EP049: Airbnb Hosting in Lake Atitlan, Guatamala, with Jeanne Mendez
Summary
This article discusses the importance of revenue management in short-term rentals, highlighting the need for scheduled pricing routines and understanding booking behaviors. It also emphasizes the shift in a CEO's focus as a business scales and how to avoid the 'hectic host' stage. Finally, it explores the complexities of STR revenue management versus hotel revenue management, and provides insight on how to optimize pricing and leverage major events like the FIFA World Cup.
Key Insights
- •CEOs waste 30 to 50 percent of their time on low-value activities, which becomes more dangerous as STR businesses grow.
- •Smaller markets like Kansas City, Boston, Seattle, and Philadelphia may outperform larger cities during the FIFA World Cup.
- •STR pricing is dramatically harder than hotel pricing due to product uniqueness, booking window impacts, operational constraints, and cancellation risks.
Action Items
- ✓Prepare for the booking surge from the FIFA World Cup by analyzing which cities and matchups are likely to have the strongest ADR lift.Effort: mediumImpact: high
- ✓Implement daily and weekly pricing routines to stay ahead of the market and analyze booking data.Effort: lowImpact: medium
- ✓Identify the biggest bottlenecks in your STR business and shift CEO focus accordingly.Effort: mediumImpact: high
Tools & Resources
- →Freewyld Foundry: Learn more about Freewyld Foundry.(https://www.freewyldfoundry.com)
Common Mistakes
- ⚠Trying to fix everything at once can slow growth.
- ⚠Hosts often underperform not because they lack tools, but because they don't know what to look at, when to look at it, or how to interpret booking behavior.
More from Pricing & Profitability
A host reported earning $2,300 monthly on Airbnb with almost constant bookings, only to quit due to difficult guests. This highlights the financial potential of STR hosting but also emphasizes the importance of guest screening and managing guest behavior. Balancing profitability with a positive hosting experience is crucial.
This article discusses Kansas City's high occupancy rates compared to other World Cup host cities, raising questions about the effectiveness of efforts to increase short-term rental availability. It implicitly touches on market trends and the impact of major events on the STR market. The article likely explores whether increased rental supply can meet demand while analyzing the city's approach to STRs.
Realtor.com's report on best mountain towns for Airbnb returns reveals key locations for STR investment. The analysis likely includes data on occupancy rates, ADR, and RevPAR to identify profitable markets. Understanding these trends helps hosts optimize pricing strategies and choose lucrative destinations.
Curated by Learn STR by GoStudioM