A 32-year-old real estate investor who retired early to Japan shares 2 software tools that helped him set up a profitable Airbnb business he can manage from abroad
He'd spent the last couple of years building a portfolio of cash-flowing rental properties on the side and was eager to spend more time with his young son. He and his wife, who works as a behavior analyst, determined that they had enough coming in between rental income and her earnings to sustain their lifestyle abroad.
Reyna expects his properties in San Antonio — two single-family homes and two tiny homes — to bring in about $84,000 in 2025. He lists them as short-term rentals on Airbnb and Vrbo, and mid-term rentals on Furnished Finder. He also rents to long-term tenants, though he prefers shorter stays, which require more work but are more lucrative.
Reyna and his property manager, who is in Texas, co-manage the portfolio. Two software tools ensure that the short-term rental aspect of the business runs smoothly.
1. AirDNA. Rental demand is a key metric to consider when it comes to short-term rentals in particular. Are people even visiting your market?
As Reyna was shopping for land to place his tiny homes, he used AirDNA to answer that question. The site helps investors understand specific markets by providing data such as occupancy rates and average daily rates.
"I didn't want to have to buy land in the middle of nowhere, stick tiny homes there, and then have to create some sort of buzz to get people out there," said Reyna. "So, using AirDNA, I looked at different metrics like booking rates and occupancy, and I threw all the data into an Excel sheet."
He selected an area with strong rental demand that was also within a 30-minute drive of where he was living at the time, and has been rewarded with high occupancy rates for his tiny homes.
AirDNA offers a free version, which provides limited market insights. The Pro version costs $34 a month when billed annually ($400 total for the year), or $125 a month when billed monthly.
2. PriceLabs. While AirDNA helped Reyna select a strong market, PriceLabs helps him appropriately price his rentals. The software will automatically adjust your prices on sites like Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com based on demand and seasonality in your area.
"It automates the pricing for you, so you don't have to go into the apps and keep updating the prices — and it's meant to increase booking rates," said Reyna. "So, say, there's some special event going on. It'll raise the prices for you to meet that demand. Or, if nothing's really going on in the area, it'll lower the prices for you so that your listing stays competitive."
After a 30-day free trial, the dynamic pricing tool costs $19.99 per listing a month.
For Reyna, the subscriptions pay for themselves and then some.
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Los Angeles Times
9 minutes ago
- Los Angeles Times
Short-term home rentals are dropping in L.A. ‘The rules are too much'
For the last four years, Katherine Taylor rented out her Westside guesthouse on Airbnb. She came to rely on the extra income at a time when it felt like everything was getting more expensive. But this spring, she took the listing down. 'I'm out,' Taylor said. 'The rules are too much. All these new regulations kept popping up, and it felt like it was only a matter of time before I got fined.' Across the L.A. region, many people who rent out their homes for income seem to be changing their preferences. Short-term rentals are much more lucrative than longer stays, but the steady turnover often creates headaches for landlords, and increasingly they are in the crosshairs of local ordinances, including the risk of fines. Because of this and other factors, short-term rental registrations have dipped over the last year. Last July, there were 4,228 active Home Sharing registrations in the city of L.A., according to the Planning Department. This July, there were 3,972 — a 6% decrease. Short-term rental software platforms show a decrease in listings as well, to varying degrees. In analyzing a sample set of short-term rentals in the L.A. metro area, Hospitable estimated a 44% drop in listings year over year, with steady declines each month. AllTheRooms reported a 13% drop in Airbnb listings across L.A. County over the same stretch. The data sources vary, since companies have different access to listing data. AirDNA reported an 8% increase in Airbnb and VRBO listings in the L.A. metro area over the last year, but noted a decrease since January fueled by big drops in fire markets: a 56% decrease in Altadena, 36% decrease in Pacific Palisades and 25% decrease in Malibu. Expert opinions differ on the cause of the drop-off, but the fires are definitely a factor. Thousands of homes burned down in the Palisades and Eaton fires, taking many rentals off the market. But in the wake of the disaster, many short-term rentals were converted to mid- or long-term rentals to house fire victims. Other hosts are opting for mid-term rentals — stays of longer than 30 days but less than a year — independent of the fires. 