Everyone and their mom is on Airbnb

[Ryan Thomson]

Everyone and their mom is doing Short Term Rentals. In fact, my mom (and dad) and I just went 50/50 on an Airbnb (my 4th). It seems like these days that EVERYONE I talk to is excited about Airbnb and STRs. Even people previously uninterested in real estate investing are putting their houses on Airbnb. The cashflow is crazy and investors are going all in.

So what's my question?

I'm getting there. 

I love the cashflow of an STR. I have an exit plan that will more than cover the mortgage. However, I'm considering if I should buy another one. Not looking for advice on my specific situation. I'm looking for your musings/predictions about how STR profits will change, the risks you see in investing in STRs, if STRs are contributing to housing shortages and rising home prices, and/or if you think there is lots of demand still around to soak up supply. What say you? Muse away please.

[Katrina Razavi]

Love this thread @Ryan Thomson, and funny that your mom just got into Airbnb b/c my parents recently did too! I've been advising them to do this for years btw. I have STR's in San Francisco and San Diego, so take my insights with a grain of salt given CA as a state tends to be pretty anti-landlord. Some thoughts:

-When this many people get into STR's, the likelihood of increasing regulations gets higher -- as we've seen. My prediction is that more regulations are to come at the municipal level along with more fees and taxes to operate one if you're lucky enough to get a license. In San Diego, they'll be limiting the # of Airbnb licenses to 1% of the housing supply at the end of the year via a lottery system. It has been a contentious issue for years.

-Due to these regulations, I think many landlords who bought with the sole purpose of STR'ing their property will be in for a big surprise when they realize they didn't underwrite the scenario of having to rent to a long-term tenant. There were a lot of rookie investors who saw STR as "quick money" and likely didn't run various scenarios to ensure their investment will be safe if things change. This will likely mean these folks will be selling when they realize they need to sell b/c they can't cash flow anymore

- I don't think the demand for STR-type properties will continue to increase at the rate it has b/c of all these new limitations and regulations

-I do agree that having a ton of STR's can make it hard for residents of cities to find LTR spots, that said, STR's are also important for local economies. Folks who vacation in these locations spend money at bars, restaurants, tourist attractions, etc. Hotels are expensive and don't have amenities that people may be looking for or can afford at a hotel vs. an outfitted Airbnb so potential tourists may select a different city to vacation. Having some sort of quota may make sense but in the example of SD, 1% seems way too low I think that percentage can be increased a bit or likely better ways to solve the problem, generally

[Jon Martin]

I agree that it seems that way, however there is probably something similar to a self selection or healthy user bias at play. This forum would be an example of that. However in my normal friend, family and colleague circle of a few hundred people that I interact with somewhat regularly, I can count on 1 hand the number of people who I know have a rental, who all have a tiny house/ADU setup on their primary residence. Maybe 2 hands including those I haven't had this conversation with.

As an Oregon trail millennial, most of the generations above me are stuck in the Dave Ramsey debt is bad/work your day job and save cash mentality, or they are millennials who are quite successful professionally but priced out of even owning a primary because they've been on the sidelines too long. So in terms of the general population, I really don't think there are that many STR investors.

I liken it to Bitcoin in 2017, when the success and get rich quick stories started to become mainstream knowledge, but there was still  big profits to be made for those who took action. And like bitcoin, soon enough we will probably have a run up where a bunch of people overleverage themselves and lose their arse, followed by a cooling off and another run up later. I only see demand increasing as people get fed up with hotels and realize how much more value they get from a good STR. 

[Joshua Messinger]

@Katrina Razavi Great response! 

This one made me laugh @Ryan Thomson - Keep crushing it! I hope you can get that next STR!!

Cheers,

Josh

[Mike Dymski]

Whether we like it or not, STR regulations are coming to non-vacation residential neighborhoods across the country over time.

[Ryan Thomson]

@Katrina Razavi Good musings! Thanks for sharing. If cities start doing regulations AND actually enforcing them then I see STRs becoming less popular. But the people that get the permit and run it legally will be even more profitable as there will be less competition. 

Where I am in Colorado Springs they have a history of grandfathering in people to the rules from when they originally got their permit. Hoping that continues.

