Shorterm rentals – REIA of Oakland

Websites like Airbnb, VRBO, and Homeaway have made it easy for short-term rentals to gain popularity among real estate investors today. In Michigan specifically, you’ll benefit from the growing short-term property market, generate a higher return on investment compared to traditional rental properties, and quickly find new guests thanks to online booking platforms.

Michigan is one of the hottest real estate markets in the nation today. The only thing left is to know which city to purchase your short-term rental in, which we’ve listed below.

5 Best Michigan Cities for Investing in Short-term Rentals

We based our list on two key factors: high cash-on-cash returns and rental income. They contribute the most to your short-term rental investment success, which is why we’ve based our list on the two factors.

Disclaimer: All the figures below come from Mashvisor, AirDNA, and Zillow reports.

1. Traverse City, MI

Traverse City is the largest city in Northern Michigan, and the largest producer of tart cherries in the nation. In 2012 alone, more than 3.3 million visitor trips were made to this city, resulting in $1.18 billion in direct spending toward its tourism sector.

Guests come here to see the grapevines at Traverse Wine Coast, swim in deep freshwater lakes, and grab a cold one in many craft beer spots. Traverse City is a rustic, charming small city filled with artists, craftsmen, and musicians that contribute to its rich local communities.

Typical Home Value: $416,822
Home Value Increase: 25.4% year-on-year
Cash-on-Cash Return: 7.13%
Rental Income: $4,572
Rental Growth: -16% quarter-on-quarter
Capitalization Rate: 7.13%
Occupancy Rate: 65.37%
Active Rentals: 1,310
Rental Channel: 46% Airbnb, 24% Vrbo, 30% listed on both

2. Grand Rapids, MI

Grand Rapids is one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, attracting travelers interested in art museums, galleries, and competitions. Its tourism industry has also been growing for ten consecutive years from 2009 to 2019, thanks to economic growth and an evolving, diversified community.

Guests come here to visit the John Ball Zoological Garden, Belknap Hill, Gerald R. Ford Museum, Van Andel Museum Center, Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park, and Grand Rapids Art Museum. There are also countless craft beer spots, as craft beer is the leading tourism driver in Grand Rapids since 2013.

Typical Home Value: $308,077
Home Value Increase: 17.6% year-on-year
Cash-on-Cash Return: 5.42%
Rental Income: $3,029
Rental Growth: 4% quarter-on-quarter
Capitalization Rate: 5.42%
Occupancy Rate: 68.79%
Active Rentals: 438
Rental Channel: 78% Airbnb, 9% Vrbo, 13% listed on both

3. Kalamazoo, MI

Kalamazoo is known for being the home of the US Tennis Association Boys 18 & 16 Championships for the past six decades, but it’s also the manufacturing domain of Gibson Guitars, Checker cabs, Kalamazoo Stoves, Kalamazoo Sled, Kalamazoo Corset, and Shakespeare fishing gear.

Guests can immerse themselves in the youthful energy and cultural spots in Kalamazoo, such as the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Valley Museum, Gilmore Car Museum, Air Zoo, Bronson Park, Arcadia Creek Festival place, and Kalamazoo Nature Center.

Typical Home Value: $215,027
Home Value Increase: 14.4% year-on-year
Cash-on-Cash Return: 7.31%
Rental Income: $2,759
Rental Growth: 8% quarter-on-quarter
Capitalization Rate: 7.31%
Occupancy Rate: 70%
Active Rentals: 151
Rental Channel: 78% Airbnb, 9% Vrbo, 13% listed on both

4. Dearborn, MI

Dearborn is a historic destination for travelers worldwide. In fact, it is home to Michigan’s leading tourist attraction, The Henry Ford—the nation’s largest indoor-outdoor American history museum and entertainment complex. The Henry Ford alone attracts around 1.6 million visitors every year.

Apart from The Henry Ford, guests can also enjoy Greenfield Village, Arab American National Museum, Henry Ford Estate, Islamic Center of America, Automotive Hall of Fame, and more.

Typical Home Value: $214,291
Home Value Increase: 16.4% year-on-year
Cash-on-Cash Return: 7.48%
Rental Income: $2,469
Rental Growth: 19% quarter-on-quarter
Capitalization Rate: 7.48%
Occupancy Rate: 61%
Active Rentals: 63
Rental Channel: 64% Airbnb, 22% Vrbo, 14% listed on both

5. Lansing, MI

Lansing is Michigan’s capital city that attracts traveling families all year round. The city welcomes around 4.8 million visitors every year that fuels its strong tourism industry.

Here, they can visit the Michigan State Capitol with a cast iron dome, Michigan History Center that details the state’s past, Potter Park Zoo with more than 160 species of animals, Impression 5 Science Center with interactive exhibits, and the R.E. Olds Transportation Museum for unique and vintage cars.