'The short-term rental space got stuck. Regulations hit, and people are finding that the next best option is mid-term rentals,' said Jesse Vasquez, an entrepreneur who runs a mid-term rental summit every year. Vasquez said L.A. is the best market for mid-term stays because so many people visit the city for extended periods with no permanent plans: travel nurses, students, digital nomads or people working on long-term projects such as films or construction. He said mid-term rentals rake in about 15% to 20% less than short-term rentals, but in exchange, homeowners deal with less turnover. If a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in a popular neighborhood can make around $10,000 per month as a short-term rental, it could still bring in $8,000 per month as a mid-term rental, Vasquez said. Last year, Airbnb Chief Executive Brian Chesky identified mid-term stays as a 'huge growth opportunity' for the company, and said such bookings make up 18% of the company's business compared with 13% to 14% before the pandemic. Mark Lawson used to rent out his San Fernando Valley home on VRBO for weekend stays, but last year he set the parameters to only accept bookings of 30 days or more. 'I got tired of having someone new in the house every few days,' he said. Short-term rentals have long been contentious. While advocates say sites such as Airbnb and VRBO offer income for homeowners and options for tourists, critics claim home-sharing removes long-term rentals from a market in the midst of a housing crisis. To prevent L.A.'s housing stock from being converted into short-term rentals, Los Angeles in 2018 passed the Home-Sharing Ordinance, which regulates short-term rentals by restricting hosts to renting out only their primary residences and requiring them to get a license. The regulatory framework worked — somewhat. Listings dropped 70% from 2019 to 2023, though much of the drop could be attributed to the pandemic. Last year, the restrictions spread to unincorporated areas in L.A. County, which previously weren't subject to the rules. But despite the new requirements, thousands of hosts still operate without a license, or fake their registration numbers, due to lack of enforcement. Last year, a report from the L.A. Housing Department said that as of October 2024, there were an estimated 7,500 violations of the Home-Sharing Ordinance, but only 300 citations. So in March 2025, the L.A. City Council approved a slew of recommendations to beef up the ordinance even more, arming the city with a war chest of new enforcement tools. The plan calls for 18 staffers to monitor violations and increased fines based on the square footage of the rental: $1,000 for rentals less than 500 square feet, up to $16,000 for homes greater than 25,000 square feet. The fines double and quadruple on the second and third violation, respectively. The recommendations even call for city staffers to go on spy missions in illegal rentals. Under the proposed plan, Housing Department staff would use prepaid cards to book home-sharing rentals and stay in homes to gather evidence that they're operating illegally. However, two months later, the city's $14-billion budget scaled back spending for many city departments. As a result, no new enforcement officers have been hired, and many of the plans have yet to be implemented. But simply the threat of higher fines and stricter enforcement has had a chilling effect. 'Talking to our customers, regulation is the biggest factor in short-term rental inventory decreasing,' said Derek Jones, Hospitable's vice president of sales and partnerships. 'L.A.'s ordinance combines all the strict rules from other markets around the country.' Jones said the potential for $1,000 fines — now able to be doled out without a warning beforehand — are causing some hosts to remove listings from the market out of fear, since the fines far exceed the nightly revenue brought in by the average listing. 'Housing is expensive already, then you add high penalties and zoning that limits supply,' Jones said. 'All that put together, it creates a market where housing investors are cautious to invest. And that proved to be the case this year.' Taylor is one such investor. She specifically bought her Westside home because it had a guesthouse she could rent. But she found herself frustrated by the maximum days she could rent it annually under the Home Sharing Ordinance — 120 days. Her space was larger than 500 square feet, so under the new rules, it could be subject to a $2,000 fine for the first violation, $4,000 for the second, and $8,000 for the third. Ultimately, she decided it wasn't worth the hassle. 'I'll keep an eye on how the city is enforcing the rules. Maybe I'll try it again someday,' she said. 'But for now, it's gonna stay empty.'
