Feeling Frustrated with our STR

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Feeling Frustrated with our STR

Ashley Bitner
Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes

In January of this year I started renting our primary residence full time on Airbnb and VRBO (we moved to a rental one town over so our boys could be closer to friends/school).

The house is a 3/2 in North County San Diego, walking distance to the beach and restaurants. I self manage and have learned a lot throughout the year. At first I was pretty picky about bookings but I've learned to be much more flexible in this department.

Airdna estimated our STR could bring in ~120k per year. I estimate if we were to transition to a LTR we would bring in ~$56.5k annually. So far, our STR has grossed $46k.

We have professional photos, dynamic pricing, an optimized listing, I have 32 reviews (all 5 stars), I'm in the top 5% of homes according to Airbnb, etc. etc. However, I feel like I am just bleeding money. The costs of getting the STR up and running has felt relentless. September and October are the absolute best months (weather wise) in San Diego and our occupancy is 12%. I feel like I am doing everything right, but I am clearly doing something wrong! I guess this is just a vent post but man I am feeling so frustrated!

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James CarlsonBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Colorado | stan.store/JamesCarlson · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
10mo

@Ashley Bitner

Charming place. I work with STR investors in Colorado, so I'm not in your market. Take with a grain of salt.

A few thoughts:

-- First and easiest change? Tweak the headline. "Walk everywhere" is too generic. Be specific. "4 Blocks to Beach," or whatever. 

-- Throw in some nice photos of the beach and restaurants nearby. 

-- Do you have a drone shot at all? If you're walking distance to the beach, having one of your first few photos be a drone shot of the ocean with an arrow pointing out your spot would be helpful.

-- Again, I'm not in your market, but we have some nice Airbnb markets here in Colorado and $120k gross is a pretty good revenue for most areas. Might be a high expectation. Also, if you're really close to the beach, I bet AirDNA's projection are skewed by oceanfront properties near you. Revenues are likely waay higher for those properties and are pulling up your estimate.

-- Do you have a full AirDNA subscription? Search San Diego, then click on "submarkets" and find yours. Under the dropdown for "listings" change the criteria to close to yours (say 3-4br, 2-3ba, etc. but don't go super super specific). It should show you the top-performing listings in your area. What are they doing?

-- Your place looks nice. You've photographed it well. I'd totally stay there. That said, the STR market is so saturated now that a "nice" place doesn't really perform that well. Design matters a lot from what I see in Colorado. A crazy wall of wallpaper. Big-bold art. A massive TV (like 65" minimum.) A cohesive collection of furnishings.

Don't give up. You've got a great set of reviews. I'd do a few tweaks and see what happens. Good luck!

[email protected]720-460-1770
James Carlson Real Estate
WebsiteView Page
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  • Mike GrudzienPro Member
    Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10mo

    Ouch!  I feel for you.  You should get some good tips and suggestions here.  

    Maybe post the Airbnb link here for all of us to review.

    1Reply
  • John UnderwoodPro Member
    Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
    10mo

    So many people put too much stock in Airdna only to fi d out its not very accurate. 

    Hang in there. Try and do some advertising on FB marketplace and groups. I even pickup up a couple books from a free Craigs List ad.

    Play with your pricing and offer specials. 

    Check your competition, especially ones with full calendars to get ideas on what you copy in the way of marketing and amenities. 

    2Reply
    • Trent Reeve
      Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 706 posts · 634 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @John Underwood:

      So many people put too much stock in Airdna only to fi d out its not very accurate. 

      Hang in there. Try and do some advertising on FB marketplace and groups. I even pickup up a couple books from a free Craigs List ad.

      Play with your pricing and offer specials. 

      Check your competition, especially ones with full calendars to get ideas on what you copy in the way of marketing and amenities. 

       This right here. using the Enemy Method, see how you compare to your competitors. What do they have that you dont? What do you have that they dont that you can highlight.

      also, the lack of AC may be a factor. I know I would think long and hard about booking a place in without it. It may not affect bookings right now in October, but I would have avoided a place without it during the late spring and summer.

