At one point, we had 16 short-term rentals. But volume doesn’t always equal profitability. Seven of those properties didn’t meet our revenue targets, so we converted them back to long-term rentals. A few others were sold turnkey to other investors.

Today we operate nine STR properties, and the difference is that our systems are now fully optimized. These include:

• Listing optimization

• Dynamic pricing

• Guest messaging automation

• Housekeeping coordination

• Direct booking marketing

We have done all the heavy lifting to get these properties to profitability and today, we don’t do much except review pricing weekly, manage guest communications and our housekeeping team. 

We are almost at the point were we can operate these properties remotely.

Airbnb Was Our Main Booking Source

When we started, about 95% of our bookings came from Airbnb.

Airbnb is the 800-pound gorilla in the short-term rental industry. If you operate STRs, there’s really no avoiding the platform. You simply cannot ignore listing on Airbnb.

Like most new hosts, one of our early goals was to become a Superhost.

A Superhost receive several benefits:

• A Superhost badge on their profile and listings

• Eligibility to appear in Superhost search filters

• Greater visibility to potential guests

More visibility typically means more bookings and more revenue, or so I thought.

Airbnb’s Superhost Requirements

However, new hosts must wait three months before they can qualify. To become a Superhost, you must meet the following criteria:

1. Maintain a 4.8+ star rating

2. Maintain a 90%+ response rate within 24 hours

3. Complete at least 10 stays totaling 100 nights

4. Maintain a host cancellation rate below 1%

Because we had multiple listings, meeting requirements #2 through #4 was relatively easy.

But requirement #1—maintaining a 4.8 rating—was more challenging.

Our Properties Aren’t Luxury Rentals

Unlike many STR operators in our market, we don’t focus on luxury downtown properties.

Our rentals are modest homes located in working-class neighborhoods with mixed demographics. Guests can see the photos, location, and pricing before booking, so expectations should be clear.

There are actually two advantages to our locations.

1. Lower nightly rates

Luxury downtown rentals can easily charge 30% to 50% per night than our properties. Budget-conscious travelers simply won’t pay those prices.

2. Convenience without downtown pricing

All of our properties are located within 15 minutes of downtown, giving guests easy access to the city at a more affordable rate.

For our guests, the nightly rate is usually the biggest decision factor.

One Metric That Hurt Our Ratings

Airbnb evaluates listings across six categories:

• Overall quality

• Accuracy

• Check-in

• Cleanliness

• Communication

• Location

We consistently score near 100% in five of the six categories.

Can you guess which one is lower?

Location.

Our location rating currently sits around 85%, simply because some guests prefer downtown neighborhoods.

Occasionally, guests also expect luxury features like:

• high-end mattresses

• luxury amenities

• hot tubs

Some guests have even commented that the neighborhood appeared unsafe because they believed it was a lower-income area. That’s because when they don’t see the same ethnicity with the neighbors as theirs, they draw their own conclusions. In reality, after hosting thousands of guests, we’ve never had an issue with safety at any of our properties.

First Attempt at Superhost

We launched in March 2022, which meant we couldn’t qualify for the first Superhost review until July 2022.

When that review came around, our average rating was 4.78.

We missed Superhost status by 0.02 points.

I’ll admit, I was disappointed. I believed becoming a Superhost would dramatically increase bookings, and I had placed a lot of importance on earning that badge.

Becoming a Superhost

By the September 2022 review, things had improved:

• More bookings

• More positive reviews

• Higher ratings

We finally earned Superhost status.

From September 2022 through December 2025, we maintained Superhost status every quarter.

Then We Lost It

At the end of December 2025, a few difficult guests left lower-than-expected reviews. Some were extremely demanding, while others simply had unrealistic expectations.

Our rating dropped to 4.78.

For the first time in over three years, we lost our Superhost status.

The timing couldn’t have been worse.

We were heading into January and February, which are historically our slowest months.

Diversifying Beyond Airbnb

Over the years, we’ve diversified our booking sources. Our properties are also listed on:

• VRBO (where we hold Premier Host status)

• Booking.com

We also receive direct bookings from:

• Repeat guests

• Insurance relocation placements

• Corporate relocation services

Many of these are mid-term rentals, typically 30+ day stays.

Longer stays mean:

• Higher total revenue

• Higher occupancy

• Fewer turnovers

• Lower cleaning costs

Even so, Airbnb still accounts for about 65% of our bookings today.

Heading Into 2026

I was honestly worried about breaking even in January and February.

From 2023 through 2025, those months produced operating losses. Our strong spring, summer, and fall months typically carry the year.

Without Superhost status, I wasn’t sure how bookings would perform.

Our Strategy

To minimize risk, we implemented three changes:

1. Lowered nightly rates (ADR) to increase booking volume

2. Reduced additional fees, including housekeeping and pet fees

3. Focused more on attracting mid-term guests

My goal wasn’t massive profits.

I simply hoped to break even.

The Results

The results surprised me.

January 2025:
$11,899.75 revenue
January 2026:
$13,809.16 revenue
14% increase

February 2025:
$7,619.15 revenue
February 2026:
$16,988.98 revenue
66% increase

Occupancy for these two months also improved significantly:

• 2025 occupancy: 38%

• 2026 occupancy: 57.5%

And remember — these numbers only include Airbnb bookings. They do not include revenue from VRBO, Booking.com, or direct bookings.

What I Learned

Lowering our nightly rates and reducing extra fees dramatically increased bookings and occupancy.

And we did all of it without being a Superhost.

That’s when I realized something important:

Superhost status isn’t the primary driver of guest conversion to booking.

Airbnb Changed the Rules

Another factor is that Airbnb recently reduced the emphasis on Superhost status in the middle of last year.