What Airbnb's IPO and COVID-19 Mean to Your Short-Term Rental Investing Strategy

[Epic Real Estate]

The recent AirBnB IPO has shown that a short term rental investment strategy is still a profitable enterprise. Despite the gloomy predictions about the nature of short term rentals amid the pandemic, many companies -- not just AirBnB -- are proving that it's still an extremely viable option. Although many short term rental businesses came to a screeching halt when the pandemic first hit, that trend has largely reversed due to mass migrations of people from urban to rural areas. AirBnB laid off a quarter of its workforce before mounting a furious comeback fuelled by these travellers. Short term rentals made sense to people who were moving temporarily in order to ride out the pandemic. The migration was so large that AirBnB even turned a profit last quarter. Just about everyone has an opinion on the future of travel, and most laypeople feel that the market is going to decline. But, like the recent AirBnB IPO, there are many examples of successful businesses, which prove that a sound short term rental investment strategy can do well with the current demand. Expedia's third quarter earnings show a company far exceeding mid-pandemic expectations. While airfare sales have tanked, other areas, such as VRBO, have picked up the slack. Jay Massey, CEO of Cash Flow Diary, a company that shows people how to invest in and operate short term rental businesses, says that where there's chaos, there's cash flow. They are currently thriving through creative positioning and marketing. COVID-19 is proving to be no contest to the global demand for short term rentals, making short term rental investment a smart decision. The AirBnB IPO may come as a surprise to some, but when you look at the viability of rental investing, it only proves the profit-earning potential of this kind of investment.