3 YEARS ON AIRBNB: How Much $$$ We Made & What We've Learned!

[@madhatter139]

Know you're saying it's not a big jump, but that's an over 8% YoY increase; that's fantastic! Then to see 2024, just wow!

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much, I mean yes that is a great increase! But this year we were very happy with the payoff after all our hard work.

[@minhchau3480]

For Summer I recommend 1. Posting photos of surrounding areas and activities for Summer guests. 2. Adding misters and more shading over the cowboy pool. 3. Generally updating your photos. Photos of iced drinks, stocked fridge with drinks and cooling towels.

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much for your ideas! Love the idea of of updating the photos seasonally to highlight the features tailored for the summer months.

[@kimberiysmarketstrategy]

Hi guys! We are still here! Our 2nd full year weve done about 87,000 but after mortage we are at 37,000 too. Great ideas here ❤ thank you!

[@kristenandmichael]

Wow that’s amazing! We are so happy to hear you are crushing it!

[@bikenraider99]

Agree with 100% on visiting the property first hand. As an owner/operator thr ultimate responsibility is yours.

[@Star-u3t1l]

full kitchen with pots, pans, cookie sheets (for the kids fries), kettle, dishes, cups, mugs, etc. most important for us!!!!!!!!!!

[@kristenandmichael]

It is definitely worth it to have a well-stocked kitchen! We always have this plus all of the spices and oils and teas and coffees!!

[@TaavP]

Congrats! Even if we are in completely different markets, I can always take something, even if it's just motivation or inspiration. Really like you two, I hope you overcame everything from the past and you feel happy now. There are a lot of people here that you help in different way, even if it's just passing some time with a nice video, and we are all rooting for your success and happiness! 🌞

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much! So glad you found something in here that is helpful to you. Appreciate you being on this journey with us 😊

[@thehurricane2800]

Congratulations on an amazing year! We opened our Airbnb on Beaver Lake in Arkansas in July. I watched all your videos before we opened. It was a huge help! So, thank you! Love the channel, love the content, keep it coming!

[@kristenandmichael]

So awesome! Congratulations on opening your Airbnb, Beaver Lake is stunning! We’re happy to have been able to help in any way we could! 🤍

[@DeConstructingDreamz]

Howdy from Reno Nv, love the content. I was wondering if you could add 2 more metrics that I would think would be very interesting. Your average occupancy rate and average nightly rate. Glad to see you guys hitting some higher numbers. Yall have worked really hard to continuously improve the property.

[@kristenandmichael]

Hi there! Happy to share, our average occupancy rate was 45% for the whole year and the average nightly rate for the year was $321

[@DeConstructingDreamz]

@ this is my first full year. Paid off the hot tub, had to have the circuit board replaced due to an electrical surge, and replace both garage doors. My average occupancy this year has been 71% with an average nightly of $220. This has given me just over $1,000 profit a month. Can honestly say STR is so much more work than LTR but I would not have this much in profit either. Huge learning curve for sure.

[@Foxholehome]

Congratulations, guys, on an amazing 2024! We’ve had a solid year with our basement listed on Airbnb, earning $16,853.39 from 136 nights booked in 2023 and $17,300 from 126 nights booked in 2024, I’m pretty proud of that! Where I live, SLC, UT, there are a lot of basement apartments renting for $80-$110 per night, which sucks for them I think. That’s a lot of work to turn it around, if they do it themselves. I charge $132-$152 on weekdays and $137-$157 on weekends, depending on the month. Most of our bookings are on weekends, which I love because it means only cleaning once a week, and I can spread it out over a few days. Our space has 2 bedrooms and comfortably accommodates 6 guests, but it can fit up to 8. It’s a spacious basement, and I’ve really focused on creating a welcoming, home-base feel for families visiting relatives who don’t want the cost of renting an entire house. While other basements are cheaper, ours stands out as one of the nicer ones, with great amenities. I think we’ve hit a sweet spot: we aren’t the cheapest option, but we’re still affordable compared to a whole house, nicer than other basement apartments and spacious enough for families. I basically created a space that I would love to have available for our family. Anyway, It’s worked well for us! Could we be making more? Possibly but I like where we are sitting ate plus it’s bonus money anyway since it’s in our home. P.S. In response to your last video-I absolutely love what you’re doing right now. I watch no matter what you create! Personally, I really enjoy the mix of vlogging, life as STR owners, and the personal moments you share. But at the end of the day, while it’s great that you care about what we want to see, I think the real magic comes from you doing what you love-what feels natural and authentic to who you are. That’s what draws me and others I’m sure to your channel. So focus on what lights you up, because if you’re just chasing numbers or our views, it won’t be as enjoyable for you, and that’s what really matters. Love you guys! your 48.5 yr old/32 at mind and heart (i cannot believe I’ll be 49 next year!! 😩🤯) KZbin follower supporter, routing for you could almost be your mom and admirer😊 - Karina

[@kristineb22]

Yall did so good this year ! Very happy for you two! Such hard working couple! I have enjoyed watching your channel!

[@kristiecarter9179]

Such great lessons learned! We agreed - staying in your airbnb is so important! Congrats on the great increase!

[@kristenandmichael]

Thanks, it's been a wild ride, but we are so happy with the results

[@goforlight]

Congrats on the increase! You deserve it!! Definitely agree about staying in the home. I would love a video on monthly/annual expenses - I think people will be surprised to know how much running a vacation rental can cost - it is really hard to decrease some of the expenses (i.e. electric costs in CA are so high)!

[@susangasporra1176]

Fantastic! More shade patios with misters, greenery and maybe an enclosed porch that can be used as a game room.

