Airbnb Investors Success/Fail stories? Worth it for Phoenix?

[Ibrahim Yamini]

These questions are for all Airbnb owners, I just had a particular interest in Phoenix and other Arizona Airbnb locations

When I was overseas I met a contractor who told me they had an Airbnb in Phoenix.  He did mention that he put about $80K into his house but he was shocked at house much money he was making monthly.  I think it was roughly about $4,000 a month net.

I could buy a property and furnish it for an Airbnb, but the second part would take away from any “cushion” money so I’m not interested in owning an Airbnb at this time.

I would like to to turn my second investment property into an Airbnb eventually though.

What are good Phoenix locations for an Airbnb?   Is it profitable especially with coronavirus?

Is it better to have a tenant paying rent or hoping some will rent your Airbnb?  Seems like it could be lucrative, but needs to be done correctly.

Do any of you own Airbnb properties whether successful or unsuccessful?   Where did you succeed? Where/Why did you fail?

Failure is a great teacher so I like to know both sides if at all possible.

[Grant W. Wilson]

Hi Ibrahim, 

I'm a short-term rental investor in San Antonio, TX. This last month we launched our first vacation rental through AirBnB - our other rentals are long-terms. Compared to long-term rentals, short-term are much more hands-on, but much more lucrative at the same time. We've put a total of $190,000 into this property and are seeing monthly returns between $3,400-$4,000!

I would encourage investors who are interested in short-terms to think about the hospitality & managerial aspects of the business before diving in. We've found great apps that plug-in with our AirBnB booking calendar and allow routine processes like cleaning to be automated.

There's a great opportunity nationwide as platforms like AirBnB & VRBO are experiencing a shortage of hosts. During the pandemic, many landlords locked into long-term leases as lock-downs really dragged bookings down. Hosts that were able to weather the storm & stick it out are benefitting from this trend. We've posted 94% occupancy since we've been open.