You can make a six-figure salary at home. Despite what you may think, the short-term rental industry is a viable business even if you aren’t ready to invest. Here’s how to make money on Airbnb without owning any property.
A short-term rental means renting a property for 29 days or less on Airbnb, Booking.com, VRMO and the like. There are so many ways to make money with short-term rentals today. You can buy a property, we can build a property, you can build a treehouse if you want.
But the major opportunity currently in the short-term rental space is leasing and managing other people’s property on Airbnb. Simply, its leveraging other people’s property via short-term rentals.
There are two models for doing this:
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Leasing
This is an Airbnb entrepreneur that goes and finds a homeowner.
Either a single-family home, a condo or a full apartment building. In the end, it doesn’t matter what it is. It just needs to be a piece of property. You rent the house, stage it and then re-rent it back out to guests that are traveling to that city.
It’s a very simple, very popular business model to make a six-figure salary at home. Not to mention it’s a good way to make money on Airbnb without owning any property.
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Managing/Co-hosting
This is where you find owners that have vacant properties and we partner with them and bring those properties onto Airbnb or Booking.com. Then, you host guests in those properties.
And we as the Airbnb property manager, the co-host, you manage the entire process A-Z and we give the homeowner the profit at the end of the month. If you want to make money on Airbnb without owning any property, this is the fastest way to get in.
Also, with new online marketplaces like Co-Host Market, it’s easy to find owners who are looking for property managers. You just go on there, make a profile and you can create customized packages to start growing your business (check out my review of Co-Host Market here).
FREE 2020 Masterclass: Leverage Other People’s Properties & Build Financial Freedom Through Airbnb
The leasing model
Let’s take a look at the leasing model/rental arbitrage first. Leasing is a solid business if you can find the right property. And the right landlord.
On the other hand, it’s expensive to start and scale an Airbnb business with this model. You may be reading this and haven’t even started hosting Airbnb. Are you really going to make six figures at home with this?
Maybe you have one property and looking to expand into leasing. Suddenly you need to put money into your leases, into your deposits, into your furnishing property, your carrying costs. On top of that, what happens if you don’t rent out your property by a certain time, you gonna pay for it.
What’s more, there’s regulation. There’s no golden ticket. There’s no secret on how to deal with regulations. So some cities have banned the leasing model, some cities restrict it, some cities have ignored it and some states actually supports it.
There’s one big challenge with this model. Sometimes, you put all the money into your leases, your deposits your furnishings, and your carrying costs, and then the city changes the laws.
Then, you’re stuck in a legal agreement with these owners. You have to figure out how to move your furniture.
That’s why we are noticing the biggest opportunity in the space right now is managing other people’s properties on Airbnb. This is called “the co-host model”. This is one of the best opportunities to make money on Airbnb without owning any property.
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The co-hosting business model
This model literally costs nothing to expand. You can start making six figures at home without a penny. On top of that, it’s very scalable: you can add units with no money. You just find the right property, negotiate the right terms with the right owner and plug these properties into your existing systems.
You don’t have to worry about signing on a lease, spending money on furniture and everything else. You only need to worry about one thing: finding owners.
It’s a beautiful model. If you’re looking to make money on Airbnb without owning any property and run properties around the world, you can. Airbnb has built a highly flexible ecosystem that’s accessible to anyone.
If the laws in one change, you’re not stuck with the lease, you’re not stuck with furniture, you’re not stuck with all the things you would’ve invested in for your lease.
This is a huge opportunity. Let’s talk about leveraging other people’s property and getting them on Airbnb.
FREE 2020 Masterclass: Leverage Other People’s Properties & Build Financial Freedom Through Airbnb
Case Study: How much can you make managing one home?
I’m going to show you examples of homes managed by Eric Moeller, my partner in the STR Profit Academy, who runs an Airbnb property management company. Together, we coach STR operators on how to make money on Airbnb without owning any property and how to make six figures at home.
Here’s an example of only one property his company manages:
This is a property he manages solely on Airbnb.
He generated over just $9,500 a month on this property renting it out for 19 weeks.
This property is a bit further outside the tourist area.
For every single dollar that comes in through Airbnb at the end of the month, Eric takes 25% and the homeowner takes 75%.
