New to Real Estate · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 2 votes
Hi All,
Can you guys recommend a reliable source to find occupancy rates by area/town for Airbnb and VRBO? I'm a new (again) investor - long story for later - and am researching vacation and short-term rentals as a place to get started (again).
Investor · Hood River, OR · Member since 2021 · 1 post · 7 votes
5y
Hi Chris,
Check out AirDNA. They have the best syndicated data on AirBnB / VRBO metrics including pricing, occupancy and more. You have to pay to access to the full data but it's very worth it even if you get it for just a month.
Property Manager · Pigeon Forge · Member since 2016 · 199 posts · 208 votes
5y
This forum really stans for Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg and I fall into that category. I'll average 90%+ occupancy across my smaller units and around 85% on the jumbo ones. I know some folks are fans of Branson, Destin and Myrtle Beach. I don't know of a good central place to find good numbers on this. For example, I know local property managers will get 60-70% occupancy where I can get 90%. So I think the operator plays a huge part.
You can get high occupancy if you manage your rates enough, though. Just make sure the destination is more 'year round' so you don't have to drop the rates so low to get the occupancy numbers you're looking for.
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
5y
Hey @Chris Kuropatwa, pick the area that you want to look at and search AirBNB and VRBO for properties that are similar to what you want to buy.
Take a look at their calendars, That will get you an idea of the occupancy and nightly rates. That is an easy place to start. We had our home selected once I started looking. Everything pointed to a decent return, but you can never be sure.
Essentially though it will be up to you to create the experience. Your first year will be a little thin. You have no reviews and things take time to build. Once you get rolling, your occupancy will go up. We worked hard to create a great family space and it shows. So we exceeded the projections I created.
We have all 5 star reviews on AirBNB and VRBO and our season is already 70% full for 2021. We are getting more and more out of season rentals as well.
Take time and read the forum. There is a ton of info that will be helpful. Welcome!
Investor · Hood River, OR · Member since 2021 · 1 post · 7 votes
5y
Hi Chris,
Check out AirDNA. They have the best syndicated data on AirBnB / VRBO metrics including pricing, occupancy and more. You have to pay to access to the full data but it's very worth it even if you get it for just a month.
Olympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
5y
While I don't disagree that AirDNA can be a useful tool, remember that it can be waaaay off. AirDNA for our area had our home way out of whack for the area. It had our nightly rate at 3x what it should have been. Plus occupancy was off just as much.
The outliers in the area you are looking at can really skew the results. The area that you choose to look at will be telling. The more places available will give you greater accuracy.
Residential Real Estate Broker · Cartersville, GA · Member since 2015 · 575 posts · 581 votes
5y
@Chris Kuropatwa call or email me and I'll run you data on AirDNA and Mashvisor for whatever address you are curious about. These are the two I primarily use. Alltherooms.com is another one.
Real Estate Broker · Portland, OR · Member since 2019 · 4k+ posts · 2k+ votes
5y
Think Michael Baum's idea is best. I have a place in wine country in OR and I thought it was going to be pretty bad last year, but was shocked. Most of the stuff was 1-2 weeks and even got a 2 month one now.
Prop mgr says VRBOs are doing better than hotels since you can take a whole family (and pets sometimes) whereas hotels are short-stays for 1-2 people.
Residential Real Estate Broker · Cartersville, GA · Member since 2015 · 575 posts · 581 votes
5y
@Holly Barrett Absolutely, I'll help you with real numbers for your investor client, you help them buy and collect a commission and my goal is to hopefully manage the property. You win, they win, I win. Rinse and repeat! Either way, if you need help call or email me.
Realtor · Branson, MO · Member since 2018 · 274 posts · 283 votes
5y
@Chris Kuropatwa If you're trying to stay in state, I'd agree with @Holly Barrett Also Blue Ridge! There are a lot of markets out there where you can make it work. There are even more where it doesn't!
Just mainly weigh: 1. Regulations - to what degree does this area allow/not allow vacation rentals? 2. Occupancy Curve - How many people come here during the course of the year for tourism? 3. Home prices - what are the values of property in this part of the country relative to what they could earn as a STR?
That's like 95% of it. Then it just becomes deal specifics. Also agree with @Michael Baum that Airdna can be pretty 'meh' with the data they have. It's something, but I have seen material errors in their #'s vs. actual #'s.
You could also opt to buy a vacation rental that's turnkey and fully ramped so you don't have to start from scratch. Hope this helps.
If you're trying to stay in state, I'd agree with @Holly Barrett Also Blue Ridge! There are a lot of markets out there where you can make it work. There are even more where it doesn't!
Just mainly weigh: 1. Regulations - to what degree does this area allow/not allow vacation
this is important, Helen for example is pretty strict, only allow right downtown or has to be outside of any subdivision, but even then I’ve gotten some grey answers as to how friendly they are to that. Definitely worth finding out where they are allowed and what restrictions they have, some places are super Airbnb friendly and want tourists and investors, others have hotel owners who’ve been on committees for 100 years who shoot down competition, so they make it hard for airbnb to thrive.
New to Real Estate · New Braunfels/Canyon Lake TX · Member since 2019 · 32 posts · 21 votes
5y
Welcome! You could use air DNA, in addition I would search local vrbo & air bnb listings. You can get an idea and more importantly see what is actually happening in the market.
Edison, NJ · Member since 2017 · 116 posts · 34 votes
5y
Mashvisor is another tool... relatively less expensive than airdna ..it works off similar algorithms and will at the very minimum give you a heat map of occupancy rates & even rental numbers.. you will have to go to the town and click rental comps to see a picture of the existing rental properties and sort by distance or even number to get a fair idea of what others are getting in the vicinity .. add and top it off by searching calendars and occupancy on Vrbo and airbnb sites
New to Real Estate · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 4 posts · 2 votes
5y
Wow, thank you all for the feedback and advice. Airdna and Mashvisor were the two that I found but wasn’t sure how reliable the info was. This is really helpful. (I would thank each of you but still figuring out the forum interface.) Thank you again!