hello I’m a new realtor who’s trying to sell my first listing. Is it okay to write AirBnb hosts from the AirBnb website to send them my listing. It has quite a few popular Airbnbs around it. It’s 1670 sqft 2bd/2ba, sun parlor bonus rooms, and breakfast nook with beautiful property and two entries. It seems as though it would be possible to rent out both sides at once. I Believe with a little updating it could make someone a considerable amount of money but I don’t want to bother people or be disrespectful by contacting them through their listings. What do ya’ll think?
I think you should buy it…
Try looking for Facebook pages with local STR hosts maybe, I would be annoyed with you if you messaged me on Air. You want to befriend this group, they are buyers and sellers… (RE broker here)
Good luck
RR
I would if I could but unfortunately I am not in a position to purchase property. Thank you for your input. I will look into that Facebook idea. Hope you have a nice evening.
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NOPE
when you do that you are creating a message that the host must answer as there is a ticking clock. Our metrics can be dinged if we don’t answer and it can be viewed as a decline which can effect our KPI’s.
Find a local face book page.
I would and I think most hosts would too. The way the system is set up, hosts have to reply to messages in order to keep up their response rate. It’s more than annoying to have your phone beep, think ‘great, a guest enquiry’, find out it’s someone trying to sell you something and then take some of your precious time to write back to them.
Also, bear in mind that the majority of hosts are renting out their second homes or spare bedrooms and are rarely investors who are looking for property. A few years ago maybe some investors thought it was a good idea, but they soon found out that there are easier ways to make money out of real estate. Airbnb can be very hard work and not what investors are looking for.
Most existing hosts wouldn’t be interested in buying additional property.
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Oh my. Thank you for letting me know. I don’t want to do that to anyone. Do you have any ideas of how to get this property in front of hosts because I do really believe it would be a great investment for anyone who has the money to acquire it. Thx again and hope you have a great evening.
Okay good to know. Glad I went on here to ask ahead of time because I didn’t realize they had to respond. hope you have a nice evening.
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I have sold 6 houses to 2 different local hosts (3 each) in the last 3 years and almost all my second home buyers intend to rent out on air, so I would say it depends on where you are. I live and work and host in a vacation destination. I also know of other hosts here who have multiple properties. And these people will sell something or everything eventually:)
RR
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@legendarymary Mary, before you suggest using the property as an Airbnb property, please make sure the local laws don’t preclude short term occupancy…
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Okay I’ll make sure but, there are several really close so I believe the local laws don’t preclude short term occupancy. thx and have a nice night.
If the hosts are looking to buy, they’ll already be looking on the MLS. Personally, I wouldn’t mind terribly if anyone contacted me through Airbnb (unless it was last night) with something like that. Even better would be a letter in the mail if you can find the address. That way the hosts aren’t under a time crunch to keep their response rating up.
I do the following when receiving such a message:
REPORT => SPAM => DONE
Just put it on the market through normal channels.
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I think that if there are any hosts looking to buy property for STR would already be on the lookout. Maybe just advertise it as a great option for those who wish to enter the STR world. Also- there IS quite a bit of ill feeling in many areas against Airbnb taking units so just be aware you may feel backlash.
Id be annoyed too if you sent it to me. Id block you. Actually I never understood this: I buy a house, a week later I receive in the mail cards from realtors. why? do you think Im going to buy another house? Or sell the one I just bought? same with cars. I just buy a car and Im invaded with offers to buy cars! that;s ridiculous.
To the OP: get creative, advertise on your FB page, instagram, hold open houses tell your friends of friends to share your posting and so on.
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It’s important to have a realistic view of the revenue and amount of work a listing entails. It’s definitely more work than being a landlord. And it can be seasonal, meaning that your annual take may not reflect $100 a night x 365 nights a year.
I would not agree. An airbnb can be visible and well known but still not comply with the local laws. OR it may be different than what you imagine - a room in a house is different than a whole house in the eyes of the local laws, for instance. Caveat Emptor…
A dangerous assumption to make 
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I’d say at least 50% of the Airbnbs in my locale aren’t legal – either unpermitted or violating lease agreements or condo bylaws.
It’s like any other marketing @legendarymary
- Identify your prospective customers
- Identify why they should buy from you rather than one of your established competitors (benefits)
- Market research to identify which channels you use to reach your target customers ie networking, online and offline advertising, using your own channels (on and off line), direct mail, investor forums etc
- Do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
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