The owner’s responsibilities are to:
- Pay for the mortgage
- Buy all the furniture
- Stage the home
- Almost everything.
That’s why they get the bigger piece.
But Eric’s company generates about $2,000 a month on this one home. The owner on average generates about $6,000 a month. That’s slightly higher than what the market rate rents are in that area.
This home, ran remotely by Eric and his team, generates a consistent $2,000 a month.
Below is another condo that is outside the tourist area of San Diego.
Eric and his team also get a commission 25% on this three-bedroom condo. In total, this unit generates about $7,000 a month: $4,700 for the owner and $1,600 for Eric and his team.
In just a couple of steps, they plug this property into their systems, the cleaners run it, the checking service provider runs it and this property is run remotely.
The result of managing two Airbnb properties
These two properties generate an average of $3,500 a month. That’s nearly $43,000 a year just on two properties. You’d only need about 5 properties like this to make a six-figure salary at home.
You don’t have to buy properties. You don’t have to invest in mortgages. You don’t have to invest in leases and furniture. Eric found these properties through real estate investors and real estate agents. You don’t need to own any property to make money on Airbnb.
Make money on Airbnb without owning any property: How to scale.
Nearly $50,000 a year is good, but it’s not quite making six figures at home yet. Your next questions will be:
- Can we double this down?
- How do we add four properties?
- What about six properties?
- When will we add ten properties?
- How do we get these properties?
- What will six figures on this property do for you?
The first step making six figures at home with your Airbnb business is automation.
Automating your Airbnb property management business
Probably 80% of what you can do as an Airbnb property manager is automated. Without automation, you won’t be able to make six figures from home.
That means 80% of the work that we do is driven through technology and the other portion is outsourced to our partners on the floor/ground.
Whether you’re brand new or if you’re an Airbnb hosting veteran, there’s Airbnb automation technology that will help your business. There are tools to automate:
- Talking to your guests
- Talking to your team
- Communicating with homeowners
- Pricing your properties
- Managing your calendars
There’s a shift in the industry: people are scaling their Airbnb businesses and moving from hobbyists to professionals.
Scaling your Airbnb business: make six figures at home
In the Airbnb industry, there’s the rise of the professional host. People are realizing there’s a lot more potential in Airbnb than just a side hustle. The possibilities are endless.
You could make six figures at home, you could even make seven. And you can make this kind of money on Airbnb without owning any property.
Here’s what Eric and I think the success model is:
The Legend Success Model
What are the top STR operators doing better than everyone else? Here’s what we believe the 6 steps to success are:
1. Strategy
Figure out exactly what you want to do. Stop winging it. Create a plan, a strategy, and build systems around it.
2. Market
Determine what market you want to focus on and become an expert. Study every single thing about your property and your marketplace.
3. Asset
Get tunnel vision on the properties you want to grow with. Based on your strategy, ask yourself if you want to be the person who:
- Leases and manages entire apartment buildings
- Focuses on luxury houses
- Provides unique spaces
Whatever that is to you, just get into action and believe it’s gonna work perfectly.
4. Systems
Don’t focus on your systems until get through 1, 2 and 3. Figure out how you’re going to automate your business and move things forward smoothly. These first four steps will build your foundation to make money on Airbnb without owning any property.
5. Brand
Most Airbnb courses will stop at number four. These next two steps are what will determine your six-figure salary as an Airbnb business owner. What brand are you developing? Branding is vital to your business today.
6. Experience
What experience are you providing your guests? After all, this is what the Airbnb model is built on. Guest experience.
It doesn’t matter if they’re only there for vacation with their family or their business trip. You know when people see a movie so good they tell their friends to go see it? That’s how you want them to talk about your unit.
Your ability to provide the best hospitality will determine your six-figure success. How are you creating an experience that will separate you from all the other listings in your marketplace?
Wrapping it all together
Building a six-figure Airbnb business isn’t easy, but with the right mindset, it’s possible for anyone. Want to learn more? Join Eric and me in the STR profit academy and learn how to make money on Airbnb without owning any property by managing other people’s properties.
FREE 2020 Masterclass: Leverage Other People’s Properties & Build Financial Freedom Through Airbnb