Best books for STR business and real estate investing

Category: Off-Topic & Lounge

By: James Wu

Posted: 2026-01-28T21:03:12.525Z

I'm a reader and want to level up my STR knowledge. What books have most impacted your hosting business or real estate investing approach? Looking for both STR-specific and general business/investing recommendations.

Reply by Kevin O'Brien:

My essential reading list, organized by category: **STR-Specific:** 📖 **"Profitable Properties" by Daniel Vroman Rusteen** — The most comprehensive "how to Airbnb" book. Covers listing optimization, pricing strategy, guest communication, and operations. Written by a former Airbnb employee. 📖 **"The Book on Managing Rental Properties" by Brandon and Heather Turner** — BiggerPockets classic. Not STR-specific but the operations principles apply perfectly. **Real Estate Investing:** 📖 **"Rich Dad Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki** — The mindset book that gets you thinking about assets vs liabilities. Read it if you haven't. 📖 **"The Book on Rental Property Investing" by Brandon Turner** — Comprehensive guide to analyzing and acquiring rental properties. 📖 **"BRRRR" by David Greene** — If you want to scale using the Buy-Rehab-Rent-Refinance-Repeat strategy. 📖 **"The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" by Gary Keller** — Big-picture framework for building real estate wealth. **Business & Systems:** 📖 **"The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber** — THE book for understanding why you need to work ON your business, not IN it. Every host working 80-hour weeks needs this book. 📖 **"Who Not How" by Dan Sullivan** — Changed my approach from "how do I do everything?" to "who can I hire to do this?" Led me to hiring my first VA. 📖 **"Traction" by Gino Wickman** — For hosts scaling past 5 properties who need organizational structure and accountability frameworks. **My #1 pick if you read only ONE:** "The E-Myth Revisited." It'll change how you think about your hosting business and push you toward building systems instead of doing everything yourself.

Reply by Maria Gonzales:

I'd add one non-obvious recommendation: **"Never Split the Difference" by Chris Voss** (former FBI negotiator). This book transformed my guest communication. His techniques for active listening, labeling emotions, and tactical empathy work perfectly for: - Negotiating with difficult guests trying to get refunds - De-escalating complaints - Negotiating with vendors and cleaners on pricing - Working out deals with property owners (for co-hosts and arbitrage) STR is ultimately a people business. Communication skills are your highest-leverage investment.