All Forum Posts by: Cody Z.

They're getting hammered down there right now.

Of course there are folks making it work, I just don't believe it's the lion's share of investors.

I think the idea of throwing a property on Airbnb with IKEA furniture and little to no plan or research is "dead". You won't survive. This is the expectation that I think a lot of people had when entering the market which is unfortunate.

Great discussion!

I respectfully disagree with you. I don’t think it’s just a “sphere” issue or echo chamber.

STR's have become more and more oversaturated over the last three years. Guests have more choices due to this over saturation so it's harder for Hosts to stand out. Additionally, budgets have tightened since a lot of the free money dried up and the fast rising inflation has caught up with consumers causing continued downward pressure on prices and occupancy. In addition, property prices and higher mortgage rates have squeezed margins due to higher monthly carrying costs. There just simply isn't as much money to be made for the average Host in 2024.

This increased competition, lower rates and occupancy, overly optimistic underwriting and lower travel demand post COVID travel boom does warrant a reasonable label such as “Airbnbbust”.

TLDR

The environment has fundamentally changed and operators have had to do a lot more than simply list a property to profit heftily. It’s become a different game, in my opinion.

I’m not suggesting all people should quit, but some might consider it if they don’t want it be in the hospitality business or work hard to make great cash flow.

You should be asking what markets may work with a particular niche or idea.

Also, in my opinion, STR's that are generic won't perform well for the most part. Think about what you can offer that's special or different to stand out.

Quote from @Jake Mercer:

"Airbnb is dead." "Rental Arbitrage is an outdated business model." How many people have you heard this from?

Well..everyone's story is different. I started Airbnb arbitrage 4 years ago and here's why I'm quitting the arbitrage business.

I'm quitting because I don't need to do it anymore! I used rental arbitrage to scale from $10k in my pocket to nine arbitrage properties in less than 2 1/2 years and then used that cash flow and profit to hire a full time operations manager, build a STR property management business with a partner and work with investors to purchase properties out of state.. We manage 7 STR properties and just bought 2 single family homes and a tiny home. All that will be rented out on Airbnb! Not to mention our existing airbnb arbitrage portfolio ;

I say all this because, for me.. rental arbitrage was a stepping stone to building a business in real estate. And while it might not be attractive to all real estate investors, I believe it can be a fantastic way to start to build experience, build profit/cash flow and establish yourself as a STR professional in your market and then use that to build a co-hosting/management business and work with investors that want to you use their knowledge and expertise to partner on projects.

Point is, don't believe everything everyone says about what is "bad" and what is "good". I know people making $20k+ months couch flipping and investing in vending machines. Don't knock the hustle, just knock the operator. Become great at what you do and you can make any vehicle a success. We will do over $750k this year in revenue form our Airbnb portfolio and that's because I took a leap of faith in myself to start an Airbnb arbitrage business 4 years ago. 

 Congrats, Jake. Different strokes for different folks.

 You haven't been on YouTube then because that's all it's been for 2 years.

@Russell Brazil

This is so sad to see.

@Collin H.

I’ve had integration with it for the last 6 months and I’ve gotten nothing from it. I don’t think it’s all that good but I’m optimistic for it in the next few years

Hi Everyone,

I am considering offering outsourced CFO services to Real Estate Investors but specifically Short Term Rental operators.

For those that offer these services, what do you include in the offer? Do you do tiered packages? What’s the minimum viable package that you offer for the client to start?

I have a few ideas of what I’d like to offer but would love to speak to professionals who offer this already!

Thanks in advance,

Cody

 Fair enough. I have worked to get mine down as much as possible without sacrificing quality!

My properties are much smaller than yours though.