Rental Arbitrage Academy is an online course designed by Greg Pimentel. The program teaches how to build a profitable rental arbitrage business by leveraging other people’s properties. According to their official website, learners can look forward to making a six-figure income through Airbnb arbitrage using Greg’s “proven, straightforward system.”
Rental arbitrage is a business model where a tenant renting a property offers it to other people for short term rental. The original tenant uses platforms such as Airbnb, FlipKey, Furnished Finder, Vrbo, and others to attract attention from potential guests. Usual customers for this type of service include business travelers, tourists, and digital nomads looking for cheaper and flexible accommodation alternatives than traditional hotels. In short, this business model allows individuals to become landlords without actually buying and owning local real estate properties.
So, is Greg Pimentel’s Rental Arbitrage Academy really the best way to learn how to get started in the industry? While the course offers detailed information, downloadable PDFs, contracts, and other helpful tools, it also comes with several downsides you should consider before spending money on the program.
When done right, arbitrage can be an excellent passive income source. Of course, another profitable business model is local lead generation. With lead gen, you won’t have to rent and maintain properties. You get to earn big bucks without worrying about house repairs, routine cleaning, tenant concerns, landlord complaints, and other common issues that you can expect from doing rental arbitrage. Instead, you will focus on building business websites, ranking them on Google, and then offering them to local businesses who can benefit from a constant stream of organic traffic. You experience less competition and the best thing is you can run your business from home - or from a hotel room when you're on vacation.
Pros and Cons
There are also advantages and disadvantages that come with joining Rental Arbitrage Academy.
Pros
Ideal for beginners. The program covers basic, easy-to-understand information about how to start a Airbnb short term rental property business from scratch.
Lifetime access to program and materials. Students who sign up for the program get lifetime access to the curriculum and course materials.
Direct communication with mentor and community support. All learners get limited access to contact Greg Pimentel via email. This can be helpful for those who have questions about rental arbitrage. Additionally, they are also invited to join a private group where they can interact and network with other rental arbitrage professionals
Quick results. Rental Arbitrage Academy assures prospective students that they will see results within at least 30 days.
You only need to pay a one-time fee. The entire course costs only $497. There are no hidden fees or any other additional expenses required from students.
Cons
A lack of unbiased reviews. As mentioned, we only see short testimonials from two students on the official website. There are no other online reviews out there, especially those that share both positive and negative aspects of the course. This may make it hard for some potential customers to trust the program.
Most of the information is already available online. Greg Pimentel often uploads videos about arbitrage on his channel. Others may find it impractical to spend $497 for the program when most of the subjects covered are available for free on YouTube and from other online resources that share info on rental arbitrage.
Limited opportunities for one-on-one mentorship. Unlike other programs where learners can expect one-on-one mentorship from course creators, Greg can only be occasionally contacted via email. However, he is quick to add that his one-on-one mentorship course will be available in the future.
So is Rental Arbitrage Academy really worth it? The answer depends on what you're hoping to learn and/or achieve. If you're a beginner who wants to understand how the industry works and how you can get started, this may be worth looking into. However, advanced professionals who may be looking for more in-depth information may want to look elsewhere. You can check out more in depth Airbnb courses like Derek Cheung's Airbnb Empire Academy.
What can people expect to learn from Rental Arbitrage Academy?
Rental Arbitrage Academy promises to teach learners how to “unlock the formula to earn a six-figure income on Airbnb.” The 8-chapter course provides information on how to create “next level Airbnb and Furnished Finder listings.” It also covers many other important topics such as:
In a video posted on the site, Greg declares, “I made this program to help you become the next rental arbitrage legend in under 30 days. I packaged all my knowledge and experience into one program. And this exact formula that I'm going to give you access to has made me hundreds of thousands of dollars with properties that I don't own.”
To clarify, Rental Arbitrage Academy is not a one-on-one mentorship program. All lessons are pre-recorded, which makes it convenient for students to learn at their own pace.
One of the perks of joining the program is gaining access to a private community group where learners can ask questions and network with fellow rental arbitrage professionals. Meanwhile, Greg also provides direct communication with him via limited online mentorship and Zoom meetings.
Perks:
Lifetime access to full curriculum, documents, landlord scripts, and contracts. Learners also get added to an Airbnb Private Community Students group and limited direct communication with Greg Pimentel.
Pricing:
A one-time fee of $497 (available for a limited time)
Refund Policy:
Refund requests can be sent within 14 days of purchase. Also, refunds are only allowed if the buyer has only viewed 15% (or less) of the curriculum.
