Air-DNA vs raw airbnb data in an Excel?

Question

Hey everyone,

1) Air-DNA; either premium version or free trial.

2) An Excel spreadsheet that contains all the raw data from Airbnb for all the listings within a city (just like if someone collected the data manually for each listing).

3) Other software/app.

Appreciate your thoughts on this!

Best, Emily

Ecaterina Katerina Morosan · Answer

Emily, investors we work with are only interested in raw numbers especially if it's a Miami condo/hotel unit where each condo is completely different and offers different amenities, services, views etc. Although AirDNA can be a solution in some markets, using AirDNA for condos in Miami area is like using Zestimate to price a unit for sale.

Michael Baum · Answer

Hey @Emily Anderson, I agree with @Bruce Woodruff and @John Underwood.

Run through each OTA and compare. If I was really concerned I might buy a local subscription to a specific area on AirDNA to see how it pencils out vs the enemy method.

Also, I don't think that AirDNA is particularly sophisticated. It is a traditional algorithm that scrapes data. They are always making improvements.

I also like to play with Awning.coms analyzer. It is free and covers a lot of what AirDNA does.

Emily Anderson · Answer

@Bruce Woodruff I fully agree with that! Raw data is not manipulated by any machine learning / AI BS algorithm. Does anyone else think the same?

Kunal Malhotra · Answer

Agreed with John above - a mixture of both. I think raw numbers cannot be used here as you dont know what's blocked. Also, people change pricing frequently - and you will need to constantly update raw numbers. AirDna will be better in this case as a baseline for analysis. Dont think free version is of much use - I am thinking to sign up for the basic or Pro myself, and will verify manually on some properties using Airbnb and Vrbo listings.

John Mausteller · Answer

I think a mixture of both.  AirDNA is not perfect - but neither is going through individual listings and trying to guess what days are real rentals vs blocked, etc   I pay for AirDNA and when I compare my properties annual revenue with what AirDNA says I do - it is pretty much spot on.  One thing I noted is that AirDNA shows my revenue and includes the 3% Airbnb host fee.   So my actual earnings is 3% less.

Sarah Kensinger · Answer

I don't believe just using Airbnb is accurate at all! And here's why...How many days are actually booked vs blocked? Did the host charge the guest additional fees after the booking? Is the host using dynamic pricing or just a set price? Is the researcher going to really click through every available date and log prices for hundreds of listings? How many of those future bookings well be canceled or changed? What is the lead time booking and how many bookings are last minute. Is the researcher going to pull the exact same data from hundreds of listings on VRBO as well? And on and on!

Airdna is not just based off algorithm but actually data pulled directly from Airbnb/VRBO, which hosts agree to sharing when they list on the sites. Just like any other software the user needs to know how to pull data correctly and use the software right. With the free data sites, you do need to be extra careful, because that is almost strictly algorithm with only a couple months of actual data. Hosts that want to make a decent profit get a little skin in the game, and if that means paying a bit for real data so they aren't coming back on this forum in a year asking how to save their STR, then that is what it takes. Those that mess around with numbers and don't get serious about learning how to underwrite a property correctly, or asking someone to help them run numbers, have trouble more often than not.

Andrew Steffens · Answer

I do both.  I look at AirDNA (premium only, free is useless!!) and get their number, the same way I look at a Zillow Estimate.  Sometimes it can be spot on, other times way off.  I then go into AirDNA and look at the comps and select the closest property (ies) in terms of quality and amenities. Last I do the enemy and see if it agrees with the hypothesis I created on AirDNA.

John Underwood · Answer

Yep what Bruce said.

Add in Vrbo too .

Air-DNA vs raw airbnb data in an Excel?

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