Am I doing something wrong? are those numbers good?

Question

Hello fellow STR investors!

I would love to get your feedback regarding a short term rental I listed on south Euclid Ohio this March.

I notice the  estimated profit until end of July going to be significantly lower than what i was hoping to get.

I am not sure if its because I just launch it and its normal or maybe I am doing something wrong and missing opportunities ?

here are the facts:

1 The house is a 4 bedroom 2 bath in a good quite neighborhood in South Euclid Ohio about 15 min  away from Cleveland  clinic

2 I invest around 60k to convert the house to short term rental  including finishing   basement turns into game room , new floors new paint new furniture's and appliances etc

3 I hired a professional photographer and list the house on March 1 2025  On Furnished Finder ,VRBO, booking.com & Airbnb (see link below)

https://www.airbnb.ca/hosting/listings/editor/13675445304904...

4 Numbers:

* until end of July  I am expecting to earn a gross total of 13,300 or about 2600 per month. my monthly costs are about 1000$ not including financing.

* since listing I had two longer bookings of about 6 weeks (with a significant discount)

* I got 2 bookings via VRBO and total of total of 4 via AIRBNB

* I got one good review on VRBO and one 5 star review on airbnb

* I am sending all the messages , communicate with guests immediately and encourage them to leave a review.

* On Airbnb  I notice 13 views on March 6 on April and only 4 On May.

Notes:

a )I am using pricelab for rates and offer weekly and monthly discounts so I believe my prices are in the right range for the area

b ) my hope that nurses and other medical staff will be a significant portion didnt work so far. nurses almost always looking for one bedroom at $1200-1600 per month. my monthly price is around $3000

my question:

given the fact  summer is the strongest part of the year  why numbers are not better?

is it just because its a new listing and will get better later on with more reviews  ?

is there anything else i can do to increase views and booking?

Thanks so much!

Itay

Itay Heled · Answer

Erin,

Thanks so much for taking the time and send this very valuable feedback!

I agree with most of it

I will try to address few of the point you raise (not to "defend" the property or the decisions I made, but more to reveal the challenges and  context)

I agree the game room should look much better . it is actually a large nice space that didn't get the love and attention it deserve to shine.

The 8 ppl living room space and kitchen table.

the house is very spacious in terms of bedrooms (actually a group of 7 was at the house last weekend and were impressed by the size). the layout of the main floor however is tricky for a bigger family table. there is no other place for a bigger table without placing it in the living room which is not great either . maybe i should post another nice picture of the table open with extra seats?

1 is it a short term or a mid term?

South Euclid is not a classic vacation destination for short term. the biggest factor in the area and the reason i transformed my LTR to Short term is the Cleveland clinic.

the idea , after speaking with few Short/Mid term owners in the area was to create a space that would be appealing for families and medical crew that comes to the hospital from all  over the world.

in other words , a mix of short term and mid term with higher percentage short term booking in the summer and try fill the slower season from October to end of Feb with mid term nurses/ medical staff & hospital  visitors in discounted prices.

The challenge i found is nurses and professional medical crew mostly travel alone and looking for smaller cheaper one bedroom solutions.

I know some doctors and medical crews are relocated with their families I just need to find a way to find them.

I am going to post a webpage for the house   in English , Spanish , Russian , Mandarin & Arabic for direct booking so google search of international guest to the hospital may help with traffic.

regarding my first 5 pictures to look for the story it tells that's a great advice and i will do that!

same with taking a closer look at my competition

thanks again for well thought feedback!

Erin Lenhardt · Answer

Hi there, yes, I can open your link now. Thanks!Please take what I am going to say with a big grain of salt - it's not personal, and I can tell that you DID set your home up with care. I would not book this home -- and as a property manager, I wouldn't represent it, either. Your furnishings look sufficient but not imaginative. The most unique and interesting thing about the space is the game room, but it doesn't really look like a place I want to spend time in (no accent walls, no art ... it doesn't really look like FUN!). The game room looks like an afterthought. MTR and STR are two completly different strategies. If you want to attract guests for longer stays, you'll need to set your price up to match, and write a listing description that speaks to long stays and all the ways you've set your home up for that.If you're wanting to do STR, then you'll need to position your listing for that market instead. Today's STR guests want EXPERIENCES, not accomodations. You've got an accomodation, but not an experience. In terms of some smaller suggestions, take a critical look at your top 5 photos. They should represent the experience. While the blue in the picture of the toaster oven is visually appealing, I definitely don't want to book your home just because you have a toaster oven. WHY should I book your home? Make sure the photos tell me the story of why.I also want to suggest that you spend some time studying your competition. What are the other 4BR / 2BA homes in the area? What do their photos look like? How does their listing description read? What is their nightly rate, cleaning fee, etc? You need to figure out why guests are chosing other homes and not yours.Speaking of 4BR and 8 guests, your cover photo looks like a place that's suitable for 2. So if I'm traveling with 8 guests, I definitely wouldn't choose this home based on the cover photo. What cover photo can you use the show the ENTIRE EXPERIENCE for up to 8 people?Does your living room seat 8? The first photos of any dining spaces show 2. Then I see you have another dining space for 4. Your listing reads "sleeps 2" because your photos and the common spaces show space setup for 2 people. How can you get your photos to show the entire experience, and a space that's suitable for 6-8?I hope this helps.

Itay Heled · Answer

Hi Erin and thanks for your message.

are you able to open the link below?

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/1367544530490456693?source_impression_id=p3_1748615666_P3t0Dn29EGEhKfgm

Erin Lenhardt · Answer

Hi Italy, we can't open your Airbnb link because you accidently shared the editor rather than the preview :) Winning at Airbnb is more complex than its ever been. If you want to share your view link, I'm happy to give you a quick take on what you might be lacking. It's also a game that requires patience - you'll need to build your reviews, and make sure that you're taking guest feedback into consideration in order to optimize your listing for the right travel avatar and what they care about.That said, Airbnb DOES give new listings a big boost in the first 90 days, and if your photos / amenities / pricing are RIGHT, you should see a big pickup. All the best,Erin

Itay Heled · Answer

thanks so much for your reply. yes not sure why nobody respond...