Thoughts on STR,Airbnb vs LTR?

Most Popular Reply

Member since 2021 · 376 posts · 242 votes
3y

STR:
Cons: Less passive, less steady revenue, involves higher risk tolerance, may currently be facing more competition with a shifting travel market.

Pros: Higher revenue potential

LTR: Essentially the opposite of STR. An STR with a high occupancy rate will typically lead to higher monthly revenue but you might have to deal with months during a slow season where the revenue dries up. One strategy that I use is to anticipate these drop offs and place in a medium term tenant into the property until I know the season should pick back up so shifting between the two strategies on a seasonal schedule.

See this reply in the discussion

10 Replies

Jump to latestLatest
  • Member since 2021 · 376 posts · 242 votes
    3y

    STR:
    Cons: Less passive, less steady revenue, involves higher risk tolerance, may currently be facing more competition with a shifting travel market.

    Pros: Higher revenue potential

    LTR: Essentially the opposite of STR. An STR with a high occupancy rate will typically lead to higher monthly revenue but you might have to deal with months during a slow season where the revenue dries up. One strategy that I use is to anticipate these drop offs and place in a medium term tenant into the property until I know the season should pick back up so shifting between the two strategies on a seasonal schedule.

  • Sarah KensingerPro Member
    Real Estate Consultant · OH · Member since 2023 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    3y

    If you stay on the offense side of the STR market your profitable is quite a bit more...2-3 times more. The property is looked after better since it's professionally cleaned regularly and has to be in mint condition all the time to market well. There is no large turnover cost after a long-term renter has moved out, and no concerns of getting that monthly rent out of the tenant.

  • Real Estate Agent · Emerald Coast, FL · Member since 2016 · 820 posts · 486 votes
    3y

    Don't forget you're not limited to investing in the market where you live!  MANY people manage remotely - even STRs!  

  • Realtor · Providence, RI · Member since 2022 · 404 posts · 262 votes
    3y

    STRs much more location specific mirroring hotels - LTRs much easier to lease, less location specific.  I think we've gotten carried away with STRs to the extent we think they will be successful in every market.

  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 9k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    3y

    More risk. Short term rentals are a job, long-term rentals are investments.

  • Rental Property Investor · Mukilteo, WA · Member since 2017 · 52 posts · 53 votes
    3y

    @Eliott Elias STR's can be passive if you have a manager in place.

  • Realtor · Gulf Shores, AL · Member since 2020 · 153 posts · 76 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Michael Diossa:
    1. What are your thoughts on investing in short-term rentals, such as Airbnb properties, versus long-term rentals?

    When I began my REI journey, I was only interested in LTRs. However, as I was getting more and more familiar with running numbers on them, I kept finding that if you want the best bang for your hard earned money you have been saving up, you need to do MFH. As I started looking into MFH, I noticed you have to really grind to find a good opportunity, cause there is a significantly high demand for a decent MFH. During this period of research and running the numbers, I took a vacation to the smokies, and the energy in the area, the happiness you were surrounded with, and the SFH opportunities that were available were hard to ignore.

    As a result, I ended up only wanting STRs in my portfolio as each one I acquired continued to perform as good as or better than the revenue projections I was using...

    Additional STR advantages:
    - significantly easier to self manage
    - you can leverage 10% down if buying in a market you like to vacation to
    - you are providing an awesome place/experience for someone to spend their hard earned money on, so it is extremely rewarding.

  • Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2021 · 9k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    3y
    Quote from @Jordan Tinning:

    @Eliott Elias STR's can be passive if you have a manager in place.


     Not true. A property manager or "co-host" can not mitigate things that need the owners attention. 

  • Rental Property Investor · Mukilteo, WA · Member since 2017 · 52 posts · 53 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Eliott Elias:
    Quote from @Jordan Tinning:

    @Eliott Elias STR's can be passive if you have a manager in place.


     Not true. A property manager or "co-host" can not mitigate things that need the owners attention. 

    How many STR properties do you own? Also by that logic LTR wouldn’t be “passive” either.. 
  • Michael DiossaPro Member
    OP
    Investor · RI · Member since 2023 · 191 posts · 163 votes
    3y
    Quote from @Ben Scarborough:
    Quote from @Michael Diossa:
    1. What are your thoughts on investing in short-term rentals, such as Airbnb properties, versus long-term rentals?

    When I began my REI journey, I was only interested in LTRs. However, as I was getting more and more familiar with running numbers on them, I kept finding that if you want the best bang for your hard earned money you have been saving up, you need to do MFH. As I started looking into MFH, I noticed you have to really grind to find a good opportunity, cause there is a significantly high demand for a decent MFH. During this period of research and running the numbers, I took a vacation to the smokies, and the energy in the area, the happiness you were surrounded with, and the SFH opportunities that were available were hard to ignore.

    As a result, I ended up only wanting STRs in my portfolio as each one I acquired continued to perform as good as or better than the revenue projections I was using...

    Additional STR advantages:
    - significantly easier to self manage
    - you can leverage 10% down if buying in a market you like to vacation to
    - you are providing an awesome place/experience for someone to spend their hard earned money on, so it is extremely rewarding.


     Excellent response! This definitely gave me a new perspective. Thank you for that 

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.