How long for your Airbnb venture do you...

Question

I inherited my stepdad home unfortunately because of his passing...I have always wanted to do the Airbnb venture and thus unfortunately gave me the opportunity. I like the idea of short/mid term rentals more then the long term...one big reason is not having to move all of his stuff...or at least being able to take my time. My question is how long do you personally wait to see how your Airbnb venture is going to go until strongly contemplating long term? I'm not as booked as I would like to be, and according to others they are going through similar circumstances...Do you expect immediate profits larger then your yearly mortgage and other expenses or do you give yourself a year or 2 like other business ventures? Thank you.

John Litz · Answer

You may need help with the listing before throwing in the towel. My market is very over saturated. However after watching many folks on YouTube and following their advice I have since my first month been able to pay all the bills with bookings. Last month was my biggest month so far. I have been open only 1 year. From your post it sounds like you reused all of the current furniture. If it’s dated or just not an exciting looking theme that could be your first issue. When I do market research of other properties in my area I look at their theme. I don’t see any bad operators. All the properties are nice and well put together. However many of them look like what you get at a hotel. Nice but boring. Get some creative juices flowing and find a niche that you think people will connect with and lean into that theme

Erica Calella · Answer

Maybe a year? Only you can decide what's best for you, but for me a year usually feels like a good enough time to get a STR business off the ground. If you're aggressive with the advertising it could be done much sooner. Luckily my newest and largest property only took three months to complete all majors repairs and for bookings to start filling up consistently.

Do you have a mortgage? It sounds like maybe you don't (or have a smaller one) so that could take some of the pressure off and will definitely give you an edge.

Really hope it works out for you!!

Ernie Be · Answer

How long would you give yourself? Thank you for the response.

Erica Calella · Answer

Patience will be key here. It's true that demand seems to be low across the board this year for vacation or travel rentals. If you can weather the storm and some of the stress that comes with it, you may see a swing in momentum once the macroeconomic tides shift. My STR has been up and down all year, but overall I still see a lot of opportunity coming my way. I think transitioning to LTR will definitely remove a lot of the pressure, but the profits aren't where I would need them to be. Hang in there and try to keep yourself motivated.. you may be surprised to the upside in the end. If you aren't, then you'll know it's time to rethink your strategy.