Landlords Use of Airbnb

The landscape of the property market has witnessed a serious change in recent times, and landlords are affected more than most. Online facilities have been one of the leading contributors. And they have essentially modified the rental environment forever.

Landlords have had to adapt and evolve their processes. In many cases, that has seen them drop traditional methods for more modern systems and agreements. Global giant Airbnb has established itself as one of the leading platforms and continues to grow in worldwide popularity by the year.

So how has it impacted the property rental arena for landlords? Let’s take a closer look

What Is Airbnb?

In its most basic terms, Airbnb is an online marketplace for people to rent out their properties on a short-term basis. It can be utilised by hoteliers, homeowners, and landlords in almost 200 different countries.

Founded in 2008, the company doesn’t provide rentals directly. It simply works as a broker to enable short-term tenants to find available rental space. The company makes money through booking commissions.

How Can It Be Used By Landlords?

From a landlord’s perspective, the Airbnb platform is used to rent out their properties on a short-term basis. This could mean renting out the property for a single night or a short vacation as if it were a hotel or holiday apartments. Alternatively, guests may stay for a slightly longer deal, closer to the traditional type of tenancy agreements.

The online facility enables properties to be advertised to an audience of over 150,000,000. This makes it particularly useful in places where short-term work stays are commonplace. Likewise, holidaymakers in locations underserved by hotels may use these options. For landlords, it opens up new avenues and versatility.

For landlords looking to encourage homestays lasting a few months, Airbnb can make this happen too. The option to take properties off the market enables for easier renovation work or use seasonal rentals only.

What Impact Has This Had?

Essentially, the Airbnb platform encourages landlords to focus on short-term rentals. This comes at the price of losing traditional consistency. Without any doubt, the biggest attraction for taking this route is the potential revenue. Statistics show that renting out a property for one-quarter of the year can outweigh the income gained from a year’s worth of standard tenancy.

Sourcing multiple tenants throughout the year can create extra work, even on such a big platform. However, that can be counteracted by knowing that the property will probably be vacant at various stages too. For better or worse, it has simply changed the mindset. Inevitably, it has also altered the blueprint for what makes a rental property feel more attractive.

Given the increased popularity of the service, for landlords as well as tenants, focusing on the above point is key. After all, competition in this field is becoming fiercer than ever. The fact that Airbnb simply works as a broker means that many landlords need to play a far more active role throughout the agreement process.

The stability of regular income is somewhat sacrificed as long-term rentals are swapped for shorter deals. For many, though, it’s a trade well worth taking.

Are There Any Dangers?

For society in general, the shift towards short-term agreements has been cited as a potential problem for housing crises. Not only because properties are being prepared for vacations and business visits. But also because it can result in places being left empty for long periods.

There are dangers for landlords too, though. Dishonest tenants are arguably the biggest problem. Aside from potential property damage, sub-lettings can result in huge problems for the landlord. Meanwhile, many landlords may find that mortgage lenders do not allow the use of services like Airbnb. The threat of not finding regular tenants looms over landlords, especially as many will only take the space for a short spell.

Responsible landlords will often know about those dangers beforehand. Still, anyone looking to utilise this platform would be advised to do their research at the earliest stage possible.

Conclusion:

Peer-to-peer short-term rentals have moved the goalposts, not least for landlords. While not all landlords will be won over by their allure, these options certainly carry a huge appeal.

Those online systems enable landlords to promote properties to a far bigger audience while creating more options too. In many cases, it will create more work for professional landlords. However, it’s also a method that enables them to produce maximised revenue.

For that reason alone, it’s not hard to appreciate its growing popularity.