The Airbnb
Analyser
Before you spend a dollar on furniture, photos or listings, run the property through this. Three parts: the property itself, the market around it, and the numbers. It is the same analysis I do before I take anything on.
Past this stage already? See the Airbnb Accelerator →
Most people get this completely backwards. They buy a property, furnish it cheaply out of IKEA, take a few photos on their phone, put it on Airbnb, and expect it to out-earn a rental without ever really thinking about what they are doing or how Airbnb actually works. Only then do they find out the numbers never worked, the area is saturated with no demand, or short-term rentals were never legal there in the first place.
Feasibility comes first. Always. This walks you through the three questions that matter most: is the property itself suitable, is there actually money to be made in the area, and do the numbers stack up. Tick the boxes as you go, your readiness score updates live at the top, then run your real figures through the calculator at the end.
Be honest with yourself here. A "no" now saves you tens of thousands later.
Is the Property Suitable?
The goal of a great Airbnb is that it runs without you. No driving over for check-ins, no being on-call. Passive income while the asset grows in value. For that to work, the property itself has to tick some boxes.
Property Type & Access
The Legal Check: Do This First
Is There Money in the Area?
The property can be perfect, but if nobody's booking Airbnbs in your area, you've got a problem. This is where you validate real demand with real data before going any further.
The Numbers That Matter
When you research your area, these are the metrics that tell you whether it's worth it. Don't fixate on averages, look at what the top 10% of properties are doing.
Run a free check on Rabbu or AirROI to see if a market is worth deeper analysis. For a full deep-dive, AirDNA (from ~$12/month) is the industry standard. One month is usually enough to validate a market.
The Area Validation Checklist
Where to Check the Revenue Data
You can't answer Part 2 or Part 3 honestly without real market data. These are the tools I use and recommend. Start with the free ones to shortlist, then go deep on your chosen area.
- Global coverage, works for any market worldwide
- Market level and property level data
- Revenue calculator (Rentalizer) for specific addresses
- Seasonal trends, occupancy, ADR and RevPAR all in one place
- Filter to top 10% performers specifically
Plans start from around $12/month for a single neighbourhood. One month is typically enough to validate a market.
- Interactive city and postcode level dashboards
- Occupancy, seasonal trends, and top performing areas
- Some free data available, paid plans for deeper analysis
- Good for international markets outside the US
- Rabbu: free occupancy, ADR and RevPAR data for US markets. Good starting screen
- AirROI: completely free, 20M+ properties, 190+ countries. Strong global coverage
- Use these first to shortlist, then go deep on your chosen area
Found a market that works? Getting into its top 10% is a different job, and it is the one the Airbnb Accelerator covers end to end.
See the course →Do the Numbers Actually Work?
This is the part almost nobody does properly, and it's the one that decides everything. Put your real figures in below and compare what the property earns as a long term rental against what it could earn as a properly set up Airbnb. Everything updates live.
Pre-filled with my real figures. This is exactly what my own property produces, the comparison that convinced me to convert. Now swap in your numbers and see what yours could do.
Work through the checklist above and your verdict will appear here. Be honest, this is the analysis that protects you from an expensive mistake.
Or follow @nick.thrives for the free version, one post at a time.
I use your address to save this and to send you the occasional thing worth reading about running an Airbnb properly. Nothing else.
Most people buy the property first and work the numbers out afterwards. You did it the right way round. The hard part is everything that comes after, and it is the part that decides whether you land in the top 10% or somewhere in the forgettable middle where the calendar never fills.
One payment, not a subscription. Lifetime access, and every future update included.
Not ready yet? Follow @nick.thrives and I will keep showing you how it is done, one post at a time.