4 options for renting out your group's property

So you and your group have just invested in a new property. You’ve found the perfect place and now you’re ready to start renting - either units or the whole thing. But renting can be more complicated that it seems, especially when the web is saturated with tons of different companies, each vying for a share of the renting marketplace. Luckily for you, we’ve got a quick, comprehensive run-down of some of the top options for your new rental. Let’s take a look!

Airbnb

Odds are you’ve heard of this one, and for good reason. Few, if any, online rental marketplaces are as comprehensive and user-friendly as Airbnb. Whether it’s a weekend getaway, two weeks abroad, or life happened and now you need a room and a bed at the last minute, Airbnb’s got you covered. They even feature more specialized stays like tents, cabins, small houses, and treehouses. This spells options for potential renters. No matter what kind of property you have - if you’re interested in renting short-term to out-of-towners, airbnb can make it happen. Airbnb also provides a ton of flexibility for hosts to set their prices depending on time of year, current local rental demand, and popular tourist seasons.

That said, hosting on Airbnb is a highly-involved job, especially if you’re successful and generating a good amount of guest traffic. It’s the equivalent of managing a bed and breakfast - though it may be on a smaller scale than a traditional B&B, you’ll most likely have less help managing things like cleaning and upkeep.

Then there’s the general risks you take when renting out to various visiting strangers - although airbnb makes sure hosts approve potential renters, the fact of the matter is that things happen and you’re most likely not extensively interviewing each and every applicant.

VRBO

VRBO, Airbnb’s biggest competitor and second more popular short-term rental marketplace, has been in the short-term vacation rental game since 1995 - way before Airbnb. It’s, essentially, the same idea: a short-term rental marketplace for hosts and renters alike. VRBO offers the same rental variety and useful filtered search tools, so finding a rental, or property listing one, is just as easy and comprehensive as anywhere else. However, where Airbnb will offer individual rooms or suites for rent, VRBO deals only in full-space rentals.  

So if VRBO and AirBnB are so similar, why do some hosts choose to go with the less popular VRBO? The answer is in the details. Airbnb’s offerings tend to be geared towards younger customers looking for more cost-effective rentals and/or curated “experiences”.

However, since VRBO only offers full-space rentals, their target consumer base tends to be older customers and larger families looking for more traditional vacation rental stays. VRBO also offers hosts two different booking models to choose from, whereas Airbnb only has a single fee that is charged for each booking. VRBO offers a per-booking fee and a subscription-based fee of $499 that will cover a year’s worth of books.

Tentrr

Does your group’s new property have a ton of land attached? With Tentrr, your group can utilize that extra land and make some extra money. Tentrr is a vacation rental marketplace specifically for campsites. Anyone with enough land for a private campsite (Tentrr recommends 10 acres of unoccupied land) can sign up. Don’t have a campsite set up? No worries - Tentrr provides everything you’ll need to to set up a comfy camp-stay; everything from the necessities like a safari-style tent with a two-person bed, stove, an outhouse, trash bin, and large water container, to niceties like a sun-shower, picnic table and chairs, and a fire pit with a grill and utensils.

Tentrr offers three different payment plans for hosts - obviously, they’re named after woodland creatures: The Rabbit, The Fox, and The Moose. The Rabbit comes with no upfront cost, but a $311 monthly fee over the course of a 24 month contract agreement - however, as a host you’ll be pocketing 80% of your nightly rate. On the other end of the payment plans is The Moose, same 80% of the nightly rate but instead of a monthly fee you’ll pay $6,500 upfront and you won’t be limited to a 24 month contract. In the middle is the Fox, with no monthly fee, a $2,000 upfront fee, and no contract length but only a 55% return on nightly fees.

Traditional Renting

Renting units in your group’s new property doesn’t necessarily have to come with a flashy brand name and mobile app. Tons of hosts still choose to go the traditional renting route for a few different reasons, but the main reason is stability. Renting short-term with an Airbnb or VRBO means making your rental offering that much more appealing than other offerings in the area.

Think about it, you’ve interested in your short-term rental property, keeping it clean, making sure everything works, making it look nice, being a good host, now you need to ensure that you’ll have enough bookings to make your investment worth it.

With a traditional rental, you’re going after a different clientele: people looking for a home to make their own, rather than a getaway experience. Operating a unit for traditional renting can also mean less work, seeing as many owners hire a property management group to manage their units and you won’t need to fully furnish the unit and provide a satisfactory vacation experience.

It also means that once you find a tenant, you won’t need to worry about renting it out again for a few months as opposed to a few days.  Of course, the trade off is potential, specifically the potential for profit. Given the proper care and management, the nightly fees that short term rentals charge can amount to much more than a traditional monthly rental fee.

Nestment, Inc. does not guarantee and is in no way responsible for the accuracy of information provided in this blog post. All information is provided “AS IS” and with all faults. Data presented here may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.  While the information on this site is about legal and tax issues, it is not intended as legal or tax advice or as a substitute for the particularized advice of your own attorney and tax professional.