring operators because they are onto the next thing, pressure off existing operators because the inflation/oversaturation abates, pressure off "evil investors" because people that don't know what they are doing aren't overbidding for properties and contributing to the abysmally low long term housing supply step back, pressure off local governments to fight "investors" from taking over their communities... The same way a recession is a moment of opportunity in the stock market, this is no different. The shine wearing off is a GOOD thing long term.
STR's aren't going anywhere for many of the astutely aforementioned reasons noted by others. Make an informed decision and pull the trigger Robert, there is tremendous value to be had!
