Our new Airbnb

Discussion in 'Airbnb & Short Term Letting' started by jodes, 8th Feb, 2017.

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  1. jodes

    jodes Well-Known Member

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    @Ouchmyknees we just get the guests to leave their keys in the apartment when they leave and the cleaner puts them back in the box (She has her own set of keys).
     
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  2. jodes

    jodes Well-Known Member

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    I think someone has posted this before but I am considering getting this for our airbnb front door as then we only have to worry about one set of keys. It can be programmed from afar and I'd change it for each guest, maybe using the last 5 digits of their phone number

    Keyless Entry System & Digital Code Door Locks | Kwikset
     
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  3. geoffw

    geoffw Moderator Staff Member

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    They look good... but it might be a bit expensive for some owners. It only has an iOS version, so would require the purchase of an iPhone.
     
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  4. jodes

    jodes Well-Known Member

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    Another update: our St Kilda airbnb is still going well and we've just finished setting up our second Airbnb in Prahran! It's only one bedroom (with sofa bed in lounge for extra guests), and we haven't received too many bookings yet but have spent the last week updating/ renovating. We now have much nicer photos and already have seen 3 bookings come through since we updated the photos last night. ! Any feedback on our listing would be appreciated- if you want to PM me, I'll send you the listing. Oh and if you are heading to Melbourne and looking for a place to stay, let me know also- PC discount available :)
     
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  5. jodes

    jodes Well-Known Member

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    Hi guys,
    Just wanted to provide a quick update as I get quite a few questions coming into my inbox on Airbnb!
    We are still chugging along nicely with our two airbnb's in St Kilda in Prahran- apart from some nitpicky guests we absolutely love hosting and it's financially rewarding.

    For both listings over September and October we probably had about 8 nights vacant (between the two) and the bank account we set up at the beginning of the year for all incoming and outgoing revenue and expenses still hasn't needed to be topped up!

    We are heading down to Melbourne this weekend for inspections to make sure everything is in order.
     
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  6. ohlewis

    ohlewis Member

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    Hi Jodes, been reading the thread and looks like all is going well. I had a question regarding tax deductions etc.

    Can you still claim the usual stuff that you would for a traditional rental?

    I assume depreciation on the building, furniture and appliances etc?

    When it is vacant, do you need to factor this in for tax time, in that you can only claim deductions on the time in which it is tenanted (has guests)?

    Also, can you show me an example of what you might make in a year vs traditional rent as an example?

    I've got a 1 bedroom apartment in both South Melbourne & South Yarra, both in great spots which I believe could do well for Airbnb but really haven't looked to much into it as to whether it's worth it, so any feedback would be appreciated.
     
  7. jodes

    jodes Well-Known Member

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    hi @ohlewis
    Regarding tax, we haven't done our tax returns yet (so not sure on the answer to this).

    With regards to traditional rent vs airbnb it really does vary. But if you price it correctly and can average decent occupancy, you can probably clear about 2.5 times what you would with traditional rent but costs are higher.

    Here is an example (rough numbers):
    Traditional Rent:
    $450 pw
    Less PM fee, water, council, strata, interest = $170 pw loss

    Airbnb
    $140 pw nights week = $840
    Less water, council, strata, interest, electricity, gas, internet, groceries, cleaning fees (we charge $60 but it costs us closer to $100) = $200 pw gain

    Plus don't forget the cost to furnish and set it up.

    So although your pockets won't necessarily be lined with money, I'd much rather have a $200 per week surplus than a $170 loss each week. I think the above numbers are relatively conservative - as long as your airbnb sticks out from the rest
     
  8. Lacrim

    Lacrim Well-Known Member

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    Is the occupancy rate really that high though ie 6 nights out of 7 per week (85%) booked?
     
  9. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    For Sydney city areas, yes. Ditto from what I experienced for Sydney metro too. It could be higher except that I don't try to fill 1 night gaps between bookings. Other cities will vary.
     
  10. jodes

    jodes Well-Known Member

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    Exactly what @Gockie said - I think we could be higher if we accepted one night bookings but it's really more trouble than it's worth. If you aren't too greedy and price correctly and you stick out in the listings, it's easy to achieve that occupancy. Plus during busy times, you can get way more. We are renting our apartment in Sydney out for $450 a night over Christmas/ new years (4km from the CBD). We know someone who has an apartment across the road from the MCG who rented it out for $1500 a night around the grand final.
     
  11. Lacrim

    Lacrim Well-Known Member

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    OK a few questions for an apartment within 5-10kms of city - including @Gockie and @Depreciator :

    • do you guys cater to 5 or more occupants? 5 is typically the magic number that exceeds most hotel rooms
    • do you guys get cleaners or outsource?
    • is it almost guaranteed that you'd make much more than a long term tenancy
    • have you encountered problems with strata/council saying you have to stop
    • any horror stories - people trashing the place, hygiene issues etc
    Have previously made contact with Madecomfy for a couple of my props but the mgt rates were excessive.
     
