Should I, or shouldn’t I?

[Adrian3010]

I have a 1-bedroom spacious apartment that I’ve always rented on a buy-to-let basis. Question is - if I spend lots of money adding furniture in order to AirBnB it, would it be worth my while?

Property is close to town centre and beach, train station nearby etc, it’s in an East Yorkshire seaside town in England. 

Thank you in advance. 

[Mike-And-Jane0 · Accepted solution]

@Adrian3010 You have 2 options

1) look at rates for similar places on Airbnb and then guestimate what your occupancy might be

2) Buy data from Airdna or Airdata if they cover your town.

then build a business plan.

Don't forget you may need to change your insurer and mortgage company as short term rentals are often not covered by buy to let providers

Then research the tax and pension benefits of STR over buy to let

Then make a decision and hope you don't regret it.

You can also find really good 2nd hand furniture on Facebook marketplace/ebay.

[Adrian3010]

Thanks guys, definitely food for thought. 
So, which way is best? ABB or Cottages? 

[Helen3]

Do follow @Mike-And-Jane0  advice. @Adrian3010 

Once you have done your market research to understand likely demand then put together a profit and loss budget with all your set up and ongoing costs and an estimate of likely income.

This will tell you whether it's likely to be worthwhile

[Adrian3010]

Thanks Helen. I’ve had valuations from Cottages.com, on the face of it, the numbers stack up, but only at their projected figures. 
They tell me it’s a live system and information is current, based on real time data. 
I’m still really pondering, this is something I’ve wanted to do for years and I feel that if I don’t try it, I’ll regret later.