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I am considering hosting my first place in Shanghai Hongqiao CBD in China. It’s a business district that is still under construction, but soon to finish. It has choke amount of office buildings and a humongous, new convention center.
There’s also a lot of 4-5 star hotels. Over 1,500 rooms total between all the hotels in the vicinity of where I’m planning on hosting. There’s a lot more if you count the ones a little bit farther away.
I want to ask all you professional Airbnb hosts: What do you think about hosting here? I’ve been told that hotels are your biggest competitiors, not other Airbnb rentals.
Go for it! Some folks prefer a home and not a hotel room. I’m an Airbnb host but also a guest. As a guest, I prefer to stay in an apartment and not a hotel room. In an apartment you can make tea, heat up take out meals, do laundry, etc. So many things you cannot do in a hotel room. If the apartment is cozy, you feel right at home and don’t get as home sick.
I’m in New York City. We have a lot of hotels. I do fine.
It sounds like, though, you and i have very different markets. My competition is other airbnbs, not hotels. I’m sharing a room or two in my home while i live here. People who stay with me aren’t expecting a hotel experience.
If you’re planning to rent out an entire unit short term, the thing i would research first is if there are any laws (or likely to be laws soon) that might limit how many nights/ year you can rent, or other limitations on use.
I don’t think hotels are my competition, but they sure think I’m stealing their market share. In NYC, they are hammering short term hosts. If you were looking to but to rent an entire unit in NYC my advice would be Don’t.
But again, different market different rules. Good luck and good researching!