[Ryan Thomson]

@Jon Martin good thoughts man! Yeah I have been thinking about bias and trying to sort through that. Have you heard of the "availability heuristic"? It basically says that if we can think of examples of something we are likely to overestimate the chance of it happening. People drastically overestimate the likely hood of shark attacks or plane crashes, etc bc everyone can think of an example of those. 

Maybe that's what's happening with me and airbnb. 

I am surrounded by investors and clients that talk a lot about airbnb. So I may be heavily biased to think its common and "everyone is doing it". 

Good to hear that's not your experience. Still not convinced STRs aren't teetering on a ledge with a crowd of competition or a stiff wind of regulation about to knock it off its mountain of cash flow glory. 

[Ryan Thomson]

@Joshua Messinger Thanks! Do you have any yourself?

[Ryan Thomson]

@Mike Dymski definitely seems that way. I've heard good arguments that the STRs have a ton of potential to bring in tax dollars for cities. So a good compromise could be harnessing those dollars by taxing them instead of regulating/outlawing them.

What sort of regulation do you think most places will land on? Are there legal issues cities will have with changing rules when people legally bought homes with the purpose of running a STR?

[Owen Hehmeyer]

@Ryan Thomson The success of AirBnB and VRBO is due to the fact that the short term lodging industry was offering only one type of easily bookable product - 95% of hotel rooms are 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 living room, 0 kitchen. It turned out that there was a huge demand for multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen. It is hugely inefficient to have 50 AirBnBs scattered across town, and the resulting cleaning and upkeep charges actually make AirBnBs costly and low service. If every hotel converted 20% of its floor area to suite style multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen style rooms and made them easily bookable, they could beat AirBnB on cost due to the huge efficiency of being under one roof and offering great on site service. If and when cities get serious about making sure every AirBnB pays hotel tax, which they should, hotels will be in an even better position to compete. I am really curious if hotels can be retrofitted to compete with AirBnB, or if it is not physically/financially feasible due to HVAC needs. Would be fascinating to see. Profits attract competition, so maybe it will happen.

[Bill Brandt]

Cities don’t care if you bought a home for Airbnb, they have zero problem making it illegal the next day. It’s pretty easy to justify if you’re putting a business in a residential area that changes the nature/use of the property. 

Can I build a full blown hotel in a residential neighborhood that has Airbnb? Why not? You can build Airbnb but I can’t build a 4plex in the same neighborhood? Doesn’t seem legal. 

They are certainly filling a need. I do use them as a hotel room is just a place to sleep while I’m visiting or traveling, it’s not the attraction. But I’m not against them if you don’t bother others you should be able to use your property. Hopefully “everyone and their mother” getting in to it will drive prices down 50% closer to reasonable hotel alternative pricing. 

[Allan C.]

@Ryan Thomson Every single business opportunity eventually reaches market efficiency where returns are eroded by competition and regulation. The name of the game is to be first in the game or to establish a competitive advantage.

You are asking the right questions.

[Bruce Woodruff]

The STR game (Please don't call them AirBnBs :-) is still relatively new, even if we folks on here think it's an old industry. VRBO started it not all that long ago in the pig picture and AIR jumped on the bandwagon 13 years later. I see that most millennials know about them and probably frequent them more, but the older generation(s) are just beginning to realize that they can stay at a nice home with a kitchen/laundry/etc for the same price as a sterile, unfriendly hotel with zero personality.

We are getting many more older folks (50+) that admit they are brand new to the whole STR thing and they marvel at the concept, so I see this trend continuing and growing. These are the people that (generally speaking) have more money and more time.

Now to the legality/morality issue. There are some areas that will start to over-regulate and ban STRs and other that won't, some states have even stepped in to mandate the right to STR existence. I suspect an ebb/flow effect here as areas over-react and ban them, then back off and relax regs again. The moral issue is so silly I won't waste time addressing it, but supply and demand will take care of that as people migrate around the country because of business, politics, family and who knows what.

My bottom line is that there is a lot of room to grow in this game, but still best to get in early if you're gonna do it at all. And don't waste time tilting at windmills - find out where STRs are welcome and relatively un-regulated and go there and make money, while providing a great life experience for others....