      1Reply
    • Tim W.
      Member since 2024 · 65 posts · 62 votes
      10mo

      @Trent Reeve I agree with this. I haven't personally booked a bunch of AirBNB myself, but when I have, AC is a requirement. No explanation of the norm is going to change that. Maybe add a few window units as options? 

      0Reply
    • Tom Dieringer
      Investor · OR · Member since 2020 · 61 posts · 32 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @John Underwood:

      So many people put too much stock in Airdna only to fi d out its not very accurate. 

      Hang in there. Try and do some advertising on FB marketplace and groups. I even pickup up a couple books from a free Craigs List ad.

      I've got a couple FB marketplace postings, but Craigslist tends to automatically flag my listings 75% of the time.  I've stopped wasting time with them, but I'm impressed that you get your ads to stick and even generate bookings!
      1Reply
  • Ryan Tessier
    Real Estate Agent · Fairfield, CT · Member since 2019 · 36 posts · 19 votes
    10mo

    I'm more experienced with LTR than STR but I know vacancy is a big killer on returns. If you price your apartment 100% of market value and have to wait 2 months to lease a tenant, you would less more money at the end of the year if you priced it at 90% MV and leased it in under a month.

    Do your own due diligence, but if I had to guess offering your STR and a more attractive price point and keeping your calendar full month over month will get you a much better return than charging full price and keeping it vacant 85% of the year.

    2Reply
    • Dave Roberts
      Investor · Longmont, CO · Member since 2016 · 13 posts · 3 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Ryan Tessier:

      I'm more experienced with LTR than STR but I know vacancy is a big killer on returns. If you price your apartment 100% of market value and have to wait 2 months to lease a tenant, you would less more money at the end of the year if you priced it at 90% MV and leased it in under a month.

      Do your own due diligence, but if I had to guess offering your STR and a more attractive price point and keeping your calendar full month over month will get you a much better return than charging full price and keeping it vacant 85% of the year.


       This is a hard lesson I had to learn and I agree with it, especially during slow seasons. You just have to offer deals that don't do justice to your property. It sucks, you get worse guests but...choose your poison. I don't think there are many 'great' options and money is unfortunately the strongest lever we have as owners. Marketing is way slower to get results than sales

      0Reply
  • Dan H.Pro Member
    Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
    10mo
    Quote from @Ashley Bitner:

    In January of this year I started renting our primary residence full time on Airbnb and VRBO (we moved to a rental one town over so our boys could be closer to friends/school).

    The house is a 3/2 in North County San Diego, walking distance to the beach and restaurants. I self manage and have learned a lot throughout the year. At first I was pretty picky about bookings but I've learned to be much more flexible in this department.

    Airdna estimated our STR could bring in ~120k per year. I estimate if we were to transition to a LTR we would bring in ~$56.5k annually. So far, our STR has grossed $46k.

    We have professional photos, dynamic pricing, an optimized listing, I have 32 reviews (all 5 stars), I'm in the top 5% of homes according to Airbnb, etc. etc. However, I feel like I am just bleeding money. The costs of getting the STR up and running has felt relentless. September and October are the absolute best months (weather wise) in San Diego and our occupancy is 12%. I feel like I am doing everything right, but I am clearly doing something wrong! I guess this is just a vent post but man I am feeling so frustrated!


     Were you aware airdna is total revenue and includes cleaning fees?

    On the positive, there is a ramp up time to reach peak revenue.  Next year could be better.  5.0 rating is great.   

    On the negative, we are about to enter the 4 slowest months of occupancy.   

    12% occupancy for Oct is not good.   My best unit had just a few days of vacancy,   All my units were above 50% occupancy.

    Airbnb lists you as a host for 4 years.  Did you previously list the home on an occasional use only?