[@purplepowell]

Love watching you two grow in your Airbnb adventure. My wife and I started our Airbnb in 2015. Ours has also grown in design and quality of furniture. We have grown our Airbnb to always being a super host and the last year a top 1% Airbnb. Wear and tear is true via STR. I literally walk around with a paint brush once a month touching up. And we go through towels and sheets like wild fire. But sadly our family comes first and with the stress of taking care of two elderly parents with dementia we have decided to quit Airbnb and go long term. Our last guest departs in 12/31/24. We have 2 other LTR’s and the work involved is minimal as compared to STR. And yes the competition in STR has become fierce. Prices are way down as compared to the glory years of Covid. Hope you excel in your adventure.

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much. We totally understand that family comes first. Dimentia is a tough battle to fight and super taxing on families, we definitely relate to that. We wish you the best of luck on your LTR jounrey. And thanks for watching along on our journey!

[@_alexandersaldivar_]

Long time watcher, you guys are seriously absolutely crushing it! big congrats!!!

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much!!! And thanks for being on this journey with us 😊

[@lost-south-lake-crafters]

Congratulations! Thanks for sharing your experiences!

[@jblandingphotography]

Congrats on 3 years!

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you!

[@JODIlYNN710]

Congrats you guys!!🎉🎉🎉 I see how hard you work and I'm so happy it's paying off for you!

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much!

[@blankakovacs8271]

Congrats! Your hard work payed off.

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much, it really has been a journey!

[@gabepopa790]

Hey we enjoy watching yor Airbnb videos, keep it coming! We’ve been on the Airbnb journey for 8 months now

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much for watching! Congrats on 8 months, how's it been going?

[@RonitaBairdPEIMedium]

Thanks for sharing your information with us. It really helps us, as Airbnb owners. Congratulations on your 2024!

[@kristenandmichael]

We’re so glad it helps! Thanks for watching. 🙏

[@ajimenez8782]

Congrats guys! Wonder if you’ve considered running the numbers for an in ground pool?!

[@kristenandmichael]

We havent really "run the numbers" but we know from others that it costs around 90-100k to put on in and that's a lot!

[@2ndchancesunrise]

Great video and really helpful especially for anyone new or thinking about buying an STR. 3 years!!! Your growth is incredible. So happy for you both. Do you think the summer dip this year was because so many American's were traveling abroad>? We've been along on the journey with you since the start and we will hit our 3 year anniversary this March! We have some of the same struggles. Much like your hot tub, we put off adding a pool heater until this past year ($$$) and now most of our weeks are repeats. Keep up the awesome content.

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much! Yeah, it could be that but also a lot of the new airbnbs in the area are new construction and have pools. We know if we had an in ground pool we would get booked all summer. Just hard for us to justify the high price tag ot put a full pool in.

[@2ndchancesunrise]

@@kristenandmichael completely understand, that is a long term ROI and then a lot of maintenance costs and aggravation, especially with the wind and dust out there.

[@incomeharvester]

Great video and overview. What options are you considering to improve the revenue in the summer months? Keep sharing!

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you! Obviously first thought is pool but we dont really want to invest 100k on a full inground pool. We'll take you along the journey of figuring this out! Thanks for watching 😊

[@Junior8p1]

Great progress! Your numbers are way up during a time that most Airbnb numbers are on the decline. Bravo. Cheers to 2025! Can't wait to see what you come up with to boost the slow months.

[@kristenandmichael]

Thank you so much! We're super proud! We'll take you guys along for the journey on how were going to try and get those summer months up!

[@patassion]

Really enjoy your videos. Str in Birch Bay wa

[@kristenandmichael]

No way! We were just up in Bellingham for Thanksgiving and stayed at an Airbnb. It was so beautiful up there during our stay! We definitely want to go back someday.

[@ChrissyBowman-g8s]

Who did you guys use for photos?

[@kristenandmichael]

We did a whole video on it here and his info is in the description: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fnuwZZSkq5iDbsUsi=WAa45D3VGL5G5lCs

[@alex_smallet]

From my experience staying at AirBnb places, the biggest issue is lack of cutlery. Most hosts provide the cheapest cutlery, they often do not provide a frying pan, and almost never - a decent chef’s knife.

[@kristenandmichael]

True! We could definitely upgrade our knives. Our pots and pans are nice but great thought about a chefs knife! Thank you

[@fifikengmo-bl8rc]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I'm fixing my basement to put on air bnb but I'm very scared to start

[@Teltic2007]

What was your Nov 2023 revenue? I'm curious about the improvement from the photos year over year. I think Nov 2023 didn't have a hot tub either?

[@kristenandmichael]

Yes, Nov 2023 we did have the hot tub. In Nov 2023 we brought in $4,449. So the only difference was potentially the photos and it was a big jump!

[@Keith4Prez]

16:33 Cringeeeeeee, but good work. You're succeeding at this. Keep going.

[@geoffl]

how did you increase revenue in 2024?

[@rhondaturner8043]

❤

[@Solar_Daddy]

If i see an AC limit, I'm out that's a bet

[@kristenandmichael]

🤣makes sense

[@darrenhankner5282]

not a fan of air b & b. Joshua Tree would be a better place without air bnb. 2nd owner next door. and still an air bnb. and I still cant get the huge desert willow hanging over all my front yard cut down. 2 feet of dry needles on my property. instant fire hazard. and get any of these owners to do the decent thing. renting a house on a yearly basis is what decent people should do. if they respect their neighbors.

[@jimbob100-d3l]

cool.