[Mike Dymski]

Quote from @Owen Hehmeyer:

@Ryan Thomson The success of AirBnB and VRBO is due to the fact that the short term lodging industry was offering only one type of easily bookable product - 95% of hotel rooms are 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 living room, 0 kitchen. It turned out that there was a huge demand for multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen. It is hugely inefficient to have 50 AirBnBs scattered across town, and the resulting cleaning and upkeep charges actually make AirBnBs costly and low service. If every hotel converted 20% of its floor area to suite style multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen style rooms and made them easily bookable, they could beat AirBnB on cost due to the huge efficiency of being under one roof and offering great on site service. If and when cities get serious about making sure every AirBnB pays hotel tax, which they should, hotels will be in an even better position to compete. I am really curious if hotels can be retrofitted to compete with AirBnB, or if it is not physically/financially feasible due to HVAC needs. Would be fascinating to see. Profits attract competition, so maybe it will happen.

Well said.  I am building one.

@Ryan Thomson They will just enforce existing residential zoning.

[Bruce Woodruff]

Quote from @Owen Hehmeyer:

@Ryan Thomson The success of AirBnB and VRBO is due to the fact that the short term lodging industry was offering only one type of easily bookable product - 95% of hotel rooms are 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 living room, 0 kitchen. It turned out that there was a huge demand for multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen. It is hugely inefficient to have 50 AirBnBs scattered across town, and the resulting cleaning and upkeep charges actually make AirBnBs costly and low service. If every hotel converted 20% of its floor area to suite style multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen style rooms and made them easily bookable, they could beat AirBnB on cost due to the huge efficiency of being under one roof and offering great on site service. If and when cities get serious about making sure every AirBnB pays hotel tax, which they should, hotels will be in an even better position to compete. I am really curious if hotels can be retrofitted to compete with AirBnB, or if it is not physically/financially feasible due to HVAC needs. Would be fascinating to see. Profits attract competition, so maybe it will happen.

Nope - 95% of hotel rooms have no bedroom. They just have one room with the beds and a table (maybe) and a TV. Maybe a mini fridge....? For the same price nowadays as a nice 1BR/1BA house. 

The cost for them to retrofit, add kitchens, and bedrooms would be staggering. No way it ever happens except in new built hotels - then they still have the hotel look and smell, and their prices will have to go waaay up to get any return.

And it is not 'inefficient' to have 50 STRs 'scattered' around town.....that is their draw and charm.

STRs are here to stay and grow.....

[Eric Bilderback]

They need to bring back Yo Mama jokes, "Yo Mama's STR smells so bad..." Aww those were the days!

When and if there is a recession it will be interesting to see how STR's fare. I have it in my head that they are riskier then LTR but I really couldn't tell you why I believe that people who were going to go on a high end vacation will most likely go on a less expensive vacation etc. I can also see that clearing the field some for investors who have their STRs dialed.

@Bruce Woodruff I didn't refer to them as AirBNBs just for you.  LOL

[Jon Martin]

Quote from @Ryan Thomson:

@Jon Martin good thoughts man! Yeah I have been thinking about bias and trying to sort through that. Have you heard of the "availability heuristic"? It basically says that if we can think of examples of something we are likely to overestimate the chance of it happening. People drastically overestimate the likely hood of shark attacks or plane crashes, etc bc everyone can think of an example of those. 

 Yes- I have heard of the availability heuristic and it’s certainly a thing . . . just like you notice how many people have the same new car or shirt as you right after you buy it. 

That said if you hang out in investor and RE circles, you are bound to hear about STRs more. Whereas those with day jobs outside of RE or hospitality it’s far less common. That’s why I liken it to what Bitcoin must’ve been like before it became common news, where if you were in tech everyone around you bought in already but the general public was still weary of it. It’s when I started hearing gym bros and Uber drivers talk about Bitcoin in late 2017 that it crashed shortly after. 

That’s why I think STRs are in a similar point in the cycle. I don’t see it crashing, although it will get more competitive. Properties in hot markets will keep pricing up to the point of no longer being profitable, which will lead to the market cooling off and later repeating the cycle as these things always do. 

[Natalie Schanne]

@Ryan Thomson @Jonathan W. -

There are 4 Main successful STR categories I have observed.

1. Experiential Hospitality - something fun and unique like a Tiny House in Joshua Tree, Glamping, farm Stays, etc. These used to be listed on Yelp or through specialty travel agencies. Destination Hotels mimic this - think Smith Mountain Lodge in Dirty Dancing with its games, dancing, dining.

