New Hosts, Guidance Appreciated :) Cold Feet!

Jaiden0
Level 2
Los Angeles, CA

New Hosts, Guidance Appreciated :) Cold Feet!

Hello!

 

My names Jaiden and I'm looking to start hosting via Airbnb. This will be my first property (that I will be hosting and purchasing) with a little help from family. I'm looking for some guidance as there is only so many YouTube videos I can watch. I'd love to meet you all and hear your thoughts as to how I can feel a bit more at ease before I fully commit myself to this new home.

 

My property is currently in escrow and I'm starting to get cold feet. Hopefully you'll be able to warm them up... haha.

 

I just want to know what factors in terms of expenses/pricing I need to take into consideration as my family will be my partners for this property. I am a numbers person, so I'd like to see numbers and physical data. But because I'm new, I'm unsure if it's against Airbnb policy to show physical data or numbers for anyone to help review with me on here.

 

  1. What apps should I consider downloading? (I've made an account with AirDNA, is it worth subscribing for the monthly/annual subscription?)
  2. What service should I be using for dynamic pricing?
  3. Do you use any apps or services that connect all your platforms together? ex: calendars, vrbo, airbnb
  4. How do you calculate if you're going to make a profit monthly/annually? I've done my own calculations but since this is my first time, I'm hesitant if I'm even going to break even with all the expenses.
  5. The property is currently an Airbnb with about 30 reviews, and the prior owner was a Superhosts... Is there a way to see how many guests have used their house? 
    1. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/47339106?guests=1&adults=2&s=67&unique_share_id=10cb15c5-d0b8-4d8d-bdd5...
  6. If you could go back and share one tip to your old self when you started Airbnb hosting, what would it be? 🙂

 

This is only the tip of the iceberg, and I'd really like for this this to work out, as I can see myself doing this long term in the future. Please let me know your thoughts and constructive criticism as I appreciate all types of insight. I appreciate it.

 

Thank you. 🙂

 

Your friendly friend,


Jaiden

5 Replies 5
Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Jaiden0 I am always saddened by how some people just jump into short term rentals without doing their homework. In answer to #5 above - Yes you ask the previous owner to show you their booking rates and occupancy before you decide to go forward with the purchase. You can also ask them for all their costs and then adjust for your circumstances (mortgage, cleaning etc).

Hi Jaiden, you'll be doing great with your first listing for sure 🙂 answering the above

1. For pricing I use Airbtics, it's a less known tool but very accurate and helpful for me. So far is the only app I use, since for the other features I handle it all myself.

2. Dynamic pricing tools recommend pricing automatically which can be inaccurate sometimes as it doesn't factor in for many things like Major events or local situations, changes in laws, etc. o, I personally don't use any of them.

3. I only list in Airbnb for now so I don't need those tools yet.

4. The Airbtics app shows an estimated monthly revenue, I can work with that feature.

5. Oh I'm not sure about this one, sorry.

6. I'm quite new too, but I guess I'd advice myself to don't be so nervous and everything's going to be alright...just keep learning, researching and don't be shy to ask for help/advice from more experienced hosts.

 

That's it! Hope you find these answers helpful! Good luck!

Paige208
Level 3
San Diego, CA

I loved these questions! I’m fairly new to

airbnb but I find keeping all my calendars together very time consuming. I’d love to see the recommendation for that!

Paige Alexander
Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

@Jaiden0  I really hate doing this, but I am not going to answer a lot of these questions because I think you are focused on the wrong end of the equation 🙂 Numbers and metrics are definitely important but you are a different host. You are selling YOUR experience with this property-- not someone else's. What the property was going for under the last 20 hosts may have some bearing on your market but you could easily tank or top that by doing a worse/better job hosting than those people. There are a lot of things to consider before making this huge a commitment. One biggie is how much time and effort are you willing to put into this? 

 

Here is a thread with advice I regularly give for my friends who are interested in buying  a property to STR. Its focused on a remote owner, and I don't know if you are, but much of it still applies. This is all the stuff I would want to know before I focused on AirDNA.

 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Buying-a-remote-property-to-use-as-STR-things-to-be-awar...

Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

@Jaiden0 and also don't expect to make a huge profit. With all of the maintenance, cleaning, breakage and other stuff you have to account for, this idea of "Airbnb Millionaire" is a pipe dream for many. And taxes have a way of eating at those profits. Best not to show a lot. 

 

If you actually want this house for your own use-- as say a retirement, remote work/seasonal place or much needed getaway-- and want someone else to help pay the mortgage, Airbnb can be a great option. But lots of profit? There are much much better ways to invest, even in real estate.