    My own opinion on STRs in San Diego is that the increased income is fully offset by the extra costs (utilities, furnishings, cleaning, higher maintenance/cap ex, etc) and effort (managing tenants, cleaners, handymen, OTAs, etc).   This is especially true if you have high income options that mostly is required to have local STRs.

    I do not have any enlightening suggestions.   I am jealous of your 5.0 rating.

    good luck

    1Reply
    • Ashley Bitner
      OP
      Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
      10mo

      Airbnb lists you as a host for 4 years.  Did you previously list the home on an occasional use only?


       Thanks. Yeah, we would occassionally rent it out for a few weeks here and there during the summer when we could easily stay with family or do little staycations (this is why I show as being a host for 4 years). This is my first year renting it out full time. 

      0Reply
  • James CarlsonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Colorado | stan.store/JamesCarlson · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10mo

    @Ashley Bitner

    Charming place. I work with STR investors in Colorado, so I'm not in your market. Take with a grain of salt.

    A few thoughts:

    -- First and easiest change? Tweak the headline. "Walk everywhere" is too generic. Be specific. "4 Blocks to Beach," or whatever. 

    -- Throw in some nice photos of the beach and restaurants nearby. 

    -- Do you have a drone shot at all? If you're walking distance to the beach, having one of your first few photos be a drone shot of the ocean with an arrow pointing out your spot would be helpful.

    -- Again, I'm not in your market, but we have some nice Airbnb markets here in Colorado and $120k gross is a pretty good revenue for most areas. Might be a high expectation. Also, if you're really close to the beach, I bet AirDNA's projection are skewed by oceanfront properties near you. Revenues are likely waay higher for those properties and are pulling up your estimate.

    -- Do you have a full AirDNA subscription? Search San Diego, then click on "submarkets" and find yours. Under the dropdown for "listings" change the criteria to close to yours (say 3-4br, 2-3ba, etc. but don't go super super specific). It should show you the top-performing listings in your area. What are they doing?

    -- Your place looks nice. You've photographed it well. I'd totally stay there. That said, the STR market is so saturated now that a "nice" place doesn't really perform that well. Design matters a lot from what I see in Colorado. A crazy wall of wallpaper. Big-bold art. A massive TV (like 65" minimum.) A cohesive collection of furnishings.

    Don't give up. You've got a great set of reviews. I'd do a few tweaks and see what happens. Good luck!

    [email protected]720-460-1770
    James Carlson Real Estate
    WebsiteView Page
    18Reply
  • Ken Boone
    Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10mo

    I second what @James Carlson said. He had some good advice for you. Especially about your photos, your listing title, and upping your design. All of these can tip the algo in your favor as well as guest interest. You want them to stop scrolling when they see your photo in the listing.

    1Reply
    • James CarlsonBusiness Member
      Real Estate Agent · Colorado | stan.store/JamesCarlson · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Ken Boone:

      I second what @James Carlson said. He had some good advice for you. Especially about your photos, your listing title, and upping your design. All of these can tip the algo in your favor as well as guest interest. You want them to stop scrolling when they see your photo in the listing.


       Yeah, that last point is important. I've seen some crazy designs, like floral wallpaper with neon signs that okay, may not be my style, but they are eye-catching. You've got to think that guests are looking at 18 listings on the first page (or any page of Airbnb). Like you said, catching their eye is maybe the most important thing you can do. 

      [email protected]720-460-1770
      James Carlson Real Estate
      WebsiteView Page
      3Reply
    • Matthew Hartigan
      Investor · TX · Member since 2025 · 7 posts · 5 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @James Carlson:
      Quote from @Ken Boone:

      I second what @James Carlson said. He had some good advice for you. Especially about your photos, your listing title, and upping your design. All of these can tip the algo in your favor as well as guest interest. You want them to stop scrolling when they see your photo in the listing.