2. Executive Stay Hotel Housing Equivalent (ballpark $70-150/night), long apartment would rent for about 50% or less of STR fees (however the fees also pay for utilities, basic consumables, and furniture deterioration). This fills a need for better accommodations at an equivalent price of hotels, while staying longer term in an apartment building or condo complex.

3. Multi Member Reunion / Vacation type housing

- I think demand for this one is going to feel weaker given many more of these houses have come online after people shared saying “you can rent your 5BR house at $500-1000/night for sleeps 10-16 guests.” Airbnb and VRBO introduced an ease of locating and booking these houses outside of a rental agency like “Vacation Poconos” or New Jersey Shore Houses. A lot of these houses seem to be claiming under 40% annual occupancy or wildly varying prices ($250-300 off peak, $1200-1500 peak based on algorithmic pricing).

I feel like demand will be weaker as more people (customers) have tried this and felt like it didn’t work or they got stuck with a lodging or post-stay cleaning bill after their friends didn’t pay their fair share. My friend got stuck paying about $20,000 for 4 beach houses for a week and the bulk majority of her friends came up for 1-2 nights over the weekend and paid “$100” towards that night instead of $700 for the week.

Or conversely, the STR host got shut down unexpectedly for a "party/security" violation or filing for AirCover for major party damages, and they're FUBAR without reservations to carry the big expenses.

4. Shared House (Private Room) / Budget Lodging - substitution for like motel or economy stays at $40-70/night. - this is the type I focus on, where 3-5 working professionals will live together, each with a private room, and share the kitchen, bathroom, and laundry. They may stay for 30 days or 1.5 years. I think it’s a positive for many aspects - increased energy and space efficiency (5 people living in 2000 sqft versus driving demand for 5 one bedroom apartments let’s say 3500 sqft and increasing demand and rent $$ for single parents, couples). furnished housing reduces waste in terms of buying/trashing ikea type beds, desks, pillows, plates etc. to furnish apartments for 12 months in a location before you get a job in another city. Furnished housing also reduces appliance demand and deterioration like 1 stove, fridge, microwave, dishwasher hvac, hot water heater, serves 5 people continuously instead of 5 stoves (etc) over the same 10 year period.

(I do not understand why but SRO - single room occupancy appears to be looked down on, perhaps for violations historically because people choosing SRO by necessity (instead of those choosing to save money) because they can’t afford a 1 bed or studio apartment might be affiliated with “slumlords”. What comes to mind are 8x10 rooms connected by hallways in New York City with bathrooms in the hall and maybe a small shared kitchen space.)

Random aside - At the moment Airbnb is offering $400+ to sign up new hosts for either houses or private rooms. Six months ago I referred 3 people who started private rooms making $3000+/mo on the platform each (3-4 bedrooms listed) and didn’t get any referral payouts because they were only giving bonuses to signing up whole house rentals. So obviously private rooms are trending.

Jonathan - I like your availability heuristic - as a college student, everyone I know lived with 1-5 other people sharing a kitchen and/or living room and/or bathroom, (while paying $1000 or more a month), so continuing to do so after college when we had our first jobs was a no brainer. However, when I mention house hacking or room rentals to many people - even people struggling with their bills - they look at me like I’m crazy. Like they would rather work 40+ hours extra a month doing UBEREATS than share their house with someone who isn’t their family.

Anyway, my point is that there are multiple ways to make money filling different niches and STR platforms are helping book products that already existed but were a little more self-regulated through a common rental agency aiding with the bookings of multiple houses.

Some towns especially in New Jersey state that "between any change of tenants" (intended to be 12+ months), you need to do a certificate of occupancy inspection (essentially a check up that the property is still maintained) and if this was required between every 1-7 day STR guest, it would make it effectively impossible to operate given the delays for inspection, costs of inspection, delays for reinspection, etc.

Overall the Hotel Lobby wants to fight STR products that are reducing demand and pricing for their products. Many hotels have gone bankrupt (the lender repossessed it) after operating in the red in 2020 due to forced closures. I have seen many built within the past 20 years properties-Hyatt, Holiday Inn etc hotels on Ten X over the past 24 months due to the negative cash flow from closures and reduced in person business travel.

