Short-Term Rental, Long-Term Wealth: Your Guide to Analyzing, Buying, and Managing Vacation Properties

by Avery Carl

From analyzing potential properties to effectively managing your listings, this book is your one-stop resource for making a profit with short-term rentals!

Airbnb, Vrbo, and other listing services have become massively popular in recent years—why not tap into the goldmine? Whether you’re new to real estate investing or you want to add a new strategy to your growing portfolio, vacation rentals can be an extremely lucrative way to add an extra income stream—but only if you acquire and manage your properties correctly.

Traditional rental properties are a great way to create wealth, but short-term rentals can bring in five times more cash flow than their long-term rental counterparts. Avery Carl, CEO and Founder of the Short Term Shop, will show you how to identify, acquire, and manage a short-term rental from anywhere in the country, plus how to avoid common pitfalls and overcome limitations that keep many would-be investors from ever getting started!

In this book, you’ll learn how to:
• Identify the best markets for short-term rental investing
• Analyze the potential income and profitability of a short-term rental property
• Self-manage a short-term rental right from your smartphone
• Build a local boots-on-the-ground team for an out-of-state investment
• Automate your self-management systems
• Use the income from short-term rentals to scale your investment portfolio

Genres: Business, Finance, Personal Development, Money, Entrepreneurship, Nonfiction, Audiobook

144 pages, Paperback

Published October 12, 2021

Reviews

[Jess Haas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m am confident that this author knows how to run a short term rental she just didn’t put it in the book.

I remember when I started our first Airbnb I was desperately looking for an all inclusive guide. Everyone and their mom had a short term rental and some are great but a majority of them are average. When I saw this book and BiggerPockets publishing I was excited to read it.

The first half of the book is about investing in real estate. If I’m here I want to know about short term rentals not cap rate and grm.
The anecdotes are shitty and not very helpful.
The first 70 pages of the book are giving you the run down on what an Airbnb is and what is real estate investing.
This is disappointing given the fact the book is 135 pages long.

When you finally get into the meat of why we all came here(how to run a successful STR), everything was very basic. If you have never logged in from the owner side of Airbnb this book is for you.
Everything skims the surface and nothing really dives all that deep.
For example:
Under “Housekeeping interview tips” there is an anecdote about the author and the housekeeper not getting along. This is a fine anecdote, but it doesn’t help the reader with interviewing a housekeeper. What should have been included are questions like:
- Have you cleaned a short term rental before? If so how many owners/units are you doing right now?
- What are the cleaning windows for those units?
- Do you have time to take on another property?
- Do you have a crew that you work with?
- And a lot more…

Overall the book is basic and doesn’t go in depth. Which is a shame because that is what I feel like is lacking in this niche. There are a lot of anecdotes and a lot less of practical tips to run a STR. For $20 I expect more. I also expected more from Biggerpockets publishing.

[Christy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview of STRs to know if one wants to get started in this type of real estate investing. I was hoping for a little more analysis of properties and markets to see more scenarios, but overall I liked the book and its conciseness. Would return to it for the tips on marketing and managing if I ever do buy my first property.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve owned an STR in the Smoky Mountains for ten months, so a lot of the information in this book was familiar. That being said, I still learned a few tricks. I appreciated the conciseness of the writing; Carl isn’t a writer of “fluff” by any means!

I’d recommend this book to someone new/relatively new to the short-term rental game. Carl should write a follow-up book that delves into nuances, legalities, direct booking strategies, marketing, SEO, and other intricate topics. Overall, it was an excellent book even if it was slightly basic (for me).

[Cagefighter18 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really helpful book for getting familiar with STR’s for investing.

[January · Rating 5 out of 5]

A no-bullshit guide to getting into action and getting rich. JUST DO WHAT SHE SAYS!

[Kyle Sneddon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good starter book for somebody new to AirBnB, but more experienced hosts should pass on this. The content never goes too far beyond the surface level as other reviewers have pointed out, and you’ll still need to find information elsewhere to round out your understanding of running a great STR. My biggest annoyance with the book was that the author brushed off STR alternatives they had no experience in, but given the access to other BiggerPockets leaders they should have researched this more. I laughed out loud when the author stated something along the lines of “I’ve never seen somebody make money on tiny homes or other alternative STRs” when Robuilt is the cohost of the BP podcast, so is he lying to us or did the author just not want to talk to him? They also skim over medium term rentals, which AirBnB themselves say is the future of STRs, and BP has interviewed folks who specialize in this. Just know going in this isn’t a comprehensive guide, it’s an overview of what the author does and how they’ve found success.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a huge Avery Carl fan. I have watched every video that contains her on YouTube. Because of this, 80% of what this book has to offer is the same information as what she has said on YouTube. It’s nice to have it in one small manual, written out to reference. But the $18 price point for a 135 page manual (in which only the last 1/4 is information I will need to go back to reference) is a little steep.