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
To Danville and beyond: 15 of Florida's unique wedding venues
To Danville and beyond: 15 of Florida's unique wedding venues With pristine white sand beaches, palm trees that sway in the breeze and picture-perfect sunsets, Florida has always proven itself to be an ideal place for couples to say 'I do.' More than 2 million partners choose to tie the knot in the United States each year, and having plenty of unique venues to choose from helps lovebirds fulfill their wedding dreams. From an inventor's homemade Airbnb village and wedding venue named after himself (Danville) to a sternwheeler steamboat on the St. Johns River, the Sunshine State offers plenty of spaces for vows to be made and love stories to unfold. Northeast Florida Danville 'I've met 4,000 people from hosting on Airbnb,' said Dan Shaw, 78, who dreamed up his own little venue and village, naming it Danville. 'Where else could I meet 4,000 people that come to see me?' Guests can stay in a yurt, a tree house, a man-cave apartment or the Danville Inn, which sits in the middle of a main street facade constructed inside an airplane hangar. This downtown Danville setting makes a unique place to host a wedding reception after an outdoor ceremony on the 30-acre property, which sits between Orlando and New Smyrna Beach. Couples can honeymoon for the night in the Danville Inn, where a king bed and a 12-seat home theater await. Location: 232 N. Jungle Road in Geneva Contact: 407-349-5724; stay@ Website: Lightner Museum Sometimes referred to as America's Oldest City, St. Augustine, founded in 1565, transports visitors hundreds of years into the past with its Spanish architecture and old-world feel. The Lightner Museum occupies the former Hotel Alcazar, which was built by industrialist Henry Flagler in 1889. 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The St. Johns Rivership Co. invites tourists and locals aboard the Barbara-Lee, a sternwheeler built in 1986 and refurbished in 2012. Driven by massive wooden paddle wheels, the ship harks back to the 1800s, when steamboats would regularly be seen traveling the 310-mile St. Johns. Enjoy the beauty of natural Florida while exchanging rings or dancing into the night at a riverboat reception with a capacity for up to 176 people. Location: 433 N. Palmetto Ave. in Sanford Contact: 321-441-3030; info@ Website: Southeast Florida Hemingway Home During a visit to Key West, explore the former residence of legendary writer Ernest Hemingway, which is now home to dozens of polydactyl (six-toed) cats. The gardens and grounds present a look into life in the 1930s, which for Hemingway included a luxurious in-ground pool — something that was considered rare in the Florida Keys at that time. 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Location: 3400 Gulf Blvd. in St. Pete Beach Contact: 844-338-1501; info@ Website: John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art With historic architecture, tropical flora and sweeping views of Sarasota Bay, the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art has plenty for public visitors to explore, with displays about the circus and fine art offerings. Guests can also see the first floor of Ca' d'Zan, a 36,000-square-foot mansion that was home to the Ringlings. Couples looking for a place to be wed can pick from the museum's courtyard, the mansion's terrace or outdoor areas for micro weddings. Location: 5401 Bay Shore Road in Sarasota Contact: 941-359-5700; info@ Website: Morean Historic Train Station Step inside a piece of St. Petersburg history by hosting a wedding within a renovated 1926 railway freight depot. The 'urban chic' setting has 5,000 square feet of open event space with exposed brick, steel and wood architecture, and plenty of modern amenities. 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The venue offers modern amenities in a historic setting with in-house wedding planning and management services. Wedding parties can snap photos in front of a waterfront backdrop and celebrate with a ceremony out on the green, then move inside for the reception. Location: 617 S. Palafox St. in Pensacola Contact: 850-748-5102; sandypalafoxwharf@ Website: Goodwood Museum & Gardens What was formerly home to a 1,600-acre plantation now serves as a historic event and wedding venue, in addition to its public-facing museum and gardens. The property's grand oaks, heirloom gardens and historic architecture provide the backdrop for a picture-perfect wedding. The Carriage House reception area can accommodate up to 200 guests seated after celebrating an outdoor ceremony on the front lawn. Location: 1600 Miccosukee Road in Tallahassee Contact: 850-877-4202; jabixler@ Website: __________ Solve the daily Crossword
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Travel + Leisure
18 hours ago
- Travel + Leisure
I Retired Early and Now Travel the World Staying in Airbnbs