[Rodney Sums]

Quote from @Ryan Thomson:

Everyone and their mom is doing Short Term Rentals. In fact, my mom (and dad) and I just went 50/50 on an Airbnb (my 4th). It seems like these days that EVERYONE I talk to is excited about Airbnb and STRs. Even people previously uninterested in real estate investing are putting their houses on Airbnb. The cashflow is crazy and investors are going all in.

So what's my question?

I'm getting there. 

I love the cashflow of an STR. I have an exit plan that will more than cover the mortgage. However, I'm considering if I should buy another one. Not looking for advice on my specific situation. I'm looking for your musings/predictions about how STR profits will change, the risks you see in investing in STRs, if STRs are contributing to housing shortages and rising home prices, and/or if you think there is lots of demand still around to soak up supply. What say you? Muse away please.

Not being an owner of one, and not a hater of them, here's challenges that come to mind with respect to your question :

-A given city/county etc restricting or banning STRs after the purchase has been made based on its potential to serve as and STR

-Neighbors that complain and collectively fight to put the STR landlord out of business

-Guests and their reviews.  I read hotel reviews frequently.  People complain about the darnedest things and react to them as well. 

-Risks for fights with the hotel industry. People talked about hotels retrofitting to have rooms that function like a SFR. Imagine if instead of doing that, Mariott, Choice, Wyndham etc. decided they were just going to start buying SFRs or even apartment buildings and putting their brand on it. Guests are now choosing between Bob's house or Mariott's house.

-New Taxes.  The government always makes sure to get its cut.

None of that is to say they aren't good investments or are poorer investments. You stated having an exit strategy in the event unanticipated changes in the market prevent the STR from performing as desired.

[Dan Heuschele]

Quote from @Eric Bilderback:

They need to bring back Yo Mama jokes, "Yo Mama's STR smells so bad..." Aww those were the days!

When and if there is a recession it will be interesting to see how STR's fare. I have it in my head that they are riskier then LTR but I really couldn't tell you why I believe that people who were going to go on a high end vacation will most likely go on a less expensive vacation etc. I can also see that clearing the field some for investors who have their STRs dialed.

@Bruce Woodruff I didn't refer to them as AirBNBs just for you.  LOL

As someone that had/have 2 beach area STR units at the Great Recession and 5 LTR units at the great recession, I can state in my market (San Diego area) the STRs took a beating and the LTR had virtually ero impact. How bad was the STR beating? We converted the 2 STR units to student housing Sept to May and only STR them through the summer. With the management fees I needed ~30% booking to match the LTR income and I was not getting it in the school season. Our LTRs experienced no rent decrease but did not have the usual rent increases during the GR (basically my LTR units' rents were flat).

Note 2020 was also a bad year due to California Covid restrictions and closures. My rents were less than 50% of 2019. 2021 was also below 2019, but not at significantly (January had zero STR bookings due to local regulations)

San Diego has recently passed STR quotas. The law has not yet gone into effect.

In summary, my experience is that STRs have numerous risks that are not associated with LTRs.  This can include the outright banning of STRs, placing quotas, banning their use in times like COVID, or recessions.

[Ryan Thomson]

Quote from @Owen Hehmeyer:

@Ryan Thomson The success of AirBnB and VRBO is due to the fact that the short term lodging industry was offering only one type of easily bookable product - 95% of hotel rooms are 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 living room, 0 kitchen. It turned out that there was a huge demand for multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen. It is hugely inefficient to have 50 AirBnBs scattered across town, and the resulting cleaning and upkeep charges actually make AirBnBs costly and low service. If every hotel converted 20% of its floor area to suite style multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen style rooms and made them easily bookable, they could beat AirBnB on cost due to the huge efficiency of being under one roof and offering great on site service. If and when cities get serious about making sure every AirBnB pays hotel tax, which they should, hotels will be in an even better position to compete. I am really curious if hotels can be retrofitted to compete with AirBnB, or if it is not physically/financially feasible due to HVAC needs. Would be fascinating to see. Profits attract competition, so maybe it will happen.

 @Owen Hehmeyer really good points. I had never thought about that before. Definitely a service that is not currently being offered by hotels. 

[Ryan Thomson]

Quote from @Bill Brandt:

Cities don’t care if you bought a home for Airbnb, they have zero problem making it illegal the next day. It’s pretty easy to justify if you’re putting a business in a residential area that changes the nature/use of the property. 

