Am I Too Late To Start an Airbnb?
Short-term rentals are a great way to build your real estate portfolio while others happily pay for it for you. :) But just like every other business, there's competition and the market conditions have changed from the days of super low interest rates and just slapping a place online and booking it out.
So, to answer your question, no, you're not too late, BUT it's going to take more than just adding your place to Airbnb and raking in the cash. If you're smart and willing to put in the effort, it can work for you. Many of us are still enjoying being hosts and are reaping the benefits.
Every property has its own story, including desirability, location, renovations, costs and expenses, and potential profitability, and each has its own level of effort that it will take to make it a 5-star rental.
You'll have to define what "success" looks like for you. Is it to simply offset expenses, have a place for you and your friends and family to stay in at your favorite vacation spot, to pay for itself, cash-flow, or scale to multiple locations?
What you need to do to be successful with short-term rentals:
Proactively Implement Intentional Hospitality
It blows me away how many online posts I see from hosts that are adversarial to their guests. This is a 100% hospitality business and reviews will make or break your business and bottom line. I get it, it's your place, your property, your investment, but if you have poor reviews, your investment isn't going to be that great of an investment. Besides other short-term rentals, our primary competitor is hotels who have invested decades and hundreds of millions of dollars into perfecting hospitality. You must bring your hospitality A-game.
Do Your Research
Every market is different, has different levels of competition, desirability, nightly rates, etc. Check on a site like Airdna.co for info about the area.
Check Regulations
Check with local municipalities on rules, fees, licenses, and restrictions for short-term rentals.
Location Matters
You've heard location matters and it's 1000% true with short-term rentals. Pick places people want or need to be. Be aware: More popular locations attract more competition. For example, I strategically have a property that's 5 minutes from the beach which pushes guests towards me away from the higher on beach prices. Also, property prices were more affordable than on-beach prices.
Define Your Target Audience
Define a target audience for your place to attract a more specific audience. Couples? Groups? Families' w/kids? Business travelers? Then adjust your offerings and amenities to attract and accommodate them.
Make Your Place Stand Out
Bust out your inner designer (or hire one). You're going to need to be good at making your listing stand out from the crowd. Spend time looking at other listings in your area and seeing which ones are "full" and why. Standard decor isn't going to help your listing "pop", so you need to create a brand, theme, and unique decor style that grabs attention but also appeals and attracts your target audience.
Don't Skimp on Photos
Stage your place to elicit emotion and show people how they will "feel" when they stay with you and how they can use & enjoy your place. Spend some money on a professional photographer that knows how to take great photos for short-term rentals. Some real estate photographers don't always take the time to capture the feelings or emotion required for a vacation rental and may only focus on showing features or rooms.
Write Attention-Stealing Titles & Descriptions
On vacation rental sites such as Airbnb and VRBO, you only have 50 to 80 characters to grab someone’s attention and get them to click into your listing, so, you've got to make them count. The typical formula is: adjective + property type + selling feature + landmark
Learn & Embrace Technology
Being able to leverage technology is essential to a successful short-term rental business. From bookings, to marketing, to guest relations, everything is tied to how well you grasp and leverage technology to your advantage.
Proactively Implement Intentional Hospitality
It's worth saying again. This is the secret sauce that makes it all work and makes all the difference between a successful host and the ones on here complaining about guests being guests.