This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Personally if I was buying an investment property for Airbnb, I would rather use an experienced Airbnb co-host to manage the property for me and another experienced company to actually set the property up, rather than a friend, however nice, and however close we might be.
I think when it comes to business, its always good to separate friendship and business.
The OP doesn’t have any experience of running an Airbnb or setting one up. S/he says it will be quicker and easier for his/her friend to use them. However, my opinion is the purchaser would be better employing people with the right experience and skills, then a friend with no experience, however close they might be.
@Helsi THAT is an excellent point and you hit it on the head. It is - as many forget - a hospitality business. At its core is a relationship with guests.
As a property manager posted on another thread about noise:
“I think our biggest issue is that the neighbourhood 10 years ago was very close and tight knit. Now that we and one other company have purchased 2 of the houses and converted them in to Airbnb’s, the neighbours are feeling slightly unsettled. The majority of neighbours are OK with our property, but there are 2 in particular that are against STR’s being used down the street.”
I wonder where the tipping point is for neighborhoods? I expect in the future we’ll see hosts on complaining here that there are too many airbnbs in their neighborhood and it’s ruined the neighborhood, brought down property values and airbnb rates and provoked government limits.
It reminds me of the debates we have had in my city about building on the mountain. The property owners with the high up properties and great views were all for building on the mountain when theirs was the only property but when someone comes along and wants to build above them they are all about “preserving the mountain.”
You are right. I have the same feeling. The proliferation of unmanned or unwomanned rentals is the root cause of why so many places are beginning to see STRs like runaway trains in their communities. Some places, like Hawaii County, are considering banning all new rentals and allowing old ones in ag zones to grandfather in with quite the rigamarole. Home share or onsite hosts are exempt. However Kauai County made EVERYTHING except resort zoned places totally illegal subject to huge fines,
Even though Hawaii has a long history of vacation homes, usually rented through PMs or through a place like VRBO, Airbnb came along and made the process so easy anyone could do it.
Airbnb became too much of a good thing. I believe it’s reached its saturation point in many places.
Thanks for that response, Helsi. Could you put a $ value on that service?..To stage the property from top to bottom, including sourcing all of the essentials. (pots, pans, toiletries, bedding, etc)
Of course I can’t @johliatay , as I am sure you know, by what you do, there are too many variables concerned.
It would be up to the individual or company to provide me with a quote after discussing the brief for an individual property based on location, size, requirements, quality, spec etc
Why don’t you tell us about some Airbnb projects you have done, what that entails and costs, as your profile says you offer home staging.
Sure. My property staging portfolio has been, up until recently, only for homeowners, investors, fix and flippers. Basically, catering to the residential real estate community. I was recently asked to set up an investor first Airbnb property. The design, color choices, staging, sourcing the furniture and everything to receive guests (essentials: towels, linens, TV, bedding, condiments…from toilet paper to ice trays) I am reaching out to the community to get feedback on what you would be willing to pay for a service such as this. I understand that the question is broad in scope, so a general response would be sufficient, and appreciated. s there a need for this type of service? Would such a service be of value to you/Airbnb community? if you had to put a price on it… How much would you be willing to pay? Would it be easier to pay by the hour, by the sq/ft, flat fee? Thanks in advance for your feedback.
I
As I have said no-one can say what we would pay as there are far too many variables involved.
It is up to you as the professional to do your market research, see what others are charging, where you want to sit in the market place and define the service that you offer.
How much did you charge to set the investor up with their Airbnb property.
Coming on a forum and asking people an open ended question on how much they would pay for a service which has no definition is not carrying out market research It’s like asking people how much they would pay for a car or a pair of trainers or a house.
If you want a meaningful answer go to the sorts of Airbnb owners who are likely to use the services of someone like yourself and construct a proper questionnaire/do one to one interviews.
I doubt anyone here has used a third party service to set up their place from scratch.
You are basically doing the work of a decorator / interior designer. There are many many ways to charge for this kind of work:
PERCENTAGE The official guideline is 17% for interior architects in Belgium. Most interior designers will argue that a fixed percentage isn’t workable, because the designer will lose money if he actually does his job to find beautiful and money saving solutions. The only way to make money is to throw in a lot of expensive stuff.
BY THE HOUR At the end of a built, clients once asked me if I could also help them with a color scheme and some curtains. Since I’m not a decorator and I don’t have these things in my office, I had to drive around a lot. Needless to say they weren’t happy paying me for driving around, although in the end it was still a ridiculous low amount. The problem is that clients don’t value your time and in general don’t have a clue about the time that goes into these things.
PER SQUARE METER Strange all together. I never understood why someone would think that square meters of bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms or bedrooms take the same amount of time for a designer.
FIXED PRICE Calculate the time you think you are going to spend on it, and present your client/friend with this bill before you lift a paw. Be very clear in your contract what is to be included and what not. If you don’t define these things in detail, there will be discussion about where your job begins and ends, and you will lose money.
INTERMEDIARY You buy everything and sell it (at a much higher price, double?) to your client. This is usually the best way to make a decent amount of money, because in general people are only willing to pay big bucks for products, not for services.
Personally I would sit down with your client/friend and explain:
In detail all the things that need to be done.
How many hours you expect to be working on this project.
What you want to charge per hour for this.
Based on this, fix your price, and while executing the job keep a strict eye on the time you are investing. If you’re not too concerned about ethics, combine this fixed price with getting certain percentages, going to your bank account, from providers.
My best friend here on the island is one of the top decorators in the state. Has won national and regional design awards. Her clients are the rich and sometimes famous. She just told me on the phone the other day that the only way to make money as a designer is product mark up. Design fees will never cover everything.
But you know… only the rich can afford to hire designers really. What’s another few pennies when you are already spending thousands? Maybe tens of thousands? But then again, we all know rich people who are class A penny pinchers!
If I were that wealthy, I would just tell her …go forth… make my house look beautiful and send me the bill!
Your ad just made my day and saved me so many woes! We bought the smallest house in Downtown Portland, Maine at under 800 sq ft and it has small ceilings and wonky floors. I really appreciate your description! I’ve been really curious WHO is going to rent my house but I got some ideas from yours! We will also allow dogs.
I can’t help you with what you would charge, but have one tidbit of advice. Regardless of whether you use a service or do this yourself, furnishing considerations for STRs have changed. Be sure to read the AIrbnb cleaning protocol and buy items that can withstand frequent cleaning, antibacterial solutions, etc. We have sadly removed some beautiful items that simply cannot take this treatment every few days.
It’s like asking people how much they would pay for a car or a pair of trainers or a house.