[Jawaher · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent starter book for anyone interested in learning about the short-term rental (STR) business but unsure where to begin. It covers almost everything you might need to know, and the content is both concise and straightforward.

However, the insights are primarily focused on the U.S. market, which makes sense given that the author is based there. I only wish there were more insights related to other continents and countries.

[Jennifer Vieira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for whoever is thinking of starting a short-term rental. It was very helpful to learn how the business works, learn about market assessment and risks, as well as tools for remote STF management.

[Dimi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great practical tips for short term rental investing and management.

The financing aspect is US-market focused (as usual with these books).

[Levi Helms · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was stuck deciding between 1 and 2 stars. I landed on 2 stars because the author does give a good general overview of STR investing, and if you follow this book to the letter, you’ll probably make money and do OK.

But the major issue is that it’s very narrow-minded. The book reads more like a “do this, don’t do that” format. First of all, most of these dos and don’ts are already common sense, so not helpful. But more importantly, this book promotes itself as being a complete guide, right? It’s not. It’s just an overview, with an example of 1 narrow path that you can take to STR success.

The writing showcases the author’s inexperience. The author even admitted to starting STR investing in 2016. The book was published in 2021. 5 years from day 1 to book publishing? I’m definitely not an expert (hence why I bought the book), but it’s clear that the author is not either.

[Karen Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book!

This book is simply awesome. The author lays it out step by step by sharing her knowledge as well as experience. I took lots of notes. This is a book you’ll want on your bookshelf to frequent for knowledge. I read this book in 2 days, but could have read it in 1 day. It’s hard not to put down because you are so hungry for knowledge. I hope the author publishes more books. This author is down to earth and doesn’t B.S. her way just to sell a book. She is authentic to say it at best. Great job Avery Carl!

[Rich · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise, thorough, helpful. The author is a subject matter expert because she lives it, and she's very active on BiggerPockets.com helping others achieve their goals as well. The book covers the high-level strategy as well as the very practical "use this app to accomplish this task" details that make it truly practical and helpful. Thank you, Avery!

[Leigh Roberson · Rating 5 out of 5]

very informative

I read this book to learn about STRs. The author was very thorough in explaining how they had started their real estate business. Every topic was covered with honesty and examples. It was easy to read and understand. I would highly recommend reading if you are interested in STR investing.

[Josh Fillingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short practical introduction to STRs. In it, Carl gives practical tips and advice on everything from looking for, purchasing and running a short-term rental. She gives specific and practical advice as well as shares the wisdom she gained from her personal experience. She even ends the book with what to do after the first is up and running

[Aleks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great advice

Concise advice, with specific instructions that anyone can follow. A literal step by step guide! I'm stoked about STR investing and can't wait to pull the trigger soon!

[Amy Verges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of fluff, especially in the beginning. I didn’t start getting value until about chapter 8. I was hoping for more details and specifics on the analysis of markets and properties, but overall it’s a good intro on short term rentals.

[Jess_voracious_ Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely love the info in this book if you’re considering short term rentals this is a must and I mean must read. Such great advice and a whether you’ve been doing it for a while or just starting out. There is something for everyone.

[John Babik · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Informative.

Thanks for writing a book that is actually informative and not just general things that encourage you to buy a program. If everyone would provide value like this to help others create wealth, we would be in a different place in this world.

[Timmothy Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Foundational Motivation and Process!

Investing to which ever end can be overwhelming and you second guess which way you can go. Avery provides a clear path to win based on proven best practices. Great place to begin your journey!!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge

[William Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great book that walked through processes needed for short-term rentals. A lot of this I have already learned the hard way through trial and error, but it’s got he nuts and bolts to make many people very successful - I certainly got nuggets out of it that I will use moving forward.

[John D. Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great primer on STR Investing!

Great little book on investing in STRs.
I appreciated the authors brevity and transparency regarding buying and operating STRS. Highly recommended for those investors looking to invest in STRs as a part of their real estate investment strategy.

[Abel Mora · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good for a very basic introduction to the industry. Gleaned 2-3 operational reminders from the latter chapters. Basic overview. Wouldn't call it a guide to deep dive into your first operation, however. More of a preliminary taste into viewing the industry. Fair enough

[Chris Earley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great how to book on how to get in to the short term rental market

[Brittney Mullins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exactly what I needed to get started

Great book if you’re looking to get started in STR investments. Can’t wait to start my journey toward financial freedom.

[Kyle McVay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for new investors.

[Justin Ure · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with a lot of good information!

[Alex Qualm · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book explaining practical steps to investing into short term rentals.

[Jessica Lawrence · Rating 4 out of 5]

Avery provides a helpful guide to get started with short term rentals. Very quick and easy read with some great information that helped answer lots of my questions.

[Mackay Oakey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book on STRs! The author does a great job at being concise, where some others drag things out far too much. Really enjoyable, current, and has great insights 😊