       Yeah, that last point is important. I've seen some crazy designs, like floral wallpaper with neon signs that okay, may not be my style, but they are eye-catching. You've got to think that guests are looking at 18 listings on the first page (or any page of Airbnb). Like you said, catching their eye is maybe the most important thing you can do. 


       I never stopped to think about it, but this is the exact thought process I use for booking AirBNBs when I travel. "What has a bold, strange look that sticks out... it's probably going to be more fun to stay there and will make for a better travel story later." LOL

      1Reply
  • Denise SuppleeBusiness Member
    Realtor · Willow Grove, PA · Member since 2017 · 965 posts · 637 votes
    10mo

    Your low occupancy likely points to market saturation or pricing misalignment. Try analyzing nearby comps on Airbnb and VRBO for minimum stays, last-minute discounts, and amenities. You might also experiment with mid-term stays for traveling professionals during slow months to smooth out cash flow.

    Spark Rental Co-Investing Club577 Reviews
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    4Reply
  • Lauren Kormylo
    Rental Property Investor · Phoenix, AZ and Rehoboth Beach DE · Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10mo

    Your place is cute, and looks clean and comfortable.  But I think your problem is price.  I just went to Airbnb and searched for Oceanside for 3 nights for 3 guests, Nov 18-21 and then Dec 12-14, your place came up 3rd in the search results.  But on the first page with 18 results, yours came up 2nd highest priced.  The only one higher in price than you was an oceanfront place where the entire stay was only $10 more. There were at least 9 other places that were ocean front or ocean view that were cheaper than you.  Some of these were 2 bedrooms, but in the off season, you're not going to have a lot of large groups traveling.  On the Dec. dates, your place was the very highest priced.

    I have the same problem with my 4 bedroom beach house on the east coast.  I had to drastically drop the price to get guests in the off season, but it has worked out well for me.  My summer prices are $400-$900/night, but off season I had to drop to $199/night.  It beats staying empty most of the winter.  And the guests I get are smaller families than in the summer, and they have all been good guests with less wear and tear than in the summer.

    On your first 5 photos that show up on your main Airbnb page, I would also recommend changing the hot tub photo to one with more of a closeup of the hot tub and have it bubbling, so it's more prominent.  Also change out the photo of the stove and cutting board for one of another part of the house, maybe the living room.  

    10Reply
  • Mike GrudzienPro Member
    Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10mo

    Lots of good advice here!
    I would add: get some drone shots showing the relation of the property to the beach.

    3Reply
    • Ashley Bitner
      OP
      Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Mike Grudzien:

      Lots of good advice here!
      I would add: get some drone shots showing the relation of the property to the beach.


       Yes! Definitely going to line up some drone shots for this week! Thanks :)

      0Reply
  • Jules Aton
    MD/DC · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10mo

    Generally speaking with RE price is the tipping point. But also no pets? That is a big draw in my area. 

    3Reply
    • Mike Kirby
      Rental Property Investor · New Braunfels, TX · Member since 2021 · 288 posts · 255 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Jules Aton:

      Generally speaking with RE price is the tipping point. But also no pets? That is a big draw in my area. 

      @Ashley Bitner I have to agree with Jules, 50% of our bookings in 2025 had pets. We were only charging a $50 pet fee but some of them really make a mess so we bumped it to $100 pet fee and it didn't stop them from booking at all. People love their pets, not to mention the high cost of putting them in a kennel.

      0Reply
    • Ashley Bitner
      OP
      Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Jules Aton:

      Generally speaking with RE price is the tipping point. But also no pets? That is a big draw in my area. 


       Gah, I know. I can't bring myself to allow pets. I should just do it though. 

      0Reply
    • Ashley Bitner
      OP
      Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Mike Kirby:
      Quote from @Jules Aton:

      Generally speaking with RE price is the tipping point. But also no pets? That is a big draw in my area. 

      @Ashley Bitner I have to agree with Jules, 50% of our bookings in 2025 had pets. We were only charging a $50 pet fee but some of them really make a mess so we bumped it to $100 pet fee and it didn't stop them from booking at all. People love their pets, not to mention the high cost of putting them in a kennel.


