Assumptions:
You can secure leases that explicitly allow short-term subletting (or master leases).
City regulation permits legal operation with registration/compliance.
You start with one unit in a tourist/business-demand neighborhood.
Many people want Airbnb cash flow but can’t buy property. Traditional hosting requires owning an asset and tying up capital. On the other side, guests want well-run, well-located stays and property owners want reliable rent with minimal hassle. There’s a gap for operators who can turn a normal long-term rental into a high-yield short-term unit through design, hospitality, and demand generation—without owning the real estate.
You lease an apartment (with written permission to do short-term rentals), furnish it smartly, and operate it like a micro-hotel on Airbnb/Booking. Your value creation is in:
Location arbitrage: Pick streets where ADR (average daily rate) x occupancy > monthly rent + ops.
Hospitality ops: Fast response, automated check-in, professional cleaning/linen rotation, maintenance SLAs.
Conversion: Pro photos, conversion-optimized listing, dynamic pricing, instant book, great reviews.
Design: Durable, Instagrammable interiors with a few standout touches (lighting, textiles, work desk).
Start with one unit, build SOPs (cleaning checklist, key exchange, messaging templates), then replicate.
You capture the spread between monthly lease costs and short-term revenue.
Quick validation:
Landlord permission test: Pitch 10–15 landlords with a one-page master-lease proposal (guaranteed rent, professional cleaning, damage coverage, quiet-hours policy).
Pilot listing: Secure one legal unit, furnish minimally but tastefully, publish listing with launch pricing (−10–15% vs comps).
First customers:
Airbnb + Booking: Nail photos and response time (<10 min).