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I have been trying to do some research on what would make a better investment. Has anyone done both?
I realize both can be capital intensive as well as occupancy rates can vary. It seems like a hotel would have more guest at any given time considering how many rooms you have. At the same time an airbnb guest have different experience when they book an airbnb.
You said in another post that you decided to keep the home you bought as an Airbnb with the existing tenants. What changed?
@Chris has a European style family owned hotel.
Nothing has changed. But maybe in the future i plan on either doing an airbnb or hotel.
"But maybe in the future i plan on either doing an airbnb or hotel.â (Canât get the quote feature to work)
Youâve undoubtedly thought about this. I would just mention that the two ventures are very different types of businesses with what I assume would be completely different zoning regulations, liability, insurance, and just about every other business aspect.
Have you considered buying a property that could be an inn? Friends of mine did that as they retired. They have four rooms and are making a go of it. They plan to add an event space, as they end up hosting wedding parties.
Not yet. In the future i might be looking to start an airbnb or maybe an hotel. Just seeing the pros and cons.
The regulatory risk for a hotel should not be high compared to an âAirBnBâ, since hotels are clearly commercial and usually built in a location that is zoned commercial.
Youâd have to develop a business plan and budget for both options
Just because you can have more guests or rooms doesnât necessarily make it more profitable. Thereâs a multitude of factors that can affect profitability .
What actual market research and business planning have you carried out on each model?
There is no such thing as an âAirBnBâ.
I suggest you start informing youself about correct terminology first.
Else your investment is doomed anyways.
AirBnB is just one of many bookingplatforms.
There certainly is such a thing; I have one as do most the people on this forum. What you object to is the stroke of luck Airbnb had when their brand name became synonymous with âshort term rental,â at least here in the US.
Oooooh, one of my favorite topics: proprietary eponyms. These are terms that were brand names that become the word commonly used to refer to all of the same kind of item regardless of the brand. Kleenex, band-aid and frisbee are 3 of the more ubiquitous ones. No one uses any term other than these in the US. And hoovering is a verb derived from a brand name that is commonly used in the UK for vacuuming. It also has another meaning in pop psychology now.
Even if the company were to be sold or go bankrupt the noun and verb use of airbnb is probably with us forever.
Xerox is another classic example of genericization, so much so Xerox asked their employees and dealers not to refer a copy as a Xerox not to loose their brand name.
And hoover is another one:)âŚ
Yes. But interestingly, only among British English users.
Yes thatâs interesting. Tupperware is another brand that has become synonomous with the product.
Not sure why @Chris has got his knickers in a twist. Lots of hosts and guests use Airbnb as a short hand for short term rentals.
Hoover is common to me as a reference to inhaling food like eating quickly, snacking a lot or constantly searching out food. We often refer to our dog as hoover or tell her to stop hoovering, âget out of the kitchen and stop hooveringâ. Itâs obviously an allusion to vacuuming but when I clean the house I donât hoover, I vacuum.
Some others that Iâm guilty of: qtips, bandaids, thermos, jello, chapstick, frisbee, scotch tape
And in Texas, we call all sodas cokes. Itâs the first thing I always notice when I come back to visit:
ââŚand weâll also get two cokesâ.
âWhat kind?â
âIâll have a Dr Pepper and sheâll have a Diet Pepsi.â 
Of course I canât speak for @Chris but the gist I got was purely that you shouldnât limit yourself by only listing on Airbnb because
And lots of us donât. I hate it being called an âAirBnBâ because my property does not belong to AirBnB. Donât you think âPuffsâ (Proctor and Gamblesâ brand of facial tissues) hates being called âKleenexâ?
I didnât say I did - I said a lot of hosts and guests do. @PitonView . It doesnât bother me how they refer to their STRs.
Sorry never heard of âpuffsâ, but yes Iâm sure lots of competitor brands hate the fact that common brand names are used generically for a product.
Thatâs right those are brand names; been using those names all my life and didnât dawn on me they are brand names.
One difference I think is there are a lot of different investment models for Airbnbâs, the arbitrage model has allowed many people to benefit from the Airbnb industry with minimal investment which I donât think you will find as well represented in the hotel model. I think there are many different models in the Airbnb world and simply running out of room to controlling literally dozens of properties without wanting them to doing new custom builds specifically for Airbnb rentals and and on
It is going to depend on the market in your area. You canât generalize STR vs Hotel. But you can say that hotels are generally more efficient. The bigger the hotel, the lower your overhead as cleaning, energy costs, and staffing (sunk costs) are divided over more rentable units.
Also, you can list a hotel (or variation) of a hotel on listing sites like ABB. I think a new popular model of hotel will be units with kitchens and workspaces. Or even 2-4br condos that are rented as STR. I would build commercial/rentable condos in ski towns where the neighborhoods are revolting and voting to ban STRs.
Or even just invest in building apartments/townhouses and be part of the solution to the shortage of housing.
Exactly.
The obvious extra expense for hotels is that you need dedicated housekeeping and laundry services, and also need to maintain the common areas such as lobbies, parking lot, and possibly longer sidewalks, bigger landscaping, etc.
With a STR short term rental the guests provide their own housekeeping most days. Most hotels I have stayed at in the last year provide daily housekeeping at some level. Some changed sheets daily, some every other day, but all entered my room every day.
In my town I know of no difference between hotels and STRs legally except for a few extra burdens on STRs. Guests in either accommodation pay the same taxes and business licenses are required.