Buying properties for Airbnb the Philippines?

Question

Hey Everyone,

Does anyone have experience with buying properties (small hotels, multifamily, or SFR's) in the Philippines for Airbnb (or renting short term)?

My family owns an apartment complex and house in Makati.

Scott K. · Answer

I can't imagine running an airbnb without being able to check on it every few months. It's so difficult to get cleaners to do the same job each time. It's really difficult to set up a place, or to ensure the little things don't get overlooked over time when you don't personally go there. I have my cleaners take 50 photos each cleaning but they still miss things. Broken game console, cue tips need replacing. Lamp went missing. I could see someone running a barebones airbnb remotely and having low maintenance guests. But my properties cost a lot per night and people have very high expectations.

Lope Encarnacion · Answer

have rentals in the city as well. tried airbnb/short term rents a few years back, good margins then. eventually stuck to annual contracts due to the time commitment involved in operations. figured the time/cost wasn't a good fit for me at that time. good luck.

Gi'angelo Bautista · Answer

@Lope Encarnacion Yes! That would be very helpful actually.

Lope Encarnacion · Answer

Yes, trusted virtual assistants do help. Can also refer you to the realty  firm we use if you're interested.

Gi'angelo Bautista · Answer

@Lope Encarnacion I'm still building the ground team. I only have the virtual assistants who are willing to manage the properties (I trust two of them a lot). We also have an engineer out there who used to work for SM Investment and another big company, I forget the company name.  I'm looking for a savy investor friendly agent in Manila still.

Lope Encarnacion · Answer

@gi'angelo care to share how you sourced your ground team.

Gi'angelo Bautista · Answer

@Scott Kunz We had similar experiences as you. We felt that we always had to visit the property ourselves until we started getting on the ground team members/cleaners go to the houses and do virtual video calls and etc. Also, hiring a good cleaner was super important. We actually have on the ground workers in Philippines in Manila.

Paul Sandhu · Answer

Stick with something local.  I can beat the eff out of an intruder of an STR of mine within 180 seconds with my security cameras.  If  can't beat the eff out of them, the police will arrest them.  I also have 17 very fast friends if things go south.

Ronsted Yuag · Answer

I developed and built a campground in central visayas and used AirBnB for my treehouse and hobbit houses. Good income pre-pandemic but lately "nada". AirBnB is great but I also used Booking  alternately every other week. I read somewhere that different platforms have different marketing styles. Booking is easier to manage than AirBnb as the latter has pre-approval and reviews (just my point of view).

Buying properties for Airbnb the Philippines?

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