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Erin Spradlin

Are you experiencing the #airbnbbust?

VIDEO

If you prefer video, you can check out a short on this here or a longer explanation below. If you prefer to read about it, I've written this out below as well.



what is the airbnb bust?

Airbnb Hosts started talked about the #airbnbbust in October 2022 when a successful short-term rental host out of California complained on Twitter that

their business had slowed down dramatically. This post subsequently got a ton of attention from other frustrated hosts that stated they had also seen their numbers go down.


whY is the airbnb bust happening?

We think the Airbnb bust is happening for a few reasons:

  1. It's seasonal. Often the months of October-March are slow for locations that have a better performance or more to do in the summer.

  2. There's an increase in vacation rental properties. People not only purchased new homes while the interest rates were low, but they also purchased vacation properties during the crazy, low interest rate markets. Those properties are now online and increasing short-term rental competition.

  3. There is market uncertainty... As in, are we going into a recession? How is Ukraine impacting gas prices? Do we need to save? Why are groceries so expensive? These concerns depress travel and spend on travel.

whAT Can you do about the airbnb bust happening?

There are a few things you can do to increase stays at your property:

  1. You can lower your prices. 80% of something is better than 0 of nothing. Drop and drop until you get a guest with the plan that you'll bring the price up when the market normalizes.

  2. You can move your property into a mid-term rental. There is a lot of demand right now for 30+ day rentals as remote workers are impacting travel patterns and working from states and locations far from their jobs.

  3. You can utilize your headlines better. Instead of writing generic content in your headlines like "spacious" or "cute" or "adorable", be more specific. Include in your headline what makes you different. Here's a few ideas: "pet-friendly" or "Keep the crib at home. We have all the baby stuff you need on site" or "6 Miles from Super Bowl LVII" or "Hot Tub on site" or "No cleaning fees." Lean into whatever you keep seeing come up in the comments and make that your headline.

WILL I EVER BE ABLE TO MAKE MONEY ON MY AIRBNB AGAIN?

LOL. Probably. Also, it's important to keep in mind that before there was Airbnb, many, many people had successful long-term rentals. It's just that we are now accustomed to short-term rental money. It is definitely not the only strategy that works.


But, also, there's a good chance that this slow period will knock out some of your Airbnb competition. When those people leave Airbnb and decide not to come back, you and your property will be there and ready.


what to do about the airbnb bust


Woodland Park has had a study session about Airbnb in May and a community meeting in July.


Woodland Park is looking to see if the tax rate is similar/fair between hotels and Airbnb and also to see if the town character has changed and/or if crime has increased. While we can't speak to if the character of the town has changed, crime has not gone up.


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We also offer consulting for Airbnb, monthly stays and mid-term rentals. Learn more about mid-term rental consulting here.


BUY THE BOOK ON MEDIUM-TERM RENTALS.

That's right. There's a book that can help you with your medium-term rental strategy.

Available on Amazon, you can buy it here.








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