Best Practices When Purchasing an Existing Airbnb Property

[Bradley Chapman]

In the process of writing up an offer on a duplex that's been operating as an Airbnb (both units) for over a year. It's a completely turnkey sale, so all furniture/decor and any bookings on the calendar after closing. I will self manage the property but the PM can be retained for a period of time if desired. Since Airbnb does not have capability of transferring listings to a new property owner, I'm trying to think through the logistics of what the best approach would be to maintain transparency with guests booked by the prior PM but their stay will be when I own the property.

I'm curious if anyone has been through this process and if there are some things to consider operationally as well as what I may want to negotiate with the deal.

[Jon Crosby]

@Bradley Chapman  Trying to transfer bookings over has always been more trouble then it's worth in my opinion, if it's a successful property they will come back to re-book once the existing listings are closed/cancelled or will get filled with somebody else.  But dealing with any deposits already placed and all that stuff is a pain and would just have the owner cancel all bookings once escrow passes the contingencies phase and offer the guests your contact info to rebook once your pages are up for the same price.