       50%!!! Wow! 

      0Reply
    • Jules Aton
      MD/DC · Member since 2024 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Ashley Bitner:
      Quote from @Jules Aton:

      Generally speaking with RE price is the tipping point. But also no pets? That is a big draw in my area. 


       Gah, I know. I can't bring myself to allow pets. I should just do it though. 

      In my experience with both STR and LTR if the tenant is responsible and clean the dog will only result in minimal, anticipated wear and tear. Charge an additional fee and share with housekeeper. If the tenant is a pig welp they don't need a dog to ruin your place.

      1Reply
    • Trent Reeve
      Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 706 posts · 634 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Ashley Bitner:
      Quote from @Jules Aton:

      Generally speaking with RE price is the tipping point. But also no pets? That is a big draw in my area. 


       Gah, I know. I can't bring myself to allow pets. I should just do it though. 


       And I know it’s a personal choice, all 3 of my properties are pet friendly and I would say over 50% book with dogs.

      2Reply
  • Ashley Bitner
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
    10mo

    @James Carlson - thank you SO much - I am going to work through your list of suggestions and start making tweaks. Thank you!!

    0Reply
  • Ashley Bitner
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
    10mo

    @Lauren Kormylo - thank you for the feedback! I think I need to play with Pricelabs more, they have my Thanksgiving week in particular priced SUPER high. I've been so nervous about dropping my price too low and getting difficult guests. It sounds like you have had a lot of success with doing that in the winter, though! So I need to play with my pricing. 

    0Reply
  • John LitzPro Member
    Reno NV · Member since 2022 · 74 posts · 56 votes
    10mo

    I am going to be blunt because i do care about people being successful. You have what i term nice but boring just like a hotel. Absolutely nothing screams at me to stop scrolling and check this out. Add to that the high pricing and not beachfront equals low occupancy. Dont get me wrong the home is beautiful and its great to live in but not an exciting experience for vacation. Top 5% is speaking to an excellent guest experience once they arrive which is huge. So with some simple tweaks you should be able to boost that occupancy. Obviously the easiest is price, however that is typically just a race to the bottom and will attract crappy guests if you go to low. So the more important issue is the nice but boring. It might be time to get more bold, perhaps hire a designer. Maybe a theme, perhaps a mural or two. You have got to get people to stop scrolling with some wow factor. A little imagination goes a long ways and doesnt have to be majorly expensive. 

    2Reply
    • Trent Reeve
      Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 706 posts · 634 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @John Litz:

      I am going to be blunt because i do care about people being successful. You have what i term nice but boring just like a hotel. Absolutely nothing screams at me to stop scrolling and check this out. Add to that the high pricing and not beachfront equals low occupancy. Dont get me wrong the home is beautiful and its great to live in but not an exciting experience for vacation. Top 5% is speaking to an excellent guest experience once they arrive which is huge. So with some simple tweaks you should be able to boost that occupancy. Obviously the easiest is price, however that is typically just a race to the bottom and will attract crappy guests if you go to low. So the more important issue is the nice but boring. It might be time to get more bold, perhaps hire a designer. Maybe a theme, perhaps a mural or two. You have got to get people to stop scrolling with some wow factor. A little imagination goes a long ways and doesnt have to be majorly expensive. 


       John, hits a good point. I have rentals in Panama city beach area. im competing with 20,000 (real number) other units. Typical renter is going to look at 15-20 properties and i need to figure out to get them to remember me. Murals, wallpaper, the afore mentioned drone shot showing how walkable your place is. I worked on this myself last week, adding some wallpaper to help an empty wall stick out. Maybe a simple fire pit in the back yard for the offseason or something to fill up that empty backyard space. you can also use something like Boxbrownie to take a daylight photo and they will change it to a dusk photo. 