For Travel + Leisure's column Traveling As, we're talking to travelers about what it's like to explore the world through their unique perspectives. Burnt out from corporate America, Kelly Benthall got her finances in order and gave up her Texas lifestyle to retire at 53 and live around the world in Airbnbs with her husband, Nigel. Here's her story… I was living in Texas and working in oil and gas. As time went on, and the kids left, my job became extraordinarily stressful—to the point that I had to be wheeled out on a gurney through the lobby, hooked up to an EKG. After all those years of feeling like I needed to overachieve, my doctor said my job was trying to kill me. Once I realized that, my husband, Nigel, and I got a financial advisor who gave us some sound projections and advice. I always thought I would retire at 65 and play golf. Nigel didn't have a retirement plan. He was going to work forever, and it took me a couple of years to get him to turn the corner. But at 53 years old, I decided to retire. Once the job went away, all my stress dissipated and my levels returned to normal. I wasn't raised traveling. Our family would take our modified van from Texas to Ohio every year to see my grandmother—that was our big trip. I didn't even have a passport until I got married the first time in my 20s, and we just went to Mexico. Eventually, at work, I said yes to every single trip that came up because I was interested in seeing the world. I love foreign languages and talking to people from different countries. One time, one of my contractors was pregnant and couldn't go to Kalimantan, Indonesia. I knew nothing about what she was doing, but I went anyway. I find travel quieter and calmer [than being at home]. I'm attuned to every little thing because it's new and different, so I relax and take it in. I am not a playground tourist—I don't go to all the major tour sites. I might walk by and walk in, but I like just hanging out at a cafe and chatting with people. While I have lots of friends and family in Houston, it's not ultimately where I wanted to be, sof when Nigel and I both retired, we got the idea to travel the world, living for a month at a time in Airbnbs. Kelly and her husband while in Provence, France. We started with a trial run in 2023, spending a month in Mexico to make sure we could actually live with just each other. At the time, we had been married for about seven years. We stayed in the middle of the jungle in Tulum in a very intimate space—the door between the bedroom and kitchen was glass, so there was no privacy at all. But we did Pilates on the roof together every morning and cooked dinners. We bought a Christmas tree and decorated it. And we did a great job—I was very proud of us. So we came back and started planning our global travels. I watched all the YouTube videos I could find and listened to people's advice. Initially, I went to some local real estate agencies, but I like places that have local flair. What I found is that Airbnb, more than other platforms, is good with that because we can connect with local hosts. Plus, we can search easily for things that are important to us, like outdoor space. We've had some nice places with rooftop pools that weren't expensive. Being able to see all the ratings and not having to sign a lease makes it easy. It's also been affordable. We're now staying in this place in Aix-en-Provence, where we've been for eight weeks, and got a 70 percent discount for a long stay. So we could stay for a week somewhere, or we could stay for six weeks for the same price. I thought, how did no one ever tell me about this? That really is the thing that's made this all possible, and I'm grateful for it. Kelly and her husband while lounging in the pool at their Airbnb. We started in Dubrovnik, and took Nigel's 87-year-old mom with us. It was interesting because the language is so different. We did a walking tour with someone who spoke English so we could get the lay of the land. The city was amazing, like a movie set. We learned to walk up and down its hills. We stayed in a neighborhood that had these local bodega-type shops. The older guys would play buće (bocce) in the evenings, and we would go out and sit with them. We asked our Airbnb host what we could do for the community even though we don't speak the language, and ended up helping harvest grapes at this small winery. They can't hire too many people because of tax issues, so they rely on volunteers. It was hot and difficult work, but a fun way to learn about the culture. Since then, we've also picked up trash on beaches in Mauritius. When you're a tourist, you might not think about it, but when you're visiting for longer, it's different. That's one of the things that helps us connect with the locals. They know we're not just using and leaving. We hope to get more involved with our community work. We would eventually like to work with kids, but we'll have to stay longer to earn that trust and get the language down. When we get to a new place, we'll usually start by finding a local market. We'll explore and find the things locals do. In Seville, for example, we were across the street from a community center, so we'd go and see all the classes people were taking. It was easy to get involved with the neighborhood because they would all gather outside in the evening, so we joined them. That's usually how we acclimate ourselves. We also like to walk around and get lost. Since we're in places for