A property manager is putting people on game of how to stack money with Airbnb.
The COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on many people including Monica Lee White, who was a flight attendant at the time, according to Business Insider.
Looking for more income, she decided to venture into Airbnb — except with a twist.
Instead of White renting out her own home, she reached out to landlords to rent out their properties and list them on the platform. After hundreds of rejections, a landlord in Atlanta, GA, agreed to her plan. Soon enough, she went on to secure five rental properties, which generated $136,000 in 2022, Lee claims.
As a property manager with ten homes under her belt, Lee supports Airbnb hosts with rental arbitrage. For starters, she advises people to do their own research and have startup costs set aside before stepping into things. The costs may include fees for moving, photography, furniture, paying rent upfront to the landlord, and potential damages and repairs.
“If someone damages the Airbnb, you have to consider what you’ll do when that happens,” Lee shared, per the outlet. “Will you fix it yourself? Will you hire maintenance? One option is to use a site like Taskrabbit to find freelance maintenance.”
In addition, when pitching to landlords, she says that it’s important to prove to them how you’ll ensure there will be no issues.
When it comes to gaining clientele, Lee emphasized that search engine optimization (SEO) is key. However, solely using Airbnb’s platform isn’t the best way to go.
“Don’t rely on just the platform,” she said. “Promote your listings yourself and do what you can to stand out and be noticeable. One idea is to share your listings in relevant Facebook groups. You have to do what you can to drive traffic.”
