Jonathan Farber recently shared his secrets to Airbnb hosting success on AirDNA’s STR Data Lab podcast. Read on to learn how you, too, can incorporate these best practices into your own rental business.

Jonathan Farber: Become Financially Free With These Airbnb Hosting Tips

Many people start Airbnb hosting for one reason: financial freedom. Jonathan Farber is one of those people—a college golfer-turned-businessman with a real estate side hustle who dreamed of becoming financially free at a young age. 

Though he dabbled in flipping, house hacking, and multi-family homes, Jonathan struck gold with vacation rentals at the age of 27. He recently joined us on the STR Data Lab podcast to share secrets he’s learned about building a profitable Airbnb portfolio—including how using the right data can make all the difference.

Below are four of Jonathan’s top tips that you can apply to your own hosting business right away, no matter which market you’re based in.

The U.S. had been in a bull market for seven years when Jonathan bought his first properties in 2015. That didn’t dissuade him.  

“Everyone was telling me it’s the worst time ever to buy real estate,” he says. “How do you know it’s going to keep going up? How do you know it’s going to make money?” 

The key, according to Jonathan, is being strategic. He saw other investors’ success as proof that he could win at the short-term rental (STR) game, too. But rather than replicating their strategies, he got creative and worked within the economic climate: creative financing, low money down, and using data to identify the best places to invest. Jonathan learned that affordable, up-and-coming cities, like Raleigh, North Carolina, were more promising for a new investor than well-known destinations like New York City. 

Everyone has a different tolerance for risk. While Jonathan considers himself action-oriented, others may be oriented toward analysis before action. Jonathan believes it’s important to do a little soul-searching so that you can prepare for the risks involved in every opportunity. 

This is where data becomes your best friend. It can help you forecast the revenue potential of any prospective investment, but you can also take a more indirect approach called fear settling.

“You just go through every worst-case example of what could happen with what you’re about to do,” Jonathan says. “You realize most of the worst-case scenarios aren’t that bad, and they can be planned for.” 

Right-sizing your risk in this way can help you take action. This is important because, as Jonathan says, there’s also an opportunity cost to not investing. 

When Jonathan started investing in STRs, those around him warned that he’d spend all his time fixing toilets. Yet, five years down the line, Jonathan still doesn’t know how to fix a toilet, and he spends most of his time playing golf. How? By developing automated systems.

“We have systems to build relationships with vendors or people,” he says. “With technology, you can get multiple quotes, you can let people into your properties with smart locks, they can take pictures, they can take videos, and they can update you.” 

Because most people don’t want their STR to become a full-time job, automation and technology are both great ways to manage properties from afar—and with minimal time and resources. 

4.) Keep an eye on the data, not the drama.

Jonathan and his team tap into their data tools every day. He employs a virtual assistant to compile a daily download on 200 prospective properties, then distills that data set into 40 properties that would make solid investments. Though finding the right virtual assistance can be a pivotal part of this process, it all starts with real-time vacation rental data. 

“Getting information quickly and looking into trends and looking into markets and looking into historics, [MarketMinder™] is a tool [my assistant] uses every day,” Jonathan says.

Jonathan also relies on MarketMinder™ data to optimize his existing properties because it allows him to analyze and improve their performance. 

“You just follow a process looking at growth and looking at increasing average daily rates (ADRs),” he says.

ADR is just one data point that can lead to growth, but so can occupancy and changing seasonality patterns, among others. They can also be easily tracked with the right data tool. And while there is no silver bullet to STR success, an accurate data tool can help you achieve your goals in any economic climate—just like Jonathan found freedom in the midst of an economic slump.

Discover how AirDNA’s tools and technology can help you advance your Airbnb goals.

Sign up for a free MarketMinder™ account today

Jonathan Farber shares his secrets to Airbnb hosting success on AirDNA’s STR Data Lab podcast. Read on to learn how to incorporate these best practices into your business.

Jonathan Farber: Become Financially Free With These Airbnb Hosting Tips

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