People decide to enter the 'Airbnb game' for a variety of different reasons…

• Opportunism: Will rent out their home whenever the opportunity arises or it makes sense to do so. These hosts may put their place up for a couple of weeks while on vacation overseas. They may take in guests when out of town for a long weekend. Or they may permanently list their place and simply move into their partner’s home whenever someone requests to book it.
• Income: Will rent or buy a property beyond personal requirements to be filled as often as possible with guests. Hosts like these may rent or buy a property with an additional room beyond their personal requirements with the intention of filling it as often as possible with Airbnb guests. These hosts may also be motivated by the social element of meeting new people too.
• Investment: Will scout out a property for the specific purpose of listing it on Airbnb to maximize their earning potential. These hosts search different real estate markets in quest of an investment property. Their choice of property will be driven by whatever they believe will yield them the greatest rental income, and will then use Airbnb to prosecute that opportunity.

Knowing what type of host you wish to be is important! It will influence...

• How much time you invest in the 'Airbnb game'
• The way you develop your pricing and marketing strategies
• The guests you decide to accept or decline
• The likelihood of succeeding in hitting your individual goals and objectives

Before diving headfirst into Airbnb, have a brief think about what your personal motivation for hosting is and what you would like to get out of it.

The Airbnb 'Investor'

Not all property rental markets are created equal. Some receive lots of travelers, whilst others receive far less. Some have high property costs or rent whilst others are more affordable.

If your intention is to find a property for the specific purpose of making money on Airbnb, it’ll be worth your while to hit the pause button momentarily and do some basic independent research before signing on the dotted line.

There are a number of tools out there to assist hosts in selecting investment properties optimized for making money on Airbnb. You’ll want to compare...

• Rental performance
• Supply and demand
• Different markets
• Price differentials
• Occupancy rates
• Seasonal variance

Investing without doing your due diligence or without being aided by data-rich insights to guide your decision-making process represents a naïve leap of faith and will rarely result in the most profitable outcome that’s available to you.