Reputation:
Testimonials from two students can be seen on the website.
Airbnb Arbitrage PDF Kit
Also included in the program is the Airbnb Arbitrage PDF Kit, which contains:
For interested buyers who only want to get the Airbnb Arbitrage PDF Kit, it is also available for purchase at $97.
Rental Arbitrage Academy Review
Rental Arbitrage Academy reviews are hard to find online. In fact, only their official website features testimonials from two of Greg Pimentel’s students.
A student named Temmy described the course as “an undiluted training and a well designed short term rental course for beginners.” She likewise adds that the program is “worth the investment,” mentioning that she immediately began making $2,000 per month in profit from rental property with one Airbnb.
Meanwhile, Adam thanked Greg for providing the much-needed coaching. “He made sure I didn’t make any mistakes,” Adam shares. “I built the confidence I needed to get going and I'm now headed for my second property.”
Who is Greg Pimentel?
Greg Pimentel is an Airbnb host and online entrepreneur based in San Diego, California. In 2019, he started his rental arbitrage business after convincing his landlord to list the rented property on Airbnb. The idea turned out to be a success and so he went ahead to expand it immediately. After making 6 figures, he finally decided to leave his day job so he can focus more on his rental arbitrage business.
Today, Greg is helping interested learners build their own Airbnb businesses and succeed in the industry through the Rental Arbitrage Academy. He also runs the Greg Pimentel YouTube channel where he has over 30.7k subscribers. As of this writing, Greg has uploaded 51 videos and has attracted over 1.2 million views.
Some of his top videos include “How to Start An Airbnb Business in 2023 [Full Free Course]” (409K views), “How To Find Landlords That Let You Airbnb Their Property” (79K views), and How To Start an Airbnb Business in 2023 Without Owning Any Property” (59K views).
Greg Pimentel’s Free Airbnb Course on YouTube
Recently, Greg Pimentel uploaded a new video on his YouTube channel called Giving Away My Airbnb Course For FREE | How To Start An Airbnb Business in 2023. Interestingly, the 54-minute video covers similar topics with his Rental Arbitrage Academy course.
The free YouTube course includes:
- Intro & Course Overview
- What's Airbnb
- Who's This Business For?
- The Basics of Airbnb
- Market Research
- Forming Your Business
- Signing Your First Arbitrage
- Airbnb Arbitrage PDF Kit
- Furnishing Your Airbnb
- Marketing Your Airbnb
- How To Manage Your Business
According to Greg, he only covers the basics of Airbnb rental arbitrage business in this free course. At the end of the video, he also invites viewers to purchase his Airbnb Arbitrage PDF Kit.
Rental Arbitrage Academy Alternative
Airbnb Kickstart Course by Kyle Stanley is a self-paced online course that discusses practical ways to start, automate, and scale your Airbnb arbitrage business. It teaches you how to generate a 6-figure income in just a year. The program also offers exclusive access to a community of industry experts, a one-on-one onboarding call with Kyle, and 9 modules of educational videos.
Price: Airbnb Kickstart Course costs $1,497. You can also choose 3 payments of $582 per month.
More Info: Airbnb Kickstart Course Review
Conclusion: Why is local lead generation better than rental arbitrage?
Local lead generation is better than rental arbitrage because it allows you to earn passive income through having your own digital properties. In rental arbitrage, you will need to deal with your property owner and guests all the time. To increase your occupancy rate and revenue potential, you will also have to find quality real estate properties in prime locations. Moreover, the market is heavily saturated and you may have to compete with top Airbnb businesses in your area.
Lead generation, on the other hand, allows you greater flexibility. Instead of dealing with different people, you will only be working closely with startup entrepreneurs. Most of what you do will involve building business websites, ranking corresponding keywords in certain geographic areas, and then renting them out to interested business owners in need of your services. Once you achieve top search engine ranking for your keywords, your websites will automatically attract significant traffic, which could then translate to more leads and sales for their business. You, in turn, get to earn consistent income from your lead gen clients.
Case in point, my Grand Rapids tree care site has been making me over $2,000 per month over the years. And this is just one of my many lead gen sites. Collectively, I now earn over $52,000 per month from lead generation.
Anyone interested in exploring lead generation can also achieve the same thing by applying the right SEO strategies. With this business model, you won’t have to worry about heavy competition and slow seasons as you would with rental arbitrage. All you have to do is to retain your sites’ search engine ranking. You’ll keep earning as long as you can deliver leads to your customers.
