Short Term Rental Secrets by Michael Sjogren is an online course that teaches real estate investing on Airbnb by automating 4 key areas of the Airbnb business. Those four areas are pricing, access/security, guest communications, and turnover management. By implementing automation tools that help you manage each aspect, you may earn a more passive income with Airbnb than if you were covering each aspect yourself manually.
Managing short term rentals is no simple task, even if you use certain automation tools to help you run everything. For example, your automation tools can't prevent your property from getting damaged. You are still going to be on-call if your guests have any issues while on your property and anyone can refuse to leave your property after their booking has ended, resulting in many headaches.
Still, if you're going to run an STR property on Airbnb, you need to look for legitimate guidance and mentorship that will not fail to uncover any valuable insight or strategies. Is Michael Sjogren's short term rental investment course the right choice?
If you're looking to make money by owning property without having to deal with the constant challenges that come with managing a short-term rental on Airbnb, check out the local lead generation business model that offers a more passive income and less hassle by renting digital properties on Google.
Pros
Michael has generated over 7-figures in revenue in his STR business, including boutique hotels.
You get a free 45 minute strategy session with Michael to plan out how to get started as an Airbnb host.
You learn how to make running your Airbnb an easier process than if you had to do everything yourself.
Weekly group coaching calls.
1-on-1 sessions with Michael.
Cons
Being a short term rental real estate investor requires a lot of your attention and capital. You don't earn a passive income as a short-term rental investor on Airbnb.
If another pandemic happens, you won't make any money on Airbnb.
It takes months and maybe even years before you make your initial investment back and become profitable with a short term rental business.
Price
Short Term Rental Secrets cost is revealed on your initial call with Michael and his team.
Training
12 month mentorship program with Michael himself.
Group
Private Facebook community.
Origin
Michael founded this program in 2020.
Reputation
Michael Sjogren has an excellent online reputation in the STR space and has been invited to speak at the STR Wealth Conference along with "The People's Shark" Daymond John. Michael is also very transparent about how he runs his business and shares updated strategies on the Short Term Rental Secrets YouTube channel along with his partner Emanuele Pani.
3 Problems with Airbnb Short Term Hosting
1. Damages to property
When renting your Airbnb property short term, many people are going to stay at your property. At some point, something will get damaged. Plates may break, doors may be dented, toilet seats may come off and beds might crack. Some things might be accidents, but others might be due to guests being rowdy. Regardless, there will be damages to property. You may never deal with extensive damages, but you may see damage to the paint on your walls. All these damages will require you to invest more of your money to fix it so that your short-term rental is in pristine condition, just like guests see on your Airbnb listing before they booked with you.
2. Always on-call
If you're going to be considered a Super Host, you must be readily available to answer any questions or help any guests. If the lights or HVAC system aren't functioning properly, you need to respond immediately to your guests to give them peace of mind that you will provide the solution. By not responding quickly, your guests may become irritated and regret having booked your property. They may even ask for a discount or a refund. Issues always arise, and you need to accept you have to play the role of 24/7 concierge. You can put a team together to help you manage any inquiries over night to make things easier for you while still provide a great guest experience.
3. Squatters
There have been many cases where some guests who book your long term rental have over extended their stay and refuse to leave your property. This can cause you to have issues with new guests who arrive only to see someone still there. Squatters cause property owners headaches in the form of new guests who expect their property to be vacant, and also having to take legal action against these trespassers. Aside from sending a written notice to the guest that they need to leave, you may have to file a court eviction, and get law enforcement to help remove tenants. If you own a short term rental property, you may have to deal with a squatter or two at some point. It's good to be prepared in case this were to occur to you.
Short Term Rental Secrets 4 Keys To Airbnb Automation
For pricing, Michael uses a dynamic pricing software that integrates with Airbnb called Guesty. Guesty has an algorithm and does research to know what the occupancy is an area, what the average rent in the area is, what local events are upcoming in the area and adjusts your prices accordingly. Guesty does this automatically, so you don't have to go in and change prices every day.
Michael uses a Wi-Fi smart lock that integrates with Airbnb. He shows you this smart lock because with it, it auto-generates your guests a unique code that only works from their check-in time to their check-out time. You can view a log of who is accessing the properties. For security, there is a 4-part system to keep the property secure. They are:
- Smart locks (Guesty)
- Booking requirements (only allows certain guests who meet your parameters)
- Security cameras (notify you when guests arrive at the property)
- Noise monitoring system
Michael uses a communication system that also integrates with Airbnb. You can pre-program messages to go out at certain points. It sends guests a confirmation 3 days before their arrival, it gives them their access codes, information about the property, after they leave, and it will ask guests for review after their stay. The software Michael has artificial intelligence built into it. This will let you pre-program the system to create automated responses if people ask for certain things, such as where to eat or what to do in the area.
Using the Turno system, your cleaners will receive the notification of a booking and clean the property after the booking is done. They will check in when they arrive, check out when they are done, and will send time-stamped photos of the property. If anything is damaged or needs repairs, they will contact the local handyperson. If supplies are low, the cleaners will re-stock it and take pictures.
Who is Michael Sjogren?
Michael Sjogren is an investor, entrepreneur and short-term rental coach from Boston, Massachusetts. He attended the Assumption University for a bachelor in accounting in 2005. In 2009, he started working as an accountant at AAFCPAs. In 2012, he went to Walden University where he got his Masters of Business Administration for entrepreneurship and worked as a manager at National Grid.