Typical Home Value: $142,780
Home Value Increase: 14.6% year-on-year
Cash-on-Cash Return: 8.66%
Rental Income: $2,556
Rental Growth: 8% quarter-on-quarter
Capitalization Rate: 8.66%
Occupancy Rate: 65%
Active Rentals: 212
Rental Channel: 74% Airbnb, 8% Vrbo, 18% listed on both

Short-Term Rentals, Long-Term Success in Michigan

Take your pick from the list above and start investing in Michigan short-term rentals! All the areas we’ve listed are profitable areas for you to take advantage of local tourism industries.

As long as you conduct property rental investment analysis and create a comprehensive income sheet, you’ll be on your way toward investment success in Michigan.

The list doesn’t end here. We’ve gone ahead and evaluated the rental property opportunities in every Metro Detroit city and neighborhood, too. Head to our Deep Dive series to find more hotspots in Michigan.

Airbnb owner on her cell phone

As COVID-19 slowly loosens its grip on our society, Airbnb’s popularity is reemerging from the ashes.

While the company saw a 72% drop in its services at the height of the pandemic, Airbnb is now seeing an increase in bookings once more, thanks to significant restructuring.

With this post-pandemic growth, short-term rental landlords are now looking at ways to optimize their vacation rental business to take advantage of the boom. And, more importantly, stand out from the competition.

One of these techniques is using multiple Airbnb accounts for your various properties, as we’ll see in this article. Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind, but the strategy proves to be a great way to show up more in Airbnb’s search results, increase your property’s visibility, attract more guests, and secure more bookings.

Let’s take a closer look.

Can I Have Multiple Airbnb Accounts?

You may be thinking, “Is it even legal to list the same property on multiple Airbnb accounts?” After all, you don’t want to go against any of Airbnb’s rules and regulations and risk getting banned altogether. The company can track single IP addresses or cross-reference your contact information to prevent its users from having multiple accounts

Since they do regularly crackdown on users trying to flood Airbnb listings with the same property, we advise against it. However, if you have multiple properties, then you can have a different account for each different property.

While it is a lot more work, it can be alright if you are operating an Airbnb business with different properties in vastly different areas. We’ll explain why you might do that in a bit.

Of course, if you don’t want to deal with multiple accounts for your listings, consider posting your properties on multiple platforms instead of just Airbnb. There are plenty of other options today like VRBO, Booking.com, and TripAdvisor. You can even try social media sites like Facebook and Instagram to expand your reach.

Next up, let’s explore the situations where you can have multiple Airbnb accounts.

When Should I Have Multiple Airbnb Accounts?

As we said, Airbnb doesn’t allow users to manage multiple accounts for the same listings. Although, managing multiple accounts for other situations can be beneficial for your short-term rental properties. Keep in mind, this advice is for people with multiple properties.

Now, here are a few reasons why you might need multiple Airbnb accounts, you can:

Have separate accounts for the properties that are in different locations. They’ll have unique addresses that will help potential guests see that your rentals are in a specific area, rather than thinking you’re spread across multiple locations (and might not have expertise in the local area). Plus, if you have Superhost status and get a bad review on a different property, it won’t affect your status on your other accounts.
Have separate accounts if you’re running a property management company. This way, your team can oversee several properties across the Airbnb platform. You can have one account for guest bookings and another for hosting services, although this might complicate things for your team.

As you can see, there are some cases where you have multiple Airbnb accounts. But, make sure that you are always following the rules on the platform, so you don’t get banned and miss out on additional income.

How Can I Manage Multiple Airbnb Accounts?

Now, managing multiple Airbnb accounts isn’t easy. You’ll have to figure out a way to do the following across different accounts, logging in and out of each profile to:

Stay on top of your messages and communication with guests
Update your calendar to avoid double-bookings
Change your prices, post new information, or pick new photos for your listings

It’s a lot to do, but you can use smart tools to streamline daily property management operations and control the many aspects of your short-term rental business.

Here are a few ways to do so:

Hire a property management company to handle properties on your behalf. Get in touch with us if your short-term rental properties are in the Metro Detroit area!
Use a vacation rental software solution like AirGMS to automate operations.
Bring in a co-host to double your workforce and combine Airbnb techniques.

Follow these tips to help you take care of multiple Airbnb accounts and lessen your chances of going against Airbnb’s rules. Additionally, having a property management company or co-host means you’ll be logging in to Airbnb via different IP addresses, which helps your case.

Level Up Your Airbnb Strategy

Take the time to consider whether you can manage different Airbnb accounts and if it makes sense for your portfolio of short-term rentals. The better you plan for it, the greater the chances of your properties ranking higher in Airbnb’s search results—being more visible to potential guests.

Once everything is running smoothly, you can sit back, relax, and watch your bookings increase alongside Airbnb’s post-pandemic revival.

Got any thoughts on this listing strategy? Comment down below, and let’s get a conversation going.

Image courtesy of Andrea Piacquadio