Loading...
Loading...
Category: Off-Topic & Lounge
By: Nolan Peters
Reply by David Okafor:
Been in the STR space 4 years — here are the resources that actually moved the needle for me. For books, start with Avery Carl's "Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth." It's the one book I'd hand someone who's serious about STR investing. Covers deal analysis, financing, operations — the whole picture. After that, "Profit First for Real Estate Investing" by David Richter completely changed how I manage STR finances. The profit-first accounting method stops you from falling into the "all my revenue disappears into expenses" trap, which happens to basically everyone starting out. Brandon Turner's "Book on Rental Property Investing" isn't STR-specific but the real estate fundamentals are essential. And honestly, "Unreasonable Hospitality" by Will Guidara (it's about the restaurant industry) transformed how I think about guest experience. Small touches that cost almost nothing but create memorable stays. For podcasts, Tim Hubbard's "Short-Term Rental Riches" is head and shoulders the best STR-specific show — practical, no fluff, real numbers. BiggerPockets has a massive backlog with plenty of STR episodes if you search for them. "Thanks for Visiting" by Annette and Sarah is great for hospitality-focused hosting philosophy. I also like the Rental Income Podcast for more technical nerdy stuff on revenue management. YouTube: Robuilt (Rob Abasolo) is entertaining and transparent about his own numbers. Good for getting started. Sean Rakidzich at AirbnbAutomated has useful operational content on automation and scaling (say what you want about the controversy — the tactical stuff is legit). Online tools I use constantly: STR Specialist (https://strspecialist.com) has calculators for amenity ROI and a house manual generator that saves me a ton of time. AirDNA for market data before any purchase — essential for deal analysis. If I had to give someone a path: read Avery Carl's book first, then binge the first 20 episodes of Short-Term Rental Riches, analyze 10 deals on AirDNA, then start making offers. The biggest trap is consuming content forever and never pulling the trigger. After you have the fundamentals, action teaches more than any podcast.
Reply by Kevin O'Brien:
Adding a few underrated resources: **Communities:** - The STR Specialist community (right here!) — love the practical discussions - BiggerPockets STR Forum — large, active, good for market-specific questions - Facebook: "Airbnb Superhosts" group (~100K members) — high signal-to-noise ratio compared to other Facebook groups - Reddit: r/airbnb_hosts — anonymous, more honest opinions **Newsletters:** - *AirDNA's Pulse Report* — monthly market data and trends (free) - *Key Data Dashboard* — weekly STR market data for specific regions **Tools to bookmark:** - STR Specialist tools: https://strspecialist.com/tools/amenity-roi-calculator — determine which amenities to add for ROI - https://strspecialist.com/tools/house-manual-generator — create a professional house manual - https://strspecialist.com/tools/cleaning-fee-calculator — calculate your per-turnover costs - https://strspecialist.com/tools/review-response-generator — handle reviews professionally - https://strspecialist.com/tools/wifi-qr-code-generator — small touch, big guest satisfaction **One pro tip:** Don't try to learn everything before starting. The best education is owning property #1 and learning through actual hosting. Books and podcasts are supplements, not prerequisites.