Airbnb yields in Melbourne dropping

That's good to hear

My wife and I are going to give it a go - our main concern was vacancy rates but I guess that's the same concern every new host has.

I'll report back in a few months.

@Gockie I might have to hassle you with questions

Cheers

Jamie

 

I reckon this might only affect some areas that are near beaches or near the city. Also, people are renting out spaces they would not have rented out otherwise. For example, unused downstairs areas of their homes, studios in their backyards, holiday homes they may own on the coast...

 

I don't believe this will have a negative effect, if anything it could be a positive long term! AirBNB is predominantly short stay accomodarion, long term renters want stability.
If more people go down the road of letting Airbnb for higher rates then the supply for actual long term rentals decreases. Lower supply means more valuable stock which equals higher rent.

The other thing is in desireable areas, renters will begin to sublease. A best mate of mine lives in Rose Bay and frequently does this when he travels overseas. The subleasing covers his rent and pays for his holiday!! As this becomes more adopted (put aside the fact it's probably illegal) renters in these suburbs will happily pay a bit of extra rent with the knowledge they can sublease to the next Chinese tourist family.

 

@Jamie Moore what type of property are you going to put on air bnb

@geoffw whats your opinion on air bnb in canberry

 

5 bedroom place in the Inner North.

Would be an incredible place for families. Nice and close to the city.

Going to test it out for 6 months and then decide whether to continue with Air BnB or rent it out normally.

Cheers

Jamie

 

Checkout the other listing in the area. If they look like they are attracting strong bookings (look in their calendars), then it's feasible. 5 bedrooms though = heaps of washing and sheet changing. Unless you can somehow get the guests to put the sheets on the beds themselves!!

 

We stayed in an Airbnb in Barcelona where we had to make the beds. We have stayed in one three times in Forster where we make the beds. The linen is in a bag delivered by a local laundry. It never worries us at all having to do that. A friend of mine with an Airbnb up in the Blue Mountains goes one step further and people need to bring their own linen. His place is always booked out.

 

Thanks for the advice.

I think our place will do well - especially for families who are on holidays or looking for a short term stay before getting themselves established.

We'll probably keep one room as a kids play room - and then four bedrooms for sleeping upstairs.

There will be a basketball court and large playset out the back.

With playsets, etc - I assume we'd need to get a disclaimer written up? use are your own risk type thing.

I'm excited to see how it goes!

Cheers

Jamie

 

In other news, has anyone else noticed how much "Stayz" is now scrambling!
Complacent for far too long with a horrible website with dismal functionality.
They will now slowly fade into the distance, their last dollars spent trying to finally advertise themselves on The Block commercial breaks.

 

Yes this is what is happening in Barcelona, airbnb is really destroying some parts of the city as locals are pushed out by landlords who airbnb the properties instead. A lot of people hate it, including the council who have blocked further growth by not issuing tourist licences anymore. Still a lot of illegal properties out there, council is catching up with them though, huge fines (even airbnb itself was fined 60K).

 

Yes, Airbnb are new comers to the space, but have done things well. I looked at Stayz five years ago and it was hopeless. That's why I listed on Airbnb. Back then hosts had to collect the money themselves and all sorts of clunky stuff like that. I'm not sure if that's still the case.

 

Hosts I stayed with in Melbourne also list their property on bookings.com.
Fine to have multiple ways to attract bookings as long as you manage your calendar well.

 

The bloke who started Stayz did well, too. He sold it to Fairfax, who then sold it to someone else.