How to Boost Your Airbnb Occupancy Rate

Celso Trinidad Jr.
Mashvisor
Published in
5 min readJul 12, 2018

Making money is the main drive that makes many real estate investors start renting out on Airbnb. Selecting the best places to invest in real estate, choosing the optimal rental strategy, renovating the investment property, and it is time to start making money. Sounds easy, right? However, if your Airbnb occupancy rate is too low, you can forget about making money in real estate, even if the location of your rental property is good. Consequently, boosting your Airbnb occupancy rate is the topic of the day! So, is becoming a real estate investor with the highest Airbnb occupancy rate in the real estate investing market hard? If you are ready to know the answer, keep on reading!

#1 The Reason a Real Estate Investor Should Become an Airbnb Host

The reason many real estate investors prefer short term rental properties over long term rental properties is simple. An Airbnb host charges a higher nightly rate than the landlord of traditional rentals. Consequently, such rental income properties provide a real estate investor with higher rental income, and thus, provide the opportunity to generate a bigger profit. Another reason Airbnb rentals are the best real estate investments is due to the nature of the rental strategy. The investor has the opportunity to use the real estate investing property as a vacation home and have his/her vacation there while leasing the property for the rest of the year.

#2 The Main Challenge When Renting Out on Airbnb: Airbnb Occupancy Rate

Even though renting out on Airbnb seems like a lucrative activity, there are some aspects that must be under control. For example, the main determinant of the prosperity of your income property is the Airbnb occupancy rate. Bad income property maintenance and failure to monitor Airbnb reviews may negatively affect the Airbnb occupancy rate, and thus, rental income. Therefore, the rate of return on investment will not make any real estate investor happy. Now it’s the right time to explain how to boost your Airbnb occupancy rate.

#3 How to Boost Airbnb Occupancy Rate: Focus on Short Term Rental Property

Well, in order for your property to be one of the best real estate investments, you should focus on your rental property. What is meant by that? Well, simply choosing a real estate investment property with high cash on cash return/ cap rate will not ensure high profit or Airbnb occupancy rate. So, to boost your Airbnb occupancy rate, there are several things an Airbnb host should do.

Let’s begin with nice furnishing. In order to succeed with any Airbnb rental property, the real estate investor should create a cozy and homelike feeling. Moreover, you should provide all the necessities, such as a washing machine, dryer, fridge, microwave, coffee machine, etc. Think, what would you like to find in a short term rental property when going on a vacation? Consequently, implement your needs and wants in your Airbnb rentals. Moreover, your short term investment property should be clean and tidy. Furthermore, the short term rental property should be in perfect condition that does not require repairs while hosting Airbnb guests. After all, your task as an Airbnb host is to provide the best experience to every single guest!

#4 How to Boost Airbnb Occupancy Rate: Focus on the Rental Income

Establishing the right rental price is of high importance. In order to succeed with the short term investment strategy, the investor should continuously monitor the real estate market. By keeping a close eye on the Airbnb housing market, the investor will know when he/she is able to increase the rent and when to offer certain discounts. For example, during peak tourist season, an Airbnb host can increase the rent for the Airbnb rental property. In order to stay competitive in the real estate investing business, constantly monitoring the competition is a must. Want to know how to boost your Airbnb rental income? Make sure to read “ Boost Airbnb Rental Income With These Tips and Tricks.”

Mashvisor can help you set a price for your Airbnb rental using real estate comps and the Airbnb profit calculator! To learn more about how we will help you make faster and smarter real estate investment decisions, click here.

#5 How to Boost Airbnb Occupancy Rate: Focus on the Marketing of Your Airbnb Rentals

As you probably already know, location is one of the most important factors you should consider when figuring out which rental strategy to adopt. However, in order for your Airbnb rental property to succeed in this brutal real estate investing market, you should focus on marketing as well. You should adopt a marketing plan in order to advertise your short term rental property. Even if your investment is located in one of the best places in the real estate market, a good representation of your business will only increase the Airbnb occupancy rate. For instance, if your investment property is located close to a ski resort, then the winter is your peak season. Make everyone know that your income property has the best location and is positioned close to that resort.

In the end, if you use creativity in the advertising process, you will be able to make even more money. Moreover, positive reviews are a guarantee that your Airbnb occupancy rate will increase, so be sure to consider them in your marketing strategy. So, do you want to learn more marketing tricks? Make sure to read “ Real Estate Ads — Creative Ways for Marketing Your Airbnb Rental.”

#6 How to Boost Airbnb Occupancy Rate: Focus on Your Airbnb Reviews

Airbnb reviews are one of the major factors that have a straightforward influence on Airbnb occupancy rate. How so? Reviews provide many potential Airbnb guests with some important detailed information about previous Airbnb guests’ experiences. Consequently, such reviews allow future Airbnb guests to evaluate the short term rental property. Moreover, if the Airbnb rental property has many positive reviews, many travelers would like to rent out this specific income property. Therefore, the Airbnb occupancy rate will increase.

However, if negative reviews dominate over positive reviews, the Airbnb host should take some action in order to fix the issues. Such steps will not pass unnoticed. Improving the quality of short term rental properties based on the reviews will show that the Airbnb host takes the opinion of others seriously. Consequently, many potential Airbnb guests would prefer renting your income property as they will receive personalized attention! Curious about how to get positive Airbnb reviews? Make sure to read “ How to Always Get Positive Airbnb Reviews.”

Originally published at https://www.mashvisor.com on July 12, 2018.

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