In 2017, Michael and his wife, Krysten, founded a national short-term rental investment and management company called Occupied. After 18 months, their short-term rental portfolio replaced their income and they quit their corporate jobs. Michael and Krysten currently have a portfolio of over 100 short-term rental properties across 5 states. They also own 3 boutique hotels in Boston.
After growing their portfolio, they began training other people on how to make money online with short-term rental properties. In March 2019, Michael founded the Short-Term Rental Secrets mastermind program.
On his Instagram account, he has over 83K followers and post content every day about short-term rental properties.
Michael also hosts the Short Term Rental Secrets podcast with Emanuele. The Short Term Rental Secrets podcast is a podcast that shares actionable content that helps new and experienced real estate investors launch, scale, and automate their Airbnb business.
Michael Sjogren Net Worth
Michael Sjogren has an estimated net worth of between $1 million and $5 million based on the over 100 properties and 3 boutique hotels he owns.
Short Term Rental Secrets Review: Is it worth it?
Short Term Rental Secrets is worth it if you are looking for a legitimate training that is going to show you how to make money with short-term rentals on Airbnb. Michael's training guides you through every step and his 4 keys to automating your business are highly valuable. His methods give you peace of mind that the right people will be staying on your property and that things don't get out of hand. Michael is one of the top Airbnb experts and shares his knowledge with his private Facebook group where you get plenty of support.
Short Term Rental Secrets Success Stories
Holly joined Michael's STR program and built her co-hosting business around hospitals. She caters to children undergoing cancer and other severe treatments. Within a few months of joining, she was able to get three listings up and running. By the time of her testimonial, she had another 10 property owners wanting her to run their STRs because of her mission and for the profitability.
Tommy is from Daytona, Florida, and got his first co-hosting listing in a short time after joining Michae's program. At the time of Michael sharing Tommy's success story, he was averaging $700 per month in passive income and he was only working about 2 hours per week. When he reached that income level, he had another 2 listings lined up to launch.
Short Term Rental Secrets Alternatives
Airbnb Freedom Fast Track by Jonathan Farber is an Airbnb training course that helps students get their first Airbnb property within 90 days of joining the program. Jonathan also shows you how to automate your business so that it doesn't turn into a job and you can earn your income more passively. Some topics he covers in his course are co-hosting, extended stays, creative financing, partnerships, and hiring virtual assistants. One live coaching call is held each Monday at 6pm and Jonathan also shows you which credit cards are the best to use in your Airbnb business.
Price: The cost to join Airbnb Freedom Fast Track Review is given to you over the phone. Likely several thousands of dollars to join.
More Info: Airbnb Freedom Fast Track Review
BNB Formula by Brian Page will teach you how to make money using rental arbitrage. This is all about listing other people's properties on Airbnb. There is monthly coaching, a private Facebook group for support, and they provide you with the tools you need to run your short-term rental business. This course is for beginners and experienced real estate investors.
Price: BNB Formula costs $1,997.
More Info: BNB Formula Review
The Million Dollar Renter program offers several courses focusing on short term rental management and Airbnb automation. Course creator Sean Rakidzich is an experienced Airbnb host who has generated millions of revenue from the business model. He believes anyone can make money from Airbnb even without owning a single property.
Price: Million Dollar Renter courses cost from $0 (free) to $5,000.
More Info: Million Dollar Renter
For more alternatives to the STR Secrets Mastermind, check out my article on the top Airbnb courses.
Is Airbnb still profitable in 2024?
Airbnb is still profitable in 2024 because the number of travelers in the United States is over 2.29 billion. This means people are looking to stay in places where they may be more comfortable and pay less. Airbnb can be that opportunity for someone looking to break into the real estate industry. Airbnb is the largest short term rental platform.
The issue you're going to face is that your initial costs are high if you're purchasing your own property and you won't at all earn your money passively. You've got to be on call 24/7 in case there are any issues with your property, manage your bookings, you may encounter squatters, and even damage to your property which will cut into your profits.
As I mentioned in my Airbnb Freedom Fast Track review, if another pandemic were to occur and the world stops, your short-term rental business on Airbnb will stop making you money.
Renting properties on Airbnb can make you money, but it can be too much of a hassle, expensive and risky to get into. It doesn't have the benefits of digital real estate has in the local lead generation business model.
Local Lead Generation is More Passive Than Short Term Renting on Airbnb
Local lead generation is not as complicated as renting out properties on Airbnb in the short term.
There is no need to deal with any guests, damage to your property, no need to hire a cleaning crew, deal with squatters or respond to calls from guests when you're out with your family. All you do is build your service site, rank it on Google, and when leads start being generated, you send them to a local small business owner looking for more work. Once you set everything up and have a paying client, you get paid every month on autopilot.
You don't have to continue doing any maintenance like you would with a short-term rental property. Once in a while, you can refresh your content and post on your Google Business profile, which you can automate. My tree care service site still pays me $2,000 every month, and I built it over 8 years ago.
The financial freedom this business gives you will allow you to live your life how you want with who you want.
To reach financial independence as a digital property owner without the hassle of dealing with guests, hiring cleaners and high investment costs, check out the local lead generation business model.
