All Forum Posts by: Tyler Work

@Perry Ivy once you get into the AirDNA data (if it exists in your area) make sure you're factoring out cleaning fees, host fees, and taxes from the revenue numbers.  Everbooked is also another resource that offers free revenue reports that you can use as a second opinion.

In addition, I don't think anyone mentioned this but a third way to triple check your revenue projections is to actually create your Airbnb listing.  Once you get partway through the process, Airbnb tells you how much you should expect to make on a monthly basis based on other listings in your area.  

Once you've done your homework on Everbooked, AirDNA, clicking around on other listings, and using common sense, you should be able to make a relatively safe bet on whether your STR will cash flow positive in your area. I spent about $3500 furnishing and starting up my 1 bedroom here in Denver so if you can do it for $1k I'm impressed!

Hey @Michelle Zarlengo I'm going to disagree with some of the other responses here.  I'm a little biased since I do LTR here in Denver, but I think short term rentals can actually be LESS wear and tear on the property due to it being cleaned 5-10 times per month by a professional cleaning service, and the need for it to be in great condition for fear of the host getting bad reviews.  I'm not really sure why people assume that guests only staying a few nights destroy a property, typically they are out exploring and not even in the house at all.  In addition, the appliances rarely get used as guests frequently eat out, and don't do laundry at the property.

I pay market rate for all of my properties and agree with @Michael McKay, my landlords are all very happy with the deal.   

@Corriene McKeown as a young whipper snapper I'm a firm believer in keeping assets, especially if it is producing cash at it's current rental rate.  It is totally up to what feels right in your current situation, but your primary residence is not a (cash producing) asset, it is a liability, and I'm never a fan of selling an asset to buy a liability.  

If real estate investing is not your thing, and you plan on having other means of retirement, go ahead and sell.  Another thing you could consider would be to rent to a professional management company on a long-er term basis and allow them to rent it out on Airbnb.  Would be happy to share more info on this if you're interested. 

Hey @Omar Ruiz I've had way more success with Google Adwords vs. Facebook ads.  If your leads could potentially come from a Google search, I think paying for Google ads boost your SEO in general searches as well and helps your website get out into the interwebs.  Once I started paying for Adwords I started getting calls.  Upping your SEO isn't something they advertise that paying for Adwords does but I definitely think it helps.  

Adwords support is also pretty awesome, and there are always discount codes floating around.  Would love to hear how your class went!  

@Ethan Cooke I'm with @Myka Artis and @Michael McKay in that I'm really only familiar with vacation rentals i.e. shorter term stays.  In the year and a half I've been hosting I have never had a 30+ day stay from someone on vacation, but I know it happens occasionally.  Also - I doubt you'd be competing with hotels so I'm not sure that would be a factor. 

You should also try posting your listings to Craigslist, I know @James Carlson has success listing his corporate rentals pretty much exclusively through CL and gets significantly higher rent vs. long term rental.  From what I've heard, travelers renting "mid term" rentals are also pretty picky on location and prefer smaller units with great amenities. 

Hey @Maxwell Lee, I don't think anyone has mentioned this but sometimes larger, higher end properties can actually have the highest return.  In Denver, there are very few properties that sleep 10+ guests, and therefore there can be a niche market for these homes.  You'll have to deal with more bachelor parties, etc, but sometimes it can make sense financially.  I personally know a host who made $19,000 in the month of July on his 4 bedroom 4 bath near DU.  You just can't get those types of returns on 2 bedrooms since there are so many of them.  Having said that I own a very small 1 bedroom that has been a great rental because it is in an area with almost no hotels.  

I also very much second @James Carlson's advice in doing your due diligence on your carrier and the local laws (I've heard Miami is cracking down).  

Hope this helps! 

Hey @Lindsay Broome you could also check out Pensacola.  Their mayor was recently featured in an Airbnb ad so I think that means they're pretty friendly towards STRs.  My dad just bought a duplex, each side 1 bed 1 bath in Pensacola proper (not on the beach) and I'm projecting it to have decent returns.  A recent Rented Report listed Destin as their #2 best city to invest in under Nashville (which is currently a horrible city to invest in due to regulation) so I can second @Valerie Rogers on her choice of the Destin area.  

@Rick Baggenstoss Not sure if anyone on this thread is actually using Tokeet but I do and can speak to it.  I second everyone on Smartbnb, by far the best and significantly cheaper than some of the other automation tools I've used such as AirGMS.  It would be great if it worked on all platforms but for a bootstrapped startup I don't anticipate that feature coming anytime soon.

Tokeet's message automation definitely leaves something to be desired but it does work as advertised and gets the job done.  Sending invoices and guest rental agreements is incredibly fast once you have it set up. I personally don't want to give away 3% of my rental revenue revenue to Guesty, or 10% of it to Evolve, so I have made do with Tokeet and Smartbnb to "manage" my rentals.  Tokeet has no onboarding fee and their pricing model is set up to scale.  Support is pretty good and I'm going to stick with them for now until something better comes out.  Another local company in town uses Lodgix for their 100+ listings so I have to assume that it also works well.   

Tokeet integrates with Slack, Mailchimp, and allegedly soon will integrate with Quickbooks.  Their website tool is a bit crude for my taste but allows me to take direct bookings and market outside of Airbnb to save guests 10-20% on booking fees.  Overall it is pretty powerful for what you pay for.  I've done the demos on platforms that have $1500+ onboarding fees and I just don't see the major difference.  

Hey Selena I use Cameron Schultz, a local agent here in Denver for Farmers insurance. I had a very tough time finding insurance for my STR business and he has been great to work with. Tell him I referred you if you end up calling :)

Hey @Kyle Seidel I frequently put together projections for clients here in Denver and I think your returns will depend largely on what your bottom line is. If you're planning on putting 25% down you are likely to be able to cash flow (assuming a hot area) even with a property manager charging 20%. Most cities have pretty bad seasonal swings so you might lose money in the winter but make it up in the summer. I have done projections for people in suburban areas where it actually makes more sense to LTR than STR due to travel demand. Check out AirDNA and Everbooked to get a pretty good idea for the gross rents you might see in your area and click on other Airbnb rentals to see what they are charging.

I also definitely echo @Stone Jin on the growth of listings.  Its not quite 20% anymore here in Denver (growth has started to plateau) but the returns are starting to decline.  

Hope this helps!