  12. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    • do you guys cater to 5 or more occupants? 5 is typically the magic number that exceeds most hotel rooms I cater for max 4, but my apartment with 1 bedroom is most comfortable for 2 guests if it's a longer stay (week or longer). I personally would not want to sleep on the convertible sofa in the lounge room for extended periods of time. Personally I think you might need three bedrooms or 2 bedrooms and a living area that feels bedroom-like if you are looking to house 5 or more guests.
    • do you guys get cleaners or outsource? Cleaners - find a reliable one from Airtasker and stick with them. I still manage the sheets and towel washing though. And sometimes I clean. But also I look out for stuff needing changing, fixing.
    • is it almost guaranteed that you'd make much more than a long term tenancy Sydney 5-10km out - I would say so. Note that there is more work required though, and you'll find more wear and tear.
    • have you encountered problems with strata/council saying you have to stop - I haven't in Sydney. Brisbane (Moreton Bay Council) I had but the council guy actually was supportive/sympathetic and he thinks the laws should change...
    • any horror stories - people trashing the place, hygiene issues etc - yes, in Brisbane, not quite so much trashing the place or hygienic, just booking.com guests tend to be unreliable, not turn up (very frustrating when they haven't paid) and they can even be running from the law! Airbnb guests tend to be good. I've got the Brisbane one managed by a local agency now, who have a long history of managing short term lets.
     
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  13. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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    i thought the brisbane one you couldn't do short term let because of council? :s
     
  14. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    The council guy said they will basically turn a blind eye if the short term let is of a week or longer :)
    Since then, they haven't actually said any more.
     
  15. jodes

    jodes Well-Known Member

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    @ohlewis
    • do you guys cater to 5 or more occupants? 5 is typically the magic number that exceeds most hotel rooms
    One of our Airbnb’s caters for 6 (two bedrooms with a queen bed and one sofa bed in the lounge). I’m fact we can sleep 7 as we have a single futon and did once in request but don’t advertise it as I think it would be too squishy. I thought having 6 was was imperative to getting high occupancy but our other airbnb which sleeps 4 has proven this is not the case.
    • do you guys get cleaners or outsource?
    Like @Gockie we found cleaners on Airtasker and use them consistently. Our Airbnb’s are in another city though and if I lived in the city I’d definitely consider cleaning sometimes as cleaning fees does cut into the profits.
    • is it almost guaranteed that you'd make much more than a long term tenancy
    Guaranteed if you put Effort in and aren’t greedy. We have another airbnb in our building and the furnishings are ugly (but expensive) and her prices are high. She gave up on airbnb as she wasn’t getting the bookings.
    • have you encountered problems with strata/council saying you have to stop
    Yes, our strata in our apartment in Sydney told us to stop (we did it full time for 6 months when we first purchased it as we had to wait out our lease). We still do it occasionally now but only one group and only for a short time (we are going away for Christmas and have one group staying for 8 days)
    • any horror stories - people trashing the place, hygiene issues etc
    No horror stories but guests can be stupid and annoying and complain about ridiculous things which can be both frustrating and stressful. We’ve also had some guests leave the house very dirty but nothing that wasn’t cleanable. I think the worst for us was a set of guests from the us who we had stay for a month in the middle of winter who I guess were used to central heating and based on our $900 for one month power bill guess they left the space heaters on 24/7 for their entire stay !
     
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  16. Gockie

    Gockie Life is good ☺️ Premium Member

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    Ohh. Just thought of a "horror story".
    A family from HK stayed at my Sydney place for around 2 weeks. Great communication but when it came to the time of doing a changeover, based on what was left for washing, it seemed they used new sheets and towels, EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Leaving me with waaayyy too much washing to do when they left. They completely enjoyed the stay and they want to stay again next June/July.
    But... I am going to decline.

    Yes, things that seem like nothing or normal to a guest can be something that puts a big "never again" to a host. I have no idea if they typically use so many sheets and towels at home... Maybe they do since many HK families have a maid.
     
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  17. Lacrim

    Lacrim Well-Known Member

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    I dunno guys. Sounds like a lot of work for someone lazy (like me). And vacancy periods would stress me out.
     
  18. teetotal

    teetotal Well-Known Member

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    Mate, you gotta put some extra effort to earn extra income.
     
  19. Elives

    Elives Well-Known Member

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    so you are back on airbnb? and how come you don't self manage it?
     
  20. jodes

    jodes Well-Known Member

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    @Gockie have you done a separate post about your council issues? Would love to know more if you haven't already.
     
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