Airbnb research sites

[Jennifer Sowers]

Hello everyone!

I am looking to purchase my second rental property and make it an Airbnb. My question is how reliable do you all find sites like AirDNA for research? Are there other data sites you prefer?

Also, what are the typical fees for property management of STRs. TIA

[Chris Allen]

Hi there @Jennifer Sowers, I have found AirDNA to be great for market date in general, but you really need to make sure you are looking at all of the information for the properties. AirDNA will show you all of the numbers in the market, so that includes people that list their properties for one month out of the year and/or run their property as a hobby and not as a business. So likely these properties may bring down the overall market data. So I would look at all the numbers from a 1,000ft view, and then really focus in to what area you are looking at and view the other properties that are comparable to see how they do. You can also just get on AirBNB and reach out to other owners and ask how they are doing. Some may be open to sharing that info, some may not. 

What market are you looking in? Are you looking for what cost to expect from self management or what to expect to pay a PM?

Most STR PM's will charge 20%+. As far as expenses, you will have all of your basic housing expenses (PITI, HOA, Electric, Utilities, Internet, Lawn Care, Pest Control, Etc...). Other things you may consider are

- Software: PriceLabs= $19.99/mo for one property

                  SmartBNB/Hospitable: $18/mo for one property

- Security: Ring Doorbell= like $3/mo?

                 Noise Aware Monitoring= $99/yr  

- Supplies: Coffee, trash bags, linen replacements, toiletries, TP/PT, cleaning supplies, etc..

- Subscriptions: Netflix, Disney, Cable, etc..

So it is really hard to say what all of your expenses might be, as far as basic PM softwares, you can get by with less than $50/mo. You will typically charge the guest for cleaning and even more to help cover some of those extra cost like TP and toiletries you might provide.