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Hospitality · Lodging

The Short-Term Rental Business

A short-term rental is a hospitality operation dressed up as passive income. The listings make the revenue, but the margin is made and lost on cleaning turnover, platform fees, occupancy, and pricing. The biggest risk is not a slow month; it is the city changing the rules. Done well, it is a real lodging business you can scale unit by unit.

Hospitality, not mailbox moneyCleaning turnover on every stayPlatform fees drag the marginRegulation is the real risk
01

The Snapshot

Is this worth your attention?

$50k-$500k+
Typical annual revenue
3-15 units, owned or leased
22-30%
Net profit margin
after cleaning, fees, and the lease
$40k-$150k
Cost to start
furnishing, deposits, working capital
1.5-3 yrs
Typical payback
faster on arbitrage, slower on owned
Medium-High
Day-to-day difficulty
turnover & guest-management intensive
Medium
Absentee potential
once cleaning and messaging are systemized

A fit if you…

  • Treat it as a hospitality operation, not passive income
  • Will build reliable cleaning and turnover systems
  • Can manage pricing, occupancy, and guest messaging
  • Read and respect the local STR regulations first
  • Can scale unit by unit and own the booking relationship

Probably not if you…

  • Believe the "earn while you sleep" pitch
  • Will not handle turnover, reviews, and guest issues
  • Ignore the city rules and permit limits
  • Can not carry a soft season or a sudden ban
02

Step Inside the Layout

A live look at one tool inside

This is the actual 3D floor from the full model - drag to explore it. Inside, you configure the space yourself and watch the economics move with every choice.

Loading configurator…

This is just the surface

The full model is the complete, interactive deep-dive, and every business here is built to the same standard: a live economics simulator you tune to your own numbers, an interactive 3D walkthrough, a location scorecard, an owner-fit assessment, buy-versus-build guidance, and the full breakdown of how it makes money and what quietly kills margin.