Lubbock Short-term Rentals

General Landlording & Rental Properties
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Lubbock Short-term Rentals

Corey Zant
Real Estate Broker · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 20 votes

I'm super curious about the profitability of Airbnb/VRBO houses in Lubbock. I've combed through all the active listings on AirBnb in order to try to compare our prospective short term rental to others. Based on "comps" I think we could rent for $250/ night and expect 50% vacancy. Or maybe 200/night and 75% occupancy. Obviously this is on the higher side, but we have quite the sqft and its totally remodeled.

My largest concern is the vacancy...I have no idea what to expect. I tried Mashvisor and not sure I was convinced in it's validity. And when I check AirBnb's booking availability...I can't tell if some of these rentals are actually totally booked or are simply blacked out because they don't feel like renting it for the week.

I'd like to have coffee or a drink with someone experienced in the field..maybe someone that manages short term rentals or maybe has been in it awhile or has a few themselves. I'm experienced in marketing-- and understand appeal will obviously drive occupancy, but assuming the marketing/photos/appeal are all the best they can be, I still wonder what general occupancy is.

Insight from anyone would be great!

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Garrott Nalle
Property Manager · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 24 votes
8y
@Corey Zant Hey Corey, I know we just spoke on the phone but I wanted to post here in case anyone else was interested in the Airbnb/short-term rental market in Lubbock. I currently run an Airbnb property management company in the Lubbock market (House Chaser Short-Term) and would be happy to speak with anyone that has questions about this niche. Lubbock has been and continues to be a wonderful opportunity for short-term rentals.
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  • Garrott Nalle
    Property Manager · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 24 votes
    8y
    @Corey Zant Hey Corey, I know we just spoke on the phone but I wanted to post here in case anyone else was interested in the Airbnb/short-term rental market in Lubbock. I currently run an Airbnb property management company in the Lubbock market (House Chaser Short-Term) and would be happy to speak with anyone that has questions about this niche. Lubbock has been and continues to be a wonderful opportunity for short-term rentals.
    3Reply
  • Garrott Nalle
    Property Manager · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 24 votes
    8y
    As to your question about occupancy, I would conservatively estimate 60-65% based on current experience. Initially your first month or two may be lower at 45-50% but it should pick up quite a bit once you have some good reviews on your property. Recently occupancy has been much higher on the majority of the properties I own or manage at 80+% but I would rather give a conservative general estimate for a new property.
    1Reply
  • Corey Zant
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 20 votes
    8y

    Very helpful. Thanks!

    0Reply
  • Ryan Todd
    Rental Property Investor · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2016 · 24 posts · 8 votes
    8y

    Garrett,

    See you signs around town, looks like yall have things rolling! In your opinion, how much does location play into your occupancy? Are you seeing similar % regardless of location? When you onboard a STR, what are your furnishing costs?

    0Reply
  • Joan Brown
    Flipper/Rehabber · Lubbock, Texas (TX) · Member since 2016 · 63 posts · 36 votes
    8y

    My cost is generally $2500 to $4000 to furnish an Airbnb. That's dependent on how much of the big furnishings I am able to buy in used condition. I buy two sets of bedding and towels to simplify the cleaning turnover.

    0Reply
  • Sean Blagrave
    Rental Property Investor · Conroe, TX · Member since 2018 · 3 posts · 0 votes
    7y

    @Corey Zant Did you ever Airbnb in Lubbock? If so I would like to know if it is worth doing?

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Rental Property Investor · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2015 · 3 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    We’ve bought 2 houses in the last month here in Lubbock that we’re planning on renting as an Airbnb. First one we’re having to do some renovations on and the second we are just finishing up some decorating and hopefully listing this week. These are our first rentals and our agent said he thinks we can get a better return on Airbnb as opposed to a regular rental. 

    The first one is a 3/2 with a separate apartment above the garage. The second is also a 3/2 that’s been renovated and has an outdoor fireplace about 2 blocks from Tech. We’re pretty excited get them listed and see how they do.

    0Reply
  • Kevin Sack
    Rental Property Investor · Clovis, NM · Member since 2018 · 118 posts · 55 votes
    7y

    Other than events on campus, what industries are driving the popularity of STR in Lubbock?

    0Reply
  • Corey Zant
    OP
    Real Estate Broker · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2016 · 30 posts · 20 votes
    7y

    Sean, we ended up not using this strategy, and instead sold the property to use the equity elsewhere. I still think it is a good strategy, however, but like anything else, numbers have to work.

    0Reply
  • Garrott Nalle
    Property Manager · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2017 · 21 posts · 24 votes
    7y

    @Kevin Sack There are several primary drivers that are bringing customers into Lubbock for short-term rentals. The first and most obvious would be the parents of Tech students and/or alumni that visit the university for sporting events. In addition to sporting events, the university also brings in students that are doing online or distance programs but are required to come in for in-person rotations at the campus. These are typically for Master and Doctoral level programs and many of the Health Sciences programs. A third driver for Lubbock guests, is our central location between Austin and Colorado, and New Mexico and Dallas/Fort Worth area. For smaller rentals (2/1's, efficiencies, and bedrooms) this is a great area to pick up one and two day stays consistently. A fourth driver for traffic in Lubbock comes from the numerous out-of-market contractors, wind energy companies, and travel nurses that stay in this area. These are some of your best and easiest renters to deal with. I've had a property for the last 8 months stay rented at $2100/month with minimal maintenance to three wind energy guys. This same property would typically rent for $1000-1200 in the area that it's in. Even with the added expense of utilities and internet, the cash flow is significantly higher. A fifth factor is people that actually want to visit Lubbock for one reason or another. We get a lot of people from the Clovis/Hobbs, New Mexico area that come in as well as numerous people that live within an hour or two of Lubbock that want to stay overnight or for a weekend. A sixth factor comes from foreign nationals that need a place to stay while living over here or studying at the university. These are few and far between but when they do come, they are willing to pay a premium and are very easy to deal with. A final factor comes from those that need a temporary place to stay due to selling a home, the new construction of a home, insurance repairs, or remodeling on a home. 

    2Reply
  • Mario Walker
    Rental Property Investor · Lubbock, TX · Member since 2016 · 9 posts · 2 votes
    7y

    @Garrott Nalle what areas of town have you seen be the lost successful with STR? I would assume that anything near campus would be the best, but I could be wrong.

    My wife and I are wanting to house hack a small multi family with our family and just want to make sure we utilize the other unit(s) the best way possible

    0Reply
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