2023 Highlights | Shaka Stays

2023 was a whirlwind year for us. But despite all that we achieved this year, it was difficult for me to describe how we did what we did. So, I sat down at the end of December to review exactly how we went from 0 to 10 Airbnb properties doing $40K per month in bookings and management—and see if I could find a repeatable framework I could teach to others to help them achieve the same.

10 hours later, here’s what my reflections taught me:

Quick Stats About Shaka Stays in 2023

Here are a few interesting data points to give you context, in case you're unfamiliar with Shaka:

• Jan: Launched our first Airbnb with rental arbitrage

• Mar: Launched our second property with rental arbitrage

• April: Achieved Airbnb Superhost status

• May: Used the cashflow from properties 1 & 2 to purchase and launch property 3 (first waterfront property)

• July: Launched property 4 with rental arbitrage

• Aug: Released our Rental Arbitrage Playbook course to help others do what we did

• Sept: Joined the Airbnb Cohost program. Launched our first Cohosting property

• Dec: Ended the year with 10 properties under the Shaka brand (5 of our own and 5 Cohosting)

• Received 200+ 5-star reviews across all properties

So... what are the lessons here?

Our 3-Step Framework For Building an Airbnb Business

From my reflections, all our success can be boiled down to a very simple process:

1. Identify properties with high-profit potential (3X rule)

2. Design a 5-star Airbnb home and experience

3. Automate 90% of the hosting process

Pair this framework with an unmatched work ethic + a relentless focus on providing a 5-star guest experience and you get a potent combination for rapid growth.

Let's dig in:

Step 1: Identify properties with high-profit potential

For us, everything begins with the location.

The reason is because we've been burned by a property that barely broke even and and one that lost us money.

To identify properties with high-profit potential, we do the following:

• NEVER ignore the 3X rule. The 3X rule states that the monthly earning potential on Airbnb should be 3 times higher than the monthly lease payment. For example, if you find a property that would lease for $2,000 per month, your research should show that the property could do $6,000 or more per month on Airbnb. If it doesn't, move on.

• Research, research, research. AirDNA, Rabbu, and Airbnb comps are your best friends here. When you find a property that looks promising, do the following:

  • Throw the address into AirDNA or Rabbu. See if it meets the 3X rule.

  • Go to Airbnb and find comps (similar properties in the area). What's the daily rate? How many options in the area? Are the comps fully booked month over month?

  • Repeat this process until you've identified 10-20 promising properties.

• Avoid HOAs at all costs. Remember when I said that we've been burned by a few properties before? All of them had HOAs. Homeowners Associations (HOAs) are the mortal enemy of making a profit on Airbnb. I'll go into more detail in a later post, but for now, stay far far away.

Simple, but highly effective.

Step 2: Design a 5-star Airbnb home and experience

The next thing we focus on is designing a 5-star guest experience.

We do this by designing each property we launch with a specific vibe and target audience in mind plus customizing each stay with a personal touch (something like a handwritten note or bottle of wine). This is what separates us from the competition, and makes our properties stand out so much compared to the average listing. We consider this our “secret sauce.”

Which leads us to…

Step 3: Automate 90% of the hosting process

But the real reason we were so successful in 2023 is because we were obsessive about automating as much of the hosting process as possible. This included:

• Guest communication and check in/out instructions (welcome messages, guidebooks, FAQs).

• Property and channel management. Hospitable and smart locks were key here.

• Managing our cleaner’s schedules.

This, combined with identifying high-profit locations and designing 5-star guest experiences is what I believe made us so successful in 2023.

So, give the above and try, and maybe we’ll be managing one of YOUR Airbnbs soon!