so long, we have time to ask around. A few times a week, we'll do day trips. The other day, we took the train to Avignon and went wine tasting in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Kelly and her husband while traveling together. In Mauritius, we got really close with our Airbnb host. They lived across the street and invited us over to use their property. We spent New Year's Eve with them. It was just lovely. We stayed in Lecce for a month and would drive to the different coasts. We spent a few days south of there, and I met a woman who took my photograph from behind while I was watching a sunset and drinking a glass of wine. She invited us to a dinner party the next night, so we extended our stay. No one spoke English, except for one kid. We sat in the middle of the table with the hosts, and everyone sat as far away as possible because they knew we didn't speak the same language. But by the end, we were able to communicate using Google Translate and through the child. That was memorable, and I still keep in touch with them. I find comfort in spreadsheets, so we use one to plan our travels. It's color-coded following the sun by region. Then, I have the cost of living compared to the U.S. We also don't want to spend a ton of money on flights, so we pick a general area. Right now, we're doing Europe, and we do a bit of the Schengen shuffle if we need to because we can't stay too long. Nigel's family is in England, so it's been our jumping-off point. We have six kids, and one daughter, two grandkids, and Nigel's mom are all there. Our other kids are in California, Utah, and Texas, so we do a U.S. round for about three months. We stay in each place for at least a month to get the discount. We wanted to spend some more time in Provence because neither of us had been, so we've been in the region for three months now. Next, we're going to go back to England since I've never seen my husband's home country. Then, we're going on a road trip and will spend a month in Ireland. Airbnbs there are about $65 a night, pretty cheap. You can't even get some hostels for that amount. We could stay in bed-and-breakfasts on this road trip, but I don't want to be put together and mingle all the time. I need my own space and a kitchen. We cook all the time with ingredients from the local markets. It saves us money, and it gives us a lot of privacy, which we don't get in hotels. In Mauritius, we did go to a hotel for a nice meal on Christmas Eve, and I was like, 'Oh, I forgot how nice hotels are because everyone is serving you rather than serving yourself.' But I don't think I could live in a hotel. After that, we'll go back to the spreadsheet and feel it out. I know we want to go to Asia, then New Zealand. We also want to go to Bali and South America. We've got all of these big-picture plans. Panoramic jungle views from an Airbnb rooftop. There are definitely challenges. I miss our friends and family, and being able to drop in on people. We always book a place with an extra room so we can have people visit. But it can also be a bit isolating if we don't make an effort. It's not just being in another country. Being retired is weird at this age. At first, I felt a little guilty doing nothing. Now, I realize it's OK to be bored. I enjoy it. I've gotten a lot more creative in this chapter, a lot more introspective. Nigel always wants to go and do things, and I have to remind him, we're here for a long time. You don't need to see everything right away. We're not here as tourists. We're here as kind of locals, while also doing a bit of touring. People will ask where we're from, and that's a complicated answer. They also ask what we do—not so much overseas as they do in the U.S. We're fortunate to have this lifestyle, but it's difficult to explain to people in a way that doesn't sound braggadocious. I tell people we're looking for places where we belong in the world and are exploring and looking for adventure. My background is in behavioral psychology, so I like that I get to walk in the shoes of other people and understand their perspectives. It's been eye-opening. In Texas, we say hello to everyone. In places like France, people are super-friendly, but they'll say bonjour and that's it. They don't automatically become friends with you. It depends on where we are in the world. Once we spend a month in a place, it feels like home. We always feel like we should spend more time there because just when we're getting to the point where we know where everything is, it's time to go. We have our local wine bar and fishmonger, and it's time to leave again. We can't stay during the high season because it's expensive and I don't like crowds. I've found observing and absorbing cultures to be very unifying. The world is giant, but also so small, and traveling really teaches us respect. I have so many friends and family members who just don't understand what we're doing. But if everyone would just go and explore, it would break down these perceived barriers we all have. You realize people have stereotypes about you that may not be true. I can't force my interests on other people, but I do feel strongly about it and think it's something everyone should do.
