How to market an airbnb as a business

[Ginger3]

I am considering selling my very successful airbnb cabin.  It is worth more than just the real estate, due to the business potential.  I would sell it completely furnished and outfitted.  My question - how to successfully market it as a business.  Realtors do not seem to have any imagination or creativity.  Also how easy is it for a buyer to take out a commercial loan to finance the purchase?  I feel like it is worth way more than just the house and the land.

Thanks for any suggestions!

[Bjørn-Magnus0]

Hi!

Just to be clear: I've never rented out anything in my life. I will however, if everything goes as planned, be renting out my first flat this summer. I'm 19 years old and have NO professional or formal qualifications to answer your question.

HOWEVER -- If I were to buy your estate:

1. Can you provide proof from, f.x., AirBnB, private invoices, etc., that people want to rent the house? What months are the most popular, how many days each month is booked, how much can you charge per room, why is the estate attractive?
2. Are there any popular tourist spots nearby? For example: I'm from Lofoten in Norway, a very popular tourist place. A cabin by the sea with poor standard would rent for more money than a flat of good standard in the city centre of Leknes, because the city centre doesn't look good and doesn't provide the experience people travel there for. What "uniqueness" does your estate have, that others nearby don't have?
3. What has the estate sold for previously, can you justify the price increase?
4. Get review from previous guests, review their positive feedback and use these as sales arguments -- take the negative feedback into consideration. If there is anything you can fix, how expensive is it? If you can fix it -- do it. 9/10 times you'll see the money as an investment that creates more profit for you.

As I said in the introduction, I'm 19 years old. This list however is compiled of things I would look after should I get the money to invest in more estates. If you need any help getting rid of the estate, don't hesitate to contact me.

For help with marketing/advertising, real estate tips or graphic design/service/photography -- please see my LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/vian

Good luck with the real estate sales!

--

Kind regards,

Bjørn

[Hollie6]

I think its a great idea to sell as a business especially if the return on the amount of money invested makes sense. Maybe list it on biz buy sell instead of with a typical realator and list it as a business or maybe do multiple listings and see what kind of attention it gets.

Good luck!
Hollie

[Sarah977]

@Hollie6  While a home seller can certainly advertise that the place has been successfully run as an Airbnb for xx number of years and provide potential buyers with financial info, Airbnb listings cannot be transferred, so it can't be sold as a business, that would be fraudulent. The new owner would have to start from scratch with the listing, the reviews and ratings all stay with the previous owner.

[Hollie6]

I understand that and I'm in no way suggesting to do anything fraudulnet, however if she has a really great property and is making good money, it goes to show the next person that they can do the same. Just because you have a new owner deosnt' meant they won't be just as succesful. So its all in how she advertises the property.

[Ginger3]

Going back to reply to my original post. We were able to sell our existing Airbnb as a turnkey listing.  We sold to fellow hosts in our area. During the transition, we co-hosted which worked really well.  While they did have to start a new listing, I allowed them to use the name and my photos in the interim period.  This arrangement only worked because we were friends, and they already had hosting experience. 

My initial hope was confirmed. We were able to sell our cabin as a turnkey airbnb for way more than it would have been worth on an open market. And realtors? Oh yeah, they did not get the marketing potential.  We did a private sale.