Investment Advice for Airbnb Cape Town:

The obvious question is- how many bedrooms should my Airbnb ideally have?

My quick answer is that the number of bedrooms is a driver when trying to make money with Airbnb. But! If everything is not equal; then other drivers are more important.

Like The Following Airbnb Success Drivers: 

Location: Critical.

We have two beautiful apartments against the mountain. The two-bedroom is royal but seventy steps up, with spectacular views. The one-bedroom is as great but at 15 steps only, also with views. However, income is not really different.

Interior and outside living:

Guests pay premiums for funky or modern places with sun-filled light and inviting living areas. Imagine sun-loungers and a deck. It sells.

Water:

I mentioned beach location; if you cannot bring the beach to your Airbnb accommodation then try a pool or hot tub. And it does not matter if the sea is just 50 meters away. Airbnb guests will pay a premium for water.

Marketing Philosophy and Rules: 

You cannot measure your Airbnb success until you have learned by failing. Going in with an attitude of…. “why do they need a pool? Can they not see the sea?”, or “who wants to watch DSTV on holiday?”  or guests “must pay high rates; I pay high rates at hotels!” or “they should stay a minimum seven days!” 

These comments are shortsighted and show ignorance. And will cost you dearly.

Should you invest in a two or three-bedroom Airbnb?

It matters only if they look exactly the same, at the same location, with a similar interior. If not, then most of the drivers above are critical.

For more on investment advice: Airbnb Cape Town Airbnb success drivers, I suggest you complete our free questionnaire. The questions we ask will assist in getting a better idea. And you may be surprised to know that your Airbnb rule sets may be a killer driver.

After you completed the questionnaire our calculator crunches “numbers” and sends you a report;  automatically emailed to you. More below. 

Get The Free Airbnb Evaluation Questionnaire

P.S. One bedrooms have a disadvantage as the change over costs for a one-bedroom Airbnb is as much as it is for a two-bedroom and even three bedrooms. Two-Bedroom change-over costs nearly as much as a 4 bedroom but if you give me two two-bedroom apartments next to each other then I take two x2. I’ll rent them as a 4 bedroom or 2x two bedrooms. But, I suppose this is not the only way to look at it. Now we are opening-up flexibility as a driver. See FAQ on flexibility here. 

But let me stress: we should never focus on cost. Cost should be driven down but be careful.  Cost is a negative concept.  If your one bedroom has everything I mentioned above and via the questionnaire then a one-bedroom can beat the best.

More reading:

1. Is your Airbnb set up as flexible as possible? (FAQ here).
2. Tips for buying Cape Town Airbnb accommodation (more here).
3. Interior design will make or break your Airbnb Success (more here).