Deciding number of guests for short term rental

Member since 2020 · 9 posts · 0 votes

I know based off of reading this website that airDNA is not always accurate with projecting revenue. I am looking at a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom place with a bonus room. I was thinking of doing king beds in the two main bedrooms, and then a queen + a bunk bed in the bedroom downstairs, which is adjacent to the bonus room. Then I was thinking of putting a sofa sleeper in the bonus room. However, airDNA drops my projected revenue by 4k and occupancy by 10% if I increase the number of people to 10 from 8. Is that just because the way the algorithm is designed? Is it actually better to sleep fewer guests?

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Adam TafelBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · St. Paul, MN · Member since 2017 · 575 posts · 395 votes
6y
I really doubt that statistic is accurate. What's the square footage of the home? What are you local laws and occupancy restrictions w/ fire dept? If it's a big home in an area with lots of tourism, and you can charge big money for shorter (1-3 night) stays perhaps it will pay off. I've found that packing as many guests as possible into a property is sometimes asking for trouble (parties, big cleaning fees, damage). Your setup sounds fine though, sleeper sofas are your best friend in the Airbnb game.
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Melissa Wesling
Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2020 · 148 posts · 97 votes
6y
In my experience, we charge more for our larger property. We have a 3 bedroom and 6 bedroom STVR. As mentioned above, check the regulations. Our city has a formula for the max number of guests based on bedrooms and floors (I don't believe we can count a bedroom in the basement). Pull out sofas are okay if they fit into the formula. Our 3 bed has to max at 8 and 6 bedroom sleeps 14 max.
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Neil Henderson
Specialist · Carolina Beach, NC · Member since 2016 · 390 posts · 496 votes
6y
Check the occupancy limits for the area and make sure you aren't overcapacity. Smaller properties will typically have higher occupancy but lower revenue. In many areas, a property that can comfortably (and legally) sleep 10+ people will be in a class by itself and able to command higher rates.
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