You’re looking to break into real estate in New York City, so the ideal of owning your own Airbnb property seems appealing to you. Not so fast, though. According to travel expert Brian Ferdinand in a recently published article, the Airbnb model presents a few challenges for landlords. Thus, instead of going the Airbnb route, it may be in your best interest to start your own corporate housing company, which offers many benefits over using the Airbnb model.
FRUSTRATIONS WITH AIRBNB
Brian Ferdinand, the managing partner of CorpHousing Group, explains in the recent article that in 2019, officials in New York City ended up raiding a condominium and distributing 20-plus violations to people who owned Airbnb rentals. That’s because they apparently violated the New York rule where the owners of buildings with three-plus units cannot agree to any rentals for under 30 days. The only situation where this is allowed is when the owner of the property is actually present as well.
As many property owners are afraid of incurring fines, they are ditching the Airbnb model and are instead embracing corporate housing, where guests often enter rental agreements for at least 30 days.
WHY CORPORATE HOUSING MAKES SENSE
In addition to helping you to avoid fines, the corporate housing model makes sense in that it tends to be more guest friendly when compared with Airbnb’s self-service approach. With Airbnb, guests are forced to try to solve their own problems. However, if you run a reputable corporate housing firm, you can designate personal greeters to handle your customers’ issues during their stays. This can easily help you to keep your guests coming back time and time again.
Corporate housing also is a popular choice because it is generally more secure than the Airbnb model is. Airbnb doesn’t conduct any background checks on its renters. However, as a corporate housing firm owner, you can conduct complete background checks and even view your potential guests’ activity on social media. This can help you to ultimately limit vandalism and unauthorized parties on your property.
Finally, even though scams are not necessarily common with Airbnb, some renters who use Airbnb have their vacations ruined by devious Airbnb hosts. However, top-tier corporate housing providers offer guaranteed accommodations as well as transparent service, and travelers know this. If you are a corporate housing firm owner, this provides you with an inherent advantage over Airbnb property owners who are competing with you for the same customers.