      1Reply
  • Henry Lazerow
    Real Estate Agent · Chicago, IL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10mo

    LTR rates have gone up so fast at least here in my market Chicago while STR rates have been relatively stagnant. It was the opposite for years, with a solid margin that made the extra work worth it. I plan to switch to all LTR in the spring.

    0Reply
    • Dan H.Pro Member
      Investor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
      8mo
      Quote from @Henry Lazerow:

      LTR rates have gone up so fast at least here in my market Chicago while STR rates have been relatively stagnant. It was the opposite for years, with a solid margin that made the extra work worth it. I plan to switch to all LTR in the spring.


      In San Diego, same market as OP, with 2 real close to beach and 2 close to beach STRs, the revenue today is lower than 2019, 2021, 2022 (2020 San Diego had STR restriction many months including summer and holiday season).

      It is not an over saturation issue. Where 2 of these 4 STRs are, there is less STR units today than 2022 due to a new STR quota that eliminated many STRs. All4 units have STR quota, but 2 are in areas that did not hit their quota.

      It could be a raising of the bar in expectations but I think it is more likely that less guests are choosing STRs in the San Diego market.  I say this even though my occupancy for each unit for last Oct was at least 4x what the OP indicated and my most popular unit was 90%.

      My view is the extra revenue on a well run San Diego STR is just enough to justify the effort and elevated risk as owners that can purchase STRs in San Diego. San Diego has expensive properties in general the owners have high net worth and/or high income. They have a lot of investment options that require less work or have less risk. An STR must produce return that is likely to exceed theses good/great passive options. As indicated STEs can, but in general not by much.


      good luck

      0Reply
  • Ashley Bitner
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
    10mo

    @John Litz Thank you!! I really appreciate the feedback. 

    @Henry Lazerow Yeah, the LTR rates around us are REALLY high (I know, because we are paying them at the rental we are currently living in! It's a killer!) But, definitely food for thought for our STR plans for 2026.

    0Reply
  • Ashley Bitner
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
    10mo

    @Trent Reeve - where did you find that wallpaper? It's cool! Thanks for the boxbrownie tip - will check it out!

    0Reply
    • Trent Reeve
      Atlanta · Member since 2022 · 706 posts · 634 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Ashley Bitner:

      @Trent Reeve - where did you find that wallpaper? It's cool! Thanks for the boxbrownie tip - will check it out!

      Happywall.com

      they have a lot of good choices
      1Reply
  • Ashley Bitner
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
    10mo

    @Trent Reeve - Thank you!!!

    0Reply
  • Andrew SteffensBusiness Member
    Tampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10mo

    I do not know anything about SD market but Sept/Oct are great weather months here in Tampa, but are the worst months.  The reason is, most of our portfolio are Single Family Homes and they attract...families.  Families typically have a summer vacation and back to school is sept/oct.  Summer does great and holidays are great, but in between is tough, and this is a national thing.

    [email protected]813-563-0877
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  • Josh St LaurentBusiness Member
    Financial Advisor · Stateline, NV · Member since 2023 · 131 posts · 122 votes
    10mo

    @Ashley Bitner you've gotten some great advice so far! I'll throw in a few things to consider that doubled our occupancy at our STR in northern CA with very little effort/money. (Some have already been mentioned)

    Get a drone shot - people like to see what's around, especially if it's the beach

    A fun mural/paint a stencil/wall paper - think the opposite of a hotel, something fun, bright, that ties your house in with the local area. Will make for a great cover photo

    Hospitable or a booking site aggregator so you can get bookings from Air bnb,  VRBO, and booking.com

    Double down on a niche - ours is families so language about cribs, pack and plays, toys, etc so the family with young children looking for a STR in our area knows they'll have everything they need. For you maybe it's beach supplies, bikes, etc.

