{"id":77484,"date":"2016-03-24T15:00:26","date_gmt":"2016-03-24T21:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=77484"},"modified":"2021-03-16T11:55:09","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T17:55:09","slug":"2016-03-24-3-easy-steps-discovering-airbnb-income-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2016-03-24-3-easy-steps-discovering-airbnb-income-potential","title":{"rendered":"3 Easy Steps to Discovering Your Airbnb Income Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"

The links to third-party products and services on this page are affiliate links, meaning that BiggerPockets may earn a commission (at no additional cost to you) if you click through and make a purchase.<\/em><\/p>\n

For the first time, I opened my front closet door. To be honest, I had never used it. There was no place to hang anything, and it was just a big empty space.<\/p>\n

Weeks earlier, I had begun to smell something funny in my and Bill\u2019s shared apartment. It didn\u2019t really bother me at first. After all, we were first-year university students, and unknown odors are usually Mom\u2019s department.<\/p>\n

All this changed when my new girlfriend at the time came up to visit me.<\/p>\n

\u201cGlenn, nice place, but seriously what is that smell? Let\u2019s go the mall!\u201d Words no boyfriend ever wants to hear.<\/p>\n

Once the odor started affecting our female guests, it was time to act!<\/p>\n

As I opened the front closet, broom in hand and scarf covering my mouth, two torn bags of garbage fell to the ground, revealing a mountain of similar bags piled in a heap of laziness.<\/p>\n

Bill ran into his room. The jig was up. He was caught.<\/p>\n

Despite having a garbage shoot 15 steps from our front door, Bill couldn\u2019t bothered. After all, he was a physics major with a busy schedule involving closed books and marijuana.<\/p>\n

Bill had to go. I knew something was wrong with this guy when he wouldn\u2019t let me name our wireless internet \u201cBill Wi the Science Fi.\u201d I mean, come on, that\u2019s genius!<\/p>\n

So, Bill was out, but now what?<\/p>\n

\u201cAirbnb!\u201d My friend Seb told me, as I recounted this incident that at the Royal Oak pub on campus.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, but I need someone longer term,\u201d I retorted.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, check it out. You can probably earn way more than a long-term renter since we are right in downtown Ottawa,\u201d Seb said, showing entrepreneurial side.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow much do you think I can earn?\u201d<\/p>\n

We both looked at each other with blank stares, like two children lost in the woods.<\/p>\n

\"airbnb-tax-impact\"<\/p>\n

What Is My Airbnb Income Potential?<\/h2>\n

And that is our task today, to give you three quick tips on how to find out your Airbnb income potential.<\/p>\n

Airbnb income is highly affected by location, property type, season, amenities, and proximity to desirable tourist locations. A three-bedroom flat in downtown New Orleans will fetch a different price than a Volkswagon Van in Missoula, Montana<\/a>. Know what I mean?<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong> The Tax Impact of Airbnb & Short-Term Rentals: What Investors Should Know<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

We will show you exactly how to get you Airbnb idea off the ground. Give it a number! What\u2019s your number?<\/p>\n

1. Airdna<\/h3>\n

Airdna<\/a> is our favorite Airbnb income data tool. It\u2019s truly amazing and free of charge. This website provides listing analytics by tracking the performance of Airbnb\u2019s over 2 million properties across 5,000 cities worldwide.<\/p>\n

Not only will Airdna give you an idea of how much you can charge, but it will also give you occupancy rates, seasonal demand, and amenities standard in your area.<\/p>\n

2. Airbnb Listings<\/h3>\n

A great income tracking mechanism is to see what your competitors are charging on Airbnb itself. Search for your city with random dates. This will give you a price range graph at the beginning of the Airbnb search results.<\/p>\n

Switch to map view so you can zoom into your particular location within the city results. This will give you a good idea of what others around you are charging.<\/p>\n

Do this three or four times with different dates so you can account for seasonable fluctuations.<\/p>\n

\"sharing-economy-investors\"<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0Other Sharing Economy Sites & Hotels<\/h3>\n

It\u2019s always a good idea to check out other short-term rental services, like VRBO\u00a0(to learn more about how to rent your place and list for free on VRBO, click here)<\/a> and Homeaway (click here to list your place for free on HomeAway\u2014only pay when you get a booking)<\/a>. Do the same thing as you did on Airbnb by searching your city and neighborhood to see what others are charging.<\/p>\n

Another fun exercise is to search hotel listings. Check out sites like Expedia, Hotels.com, or Hotwire to see what hotel prices are for your particular area.<\/p>\n

Related:<\/strong> AirBnB vs. Traditional Rental Income: A Creative Way for Investors to Cash Flow in Expensive Cities<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

Although Airbnb prices are much different than hotels, they will show you the decision consumers are making when choosing between traditional hotels or the sharing economy.<\/p>\n

Hopefully, with a few minutes of research you can find out an approximate figure that you can expect to earn on Airbnb.<\/p>\n

And despite my odor incident, I went on to marry that girlfriend. So it wasn\u2019t all that bad. And we are happy to announce that since the above incident, we have been garbage-room free.<\/p>\n

Do you know how much YOUR property could rent for?<\/em><\/p>\n

Check Airdna and share your Airbnb number below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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