Is Airbnb profitable for hosts? How does the return compare with the investment? Is it worth the hype?

The Airbnb concept began a little over a decade ago. Since then, it has grown into a huge business opportunity for property owners who can put their unused or underutilized property to good use.

What we want to find out here is if Airbnb is profitable for its host.

Is Airbnb Worth It?

For lots of people, this is a side-gig that has earned them quite a substantial amount of money. There are stories of people who turned multi-millionaires by taking advantage of the opportunity created.

So, in answering the question of whether it’s profitable, it is.

Is it worth being an Airbnb host? Here are some factors you should consider.

Location Counts

Profitability for hosts is largely determined by location. On average, Airbnb hosts earn a little less than a thousand per month. However, this can vary greatly based on your location. Those in major tourist destinations and cities earn the highest. Such hosts can see their earnings climb significantly.

Most Profitable Airbnb Locations

The reasons are obvious. Such cities receive a volume of visitors each year. The infrastructure and accommodation arrangements such as hotels and lodges are most times overstretched. This makes Airbnb hugely popular and a viable investment for hosts.

On the other hand, Airbnb hosts in locations having less number of visitors are unlikely to make as much as those living in major cities. As such, being profitable depends on the demand for such services.

Becoming Profitable Takes Effort

Although becoming an Airbnb host can be a profitable business, you’ll need to put in the needed effort to succeed.

You don’t automatically become profitable. It takes a whole lot of effort and dedication to doing so. The following are some tips on how to increase your chances of becoming profitable;

  • Take Quality Photographs

This makes a world of difference for an Airbnb business. You want to take pictures of your property using a high-resolution camera. To pull this off, you’ll need professional help. Professional photographers will help you get the desired quality of the picture to upload.

Quality shots of your property stand a chance to capture the attention of people searching for the right property and host.

  • Time Commitment

In many situations, Airbnb guests face a lot of delays caused by the waiting time. Multiple interactions between the host and the guest in most cases results in time wastage.

One way to drastically improve such operations is by committing a substantial portion of your time by providing timely response and always checking notifications.

  • First Impressions Count

To better serve your guests as an Airbnb host, you’ll need to place yourself in their shoes.

In other words, you’ll need to imagine yourself as a guest and treat them the way you’ll want to be treated. Being able to connect easily with your guest results in positive reviews and even repeat patronage.

  • Use Effective Tools That Impact On Profitability

There are lots of effective tools you can use to enable you to earn substantially higher. These are designed for Airbnb hosts to use analytics to improve their earning potentials.

One of such is the Airdna tool. This is a website designed for hosts to enable them to evaluate their operations and make necessary changes to how they do business.

  • Pricing

Before guests decide on who to patronize, they make lots of comparisons between your property and those of others. The purpose is simple. They need to find the best property at a reasonable cost.

If you’re able to take this into account and incorporate it into your business, your profits are likely to see a jump.

Is Airbnb Still Profitable?

Having determined that Airbnb is profitable for hosts, one question still needs to be asked; is this business still profitable? We’ll attempt to provide answers in the best way we can.

This home-sharing platform has evolved over the years and bestowed opportunities for those who invested. However, a lot has changed since then. Apart from the company losing money in 2019, there has been a huge dent in earning potentials of hosts due to the novel Coronavirus global pandemic.

Global travel has been cut short, an increasing number of cities are in total lock-down, people are self-isolating to minimize the threat. This pandemic has left the entire industry in shambles.

For Airbnb hosts, this reality is starker as the risks of getting infected are likely to mount with increased contact.

There are lots of speculations about Airbnb becoming obsolete after the coronavirus pandemic. Such concerns are justified as the virus continues to ravage cities and countries across the world.

  • Tourist Travel Is No More

Some of the world’s most popular tourist destinations such as Rome, Paris, Barcelona, New York, London, Dubai, Sydney, Beijing, and so many others have all been affected. In a bid to contain the virus, governments are locking down such cities and restricting travel among other stringent measures.

Most of the top tourist destinations have been hard hit. Italy, for instance, continues to grapple with a heavy death toll resulting from infections from the virus. This is just one of the many countries trying to overcome this pandemic.

Before the virus, Airbnb hosts in such cities benefited from enormous opportunities presented by this home-sharing platform. As part of the ecosystem that has sprung up around tourist travel, Airbnb has become heavily affected. As a host, you’d feel the bite as the streets are deserted.

You’ll also want to keep yourself and your family safe from possible carriers (if there were no restrictions). The global economy is witnessing a major hit with a shutdown of economies to help limit the spread of the virus. Most governments are having a hard time deciding between starting their economy or containing the virus.

Airbnb hosts are among the first people being affected as customers have suddenly dried up. The worst part is, the after-effects of the pandemic can last for a long time. This may altogether spell doom for Airbnb.

So, there you go! Is Airbnb profitable for hosts? Yes, it is. However, it is determined by multiple factors.

Considering recent events such as the coronavirus, does it remain profitable? Not at all! The industry has been hard hit. Hosts are affected by a sudden halt in guests in need of such service.