    Direct bookings - look into StayFi And/or creating your own site/email list for the property (more advanced) - email your best guests encouraging them to stay again at a discount etc

    [email protected]415-915-5948
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    3Reply
  • Andrew Street
    Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 292 votes
    10mo

    Totally understandable! You’ve clearly put in the work and it shows with your reviews and listing quality. The first year of STRs can feel like constant spending, especially in a high-cost market like San Diego. Don’t be too hard on yourself, setup costs, seasonality, and learning curves all hit early on. You’re building a strong foundation. Once the upfront costs level out and you fine-tune pricing and marketing, your margins should improve.

    0Reply
  • Yousef RedaPro Member
    Investor · Winnipeg, Manitoba · Member since 2016 · 92 posts · 40 votes
    10mo

    @Ashley Bitner

    As a fellow Superhost with my listing as "Guest Favorite", I can see you’ve put a lot of heart into your Airbnb—your style really shines through! Your photos are off to a great start, but I wanted to share a few small suggestions that might help elevate your listing even more. I noticed the living room chairs don’t quite match, which could be a quick fix to create a more cohesive look. Also, the laundry room photo shows a bit of the floor that might not present as well as the rest of your space—maybe cropping or repositioning that shot could make a big difference, as some guests might focus on those details when choosing a rental. Your taste is clearly spot-on elsewhere! Adding a few tasteful accessories to the tables could add extra warmth and charm—perhaps a trusted friend with a great eye for decor could help brainstorm some ideas. Keep up the amazing work, and I’m sure your listing will stand out even more!

    1Reply
  • Julie Garner
    Member since 2023 · 40 posts · 44 votes
    10mo

    It's absolutely beautiful, but dt's also Oceanside rather than SD. I think airdna priced you for SD proper. VRBO has oceanfront Oceanside homes for far less.  

    What added value do you have that other rentals in the area don't?  If it was me, I'd give a little more prominence to all the "beach toys" you're offering.  You have surfing pics, but do you just have the boogie boards or actual surfboards?  I can't see what's in there.  Skateboards? Skimboards? Nerf guns? etc.  If it's families you're after, dad is calculating what he WON'T have to spend on recreation rentals.

    1Reply
  • Stephanie Acebes
    Member since 2025 · 8 posts · 3 votes
    10mo

    Totally hear your frustration—STR startup costs and seasonal slumps can be a huge mental drain, especially in markets like SD where the Airdna numbers vs. real bookings feel worlds apart. For what it's worth, I'm in a similar boat juggling STR income and tracking my own "hours in the trenches" for tax purposes—it's a full-time job just keeping records straight, much less optimizing occupancy!

    One thing that's helped me is seriously logging time for everything I touch, from guest messaging to cleaning runs, especially since tax season can sneak up fast on STR folks. Even if the financials aren't where I want them yet, at least I know I've got my bases covered documentation-wise. Hang in there—sounds like your reviews and property have a ton of upside, just maybe needs a little strategic tweak or two. Rooting for your next high season!

    0Reply
  • Ashley Bitner
    OP
    Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
    10mo

    @Josh St Laurent - Thank you! Great tips. 

    @Yousef Reda - Good call on the living room chairs. That's a simple enough fix. I'm thinking of getting matching and then maybe a little table in between the two for chess/checkers.

    @Julie Garner - Thank you! Really good tips. I definitely need to put some more work into organizing and then showcasing our little shed of fun stuff. Out of curiousity, in your first sentence you say "dt's also Oceanside" - what does dt mean? 

    @Stephanie Acebes - Thanks! I know what you mean about tracking hours.. I'm hoping tax benefits make up a little for this year's slump. Good luck to you, too! 

    1Reply
  • Julie Garner
    Member since 2023 · 40 posts · 44 votes
    10mo

    It's a typo. lol.  Should be "it's"

    0Reply
    • Ashley Bitner
      OP
      Member since 2022 · 77 posts · 43 votes
      10mo
      Quote from @Julie Garner:

      It's a typo. lol.  Should be "it's"


       Oh! LOL! Thanks! I was racking my brain for what that could be ;)

      0Reply
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