I came across this news item recently stating "Airbnb Now Letting Hosts Search for Superhosts to Professionalize Listings"
In a bid to further scale and professionalize its business, Airbnb has quietly rolled out a website page that enables individual hosts — including those who are just considering putting up an apartment listing — to search for superhosts in their areas to manage the whole thing for the individual host. These superhosts, who have multiple listings and essentially take on the roll of property manager, help create the listing, evaluate pricing, handle messaging with guests and optionally can meet guests upon check-in, among other tasks.
The way it works is that the individual host searches for a nearby superhost, or perhaps a management company, selects one, and then pay a host fee usually ranging from 10 percent to 20 percent in addition to the 3 percent fee that Airbnb charges hosts for each booking. The host and superhost negotiate the superhost-management fee.
That commission of up to 23 percent amounts to a hefty fee but may be attractive to an individual host in a popular destination who is renting out his or her apartment as a part-time endeavor and doesn’t want to bother with the hassle of it all.
For Airbnb, it is a way to attract more listings and to professionalize them, and in the process make more money by adding listings and better-meet guest expectations. At the same time, Airbnb is also busy trying to expand its vacation rental listings globally.
In India, we are noticing a surge in people who believe that real estate investments are the best way to make money. Many top brass executives and Ivy league college graduates are now defining models enabling buyers to find properties that can easily go on AIRBNB, Homeaway etc. and fetch good rentals.
Most of these properties are 1-1.5 BHK apartments that are in a city centre location, well kept society and a view. Such properties were mostly rented by bachelors but return on investment was pretty flat- i.e. between 10-20k per month. (Pune, Hyderabad, Noida, Bangalore average). There is an inflexible and steady demand for studio apartments in both metro cities and Tier II cities. Studio apartments are the most cost effective residential option for people who want to own a house rather than rent one. The younger generations who are just starting out prefer to buy a studio apartment, because it is within their budget and they can save for a bigger home at a later time in life. The compromise is on space.
The average buyers of such apartments in Bangalore are newly wedded couples, single professionals or double income families. If you scan through Bangalore vacation rental availability on AIRBNB you will find most properties that are studios or 1 BHKs.
For builders these 250-400 sq ft flats are a hot selling commodity. This is a fast moving category, generating sales and cash flow. Youngsters in early period of their careers prefer these studio apartments because they are not concerned with space but more with themselves, their careers and most important savings and their financial portfolios.
These are compact, maintenance friendly homes, and have all the facilities which are the need of the present. So if you can get a small home, where you don’t need to be hassled by its maintenance and it is very much within your budget, there is nothing like a studio apartment.
With new start-ups growing by the day and concepts like AIRBNB, supply for regular homes are overtaking the demand, studios are starting to work well for both the developer and the buyer. The big developers have also kept a certain percentage of space for studio apartments in their projects, after seeing the sudden demand for this type of accommodation.One reason why they might be making a comeback today is because of the high rise in property prices and the steady decline in real estate absorption across cities. Developers are looking at studio apartments and 1BHK flats as a way to increase sales and generate some much-needed liquidity in the market.
With the help of some smart tips, people are now jazzing up these flats to make them more AIRBNB friendly. Returns have increased over 4 times than normal family rent figures and it is a win win for both hosts as well as guests.
In a bid to further scale and professionalize its business, Airbnb has quietly rolled out a website page that enables individual hosts — including those who are just considering putting up an apartment listing — to search for superhosts in their areas to manage the whole thing for the individual host. These superhosts, who have multiple listings and essentially take on the roll of property manager, help create the listing, evaluate pricing, handle messaging with guests and optionally can meet guests upon check-in, among other tasks.
For Airbnb, it is a way to attract more listings and to professionalize them, and in the process make more money by adding listings and better-meet guest expectations. At the same time, Airbnb is also busy trying to expand its vacation rental listings globally.
In India, we are noticing a surge in people who believe that real estate investments are the best way to make money. Many top brass executives and Ivy league college graduates are now defining models enabling buyers to find properties that can easily go on AIRBNB, Homeaway etc. and fetch good rentals.
Most of these properties are 1-1.5 BHK apartments that are in a city centre location, well kept society and a view. Such properties were mostly rented by bachelors but return on investment was pretty flat- i.e. between 10-20k per month. (Pune, Hyderabad, Noida, Bangalore average). There is an inflexible and steady demand for studio apartments in both metro cities and Tier II cities. Studio apartments are the most cost effective residential option for people who want to own a house rather than rent one. The younger generations who are just starting out prefer to buy a studio apartment, because it is within their budget and they can save for a bigger home at a later time in life. The compromise is on space.
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| Airbnb listed properties in Bangalore (most of then are 1 Bedroom, Hall, Kitchen) |
For builders these 250-400 sq ft flats are a hot selling commodity. This is a fast moving category, generating sales and cash flow. Youngsters in early period of their careers prefer these studio apartments because they are not concerned with space but more with themselves, their careers and most important savings and their financial portfolios.
These are compact, maintenance friendly homes, and have all the facilities which are the need of the present. So if you can get a small home, where you don’t need to be hassled by its maintenance and it is very much within your budget, there is nothing like a studio apartment.
With the help of some smart tips, people are now jazzing up these flats to make them more AIRBNB friendly. Returns have increased over 4 times than normal family rent figures and it is a win win for both hosts as well as guests.