Can I build a full blown hotel in a residential neighborhood that has Airbnb? Why not? You can build Airbnb but I can’t build a 4plex in the same neighborhood? Doesn’t seem legal. 

They are certainly filling a need. I do use them as a hotel room is just a place to sleep while I’m visiting or traveling, it’s not the attraction. But I’m not against them if you don’t bother others you should be able to use your property. Hopefully “everyone and their mother” getting in to it will drive prices down 50% closer to reasonable hotel alternative pricing. 

 @Bill Brandt true, true. Thanks for sharing!

[Ryan Thomson]

Quote from @Allan C.:

@Ryan Thomson Every single business opportunity eventually reaches market efficiency where returns are eroded by competition and regulation. The name of the game is to be first in the game or to establish a competitive advantage.

You are asking the right questions.

 Thanks @Allan C. Curious, in what ways do you think a competitive advantage can be established in the STR world?

[Ryan Thomson]

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

The STR game (Please don't call them AirBnBs :-) is still relatively new, even if we folks on here think it's an old industry. VRBO started it not all that long ago in the pig picture and AIR jumped on the bandwagon 13 years later. I see that most millennials know about them and probably frequent them more, but the older generation(s) are just beginning to realize that they can stay at a nice home with a kitchen/laundry/etc for the same price as a sterile, unfriendly hotel with zero personality.

We are getting many more older folks (50+) that admit they are brand new to the whole STR thing and they marvel at the concept, so I see this trend continuing and growing. These are the people that (generally speaking) have more money and more time.

Now to the legality/morality issue. There are some areas that will start to over-regulate and ban STRs and other that won't, some states have even stepped in to mandate the right to STR existence. I suspect an ebb/flow effect here as areas over-react and ban them, then back off and relax regs again. The moral issue is so silly I won't waste time addressing it, but supply and demand will take care of that as people migrate around the country because of business, politics, family and who knows what.

My bottom line is that there is a lot of room to grow in this game, but still best to get in early if you're gonna do it at all. And don't waste time tilting at windmills - find out where STRs are welcome and relatively un-regulated and go there and make money, while providing a great life experience for others....

@Bruce Woodruff did you just quote Donte Quixote?! "Titling at windmills". Great musings. Thanks for sharing. Would you still consider the present as "getting in early"? It feels at least like getting in later than early. 

[Ryan Thomson]

Quote from @Mike Dymski:

Quote from @Owen Hehmeyer:

@Ryan Thomson The success of AirBnB and VRBO is due to the fact that the short term lodging industry was offering only one type of easily bookable product - 95% of hotel rooms are 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 1 living room, 0 kitchen. It turned out that there was a huge demand for multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen. It is hugely inefficient to have 50 AirBnBs scattered across town, and the resulting cleaning and upkeep charges actually make AirBnBs costly and low service. If every hotel converted 20% of its floor area to suite style multibedroom, multibathroom, 1 living room, 1 kitchen style rooms and made them easily bookable, they could beat AirBnB on cost due to the huge efficiency of being under one roof and offering great on site service. If and when cities get serious about making sure every AirBnB pays hotel tax, which they should, hotels will be in an even better position to compete. I am really curious if hotels can be retrofitted to compete with AirBnB, or if it is not physically/financially feasible due to HVAC needs. Would be fascinating to see. Profits attract competition, so maybe it will happen.

Well said.  I am building one.

@Ryan Thomson They will just enforce existing residential zoning.

 @Mike Dymski Woah... tell us more please!

[Ryan Thomson]

Quote from @Eric Bilderback:

They need to bring back Yo Mama jokes, "Yo Mama's STR smells so bad..." Aww those were the days!

When and if there is a recession it will be interesting to see how STR's fare. I have it in my head that they are riskier then LTR but I really couldn't tell you why I believe that people who were going to go on a high end vacation will most likely go on a less expensive vacation etc. I can also see that clearing the field some for investors who have their STRs dialed.

@Bruce Woodruff I didn't refer to them as AirBNBs just for you.  LOL

 @Eric Bilderback I just laughed out loud. Yeah I wonder how a recession would impact people traveling for vacation. I imagine that would decline. Don't have any data to prove my point though.