Tips for Selling Your Airbnb Property for Top Dollar

Market the other value add-ons of your property

Prime location: You can sell your property at a premium price when it’s in a great location, especially if the home is well-maintained, Smith says. Some coveted locations include coastal communities, mountain cabins, ski resorts, and areas close to restaurants and entertainment.

Access to professional contacts: Another valuable add-on to investors is providing access to a network of professionals. They may include property managers, cleaners, and repair and maintenance pros who keep the property shipshape. Sellers often share professional service and maintenance contacts and contracts with new owners, according to Cheryl Coleman, a top real estate agent in Huntington Beach, California, who has owned many short-term rental properties.

“If the investor intends on renting out the property, they might choose to use the same services for cleaning, gardening, and repairs,” Coleman explains.

Know the ideal Airbnb buyer

“When pricing your Airbnb, know who your ideal buyer is,” says Mike Tewel, a property investor in Miami Beach, Florida. You’ll typically find two types of investors: entrepreneurs and large investment companies. Entrepreneurs are investors with a small real estate portfolio that act as owner-operators. These buyers tend to compare prices and features of properties to Airbnb listings recently sold in the neighborhood, similar to how an agent would do a comprehensive market analysis (CMA).

“If you’re targeting a larger real estate investor, they are normally looking at cap rates,” Tewel says. Cap rates, also known as capitalization percentage rates, relate to the rate of return a real estate investment is expected to generate. To find the cap rate, divide the net income by the property asset value to get an estimate of an investor’s prospective return. A good cap rate for a rental property is between 5% and 10%.

To simplify this concept, cap rate’s formula is expressed as:

Cap rate =  Net operating income / Property asset value x 100

Let’s say the total rent you expect to receive annually is $36,000, while the total operating expenses for the year, which include property management fees, insurance, taxes, and maintenance costs, amount to $12,000. Meanwhile, the current market value of the Airbnb property is $400,000.

• Annual Rent Income: $36,000
• Annual Operating Expenses: $12,000
• Property Value: $400,000

The net operating income is $24,000, as a result of subtracting the operating expenses from the rent income. The cap rate will be:

Cap rate = $24,000 / $400,000 x 100

Cap rate = 6%

In this example, buyers will find your rental property a good investment as it falls between the ideal 5% to 10% cap rate.

Attract buyers with high-quality photos

Airbnb research data shows that hosts who use professional photos to market their listings get up to 20% more bookings and 20% more earnings. Just as vacationers scrutinize images when choosing lodging, investors will be more likely to schedule a showing of your property if they’re presented with high-quality photos. “If your pictures look sad and old, no one will want to stay there, much less buy the property,” Smith says.

Airbnb can connect you with local professional photographers who can help show your listing in its best light. The company will also inform you about what to expect from your photoshoot, how to prepare, and how to stage living spaces. If you have top-notch photography skills (such as lighting techniques and working with angles), a tripod, and a DSLR camera, you might be able to attract buyers with high-quality images of your property and save some money.

Share your listing reviews with buyers

In any business, customer testimonials and reviews make a bigger impact on buyers than the words coming from a salesperson or business owner. High praise about a host and their property lets investors know you’re a reasonable person to deal with and have a well-maintained property.

When you share positive reviews of your Airbnb, it makes a good impression on investors. “Reviews can also assure buyers that their own guests will feel safe and comfortable staying there,” Tewel says.

“If you provide good service and your property is well-maintained, you should be able to accumulate many good reviews,” Smith says. “These should be saved and used in advertising when listing the property for sale.”

Advertise your short-term rental license

Advertising a short-term rental license, which is required for some jurisdictions, lets investors know that your short-term rental complies with zoning regulations and meets safety and health requirements.

Depending on your jurisdiction, you may be able to transfer your short-term rental permit or license. However, many cities and counties don’t allow it. Even if yours doesn’t sanction transfers, the investor will at least know your property meets the legal requirements to obtain a license or permit.

Consider selling your Airbnb turnkey and furnished

Whether you’re selling a short-term rental to an investor or a traditional real estate listing to a buyer, you’ll find most buyers prefer turnkey properties over homes that need to be updated and renovated. Especially when an investor owns other properties, listing your turnkey Airbnb rental will appeal to more prospective buyers.

To save the investor time, consider listing your property furnished when the furniture is in good shape. You can also offer to share your photos with the new owner, providing an added value for the buyer.

How can I find an agent who specializes in investment properties when selling my Airbnb?

Selling investment properties requires different skills and expertise than selling a typical, owner-occupied property. A top agent with experience selling investment properties will know how to present data such as income history, occupancy, and cap rates to investors, and how to access pricing data for similar short-term rentals that have sold in the neighborhood. An agent who sells in the area might even have access to buyers looking for a short-term rental similar to yours.

Connect with a Top Agent to Sell Your Airbnb

HomeLight data shows that top-performing agents sell homes faster and for more money. To get the highest return on the sale of your short-term rental property, connect with a top agent.

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Sell to an investor for a competitive cash offer and a quick sale

When you want to sell your property fast, consider selling your short-term rental for cash. Lender requirements, such as home inspections and appraisals, can hold up a sale and often delay your closing. But with cash buyers, you can easily bypass these common obstacles and speed up the transaction.

HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform allows you to sell your property quickly by receiving an all-cash offer from the largest pool of cash buyers in the country. Getting started is easy — all you have to do is answer a few simple questions about your property. You’ll then get a no-obligation, full cash offer in about 24 hours, and you can close in as few as 10 days, with the bonus of choosing your own moving date.

Final thoughts on selling your Airbnb

With the above-mentioned expert tips, you’re ready to market your property for success and fulfill your key responsibilities to stay in good graces with Airbnb. If you’re a Superhost looking to sell your Airbnb but still want to manage it as the host, you can keep your URL, photos, and reviews, and just change the bank account information to the new owner. With this, you can relish the rewards as a host for your hard work while putting more money in your wallet.

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