Apollo AdvisingChoosing your rental strategy
Short-term, medium-term, and long-term rentals earn and cost very different amounts. We compare them for your property, along with house hacking and ADU conversions.
Short answer. Compare net income, not gross revenue. Short-term rentals usually earn the most per night and cost the most to run. Long-term leases earn the least and take the least time. Furnished medium-term stays of 30 days or more often land in between. Local rules and your own time decide the rest.
Compare net, not gross
A short-term rental can show double the gross revenue of a long-term lease and still net less. Cleaning, furnishing, supplies, platform fees, management, utilities, and empty nights add up. Medium-term rentals, furnished stays of 30 days or more for traveling nurses, relocations, and insurance placements, often sit in between: fewer turnovers than Airbnb, more income than an annual lease.
We build each scenario for your property and market with realistic occupancy, so the comparison is net income against net income.
Rules, HOAs, and your time
Many cities and HOAs restrict short-term rentals, and the rules change. Checking them is the owner's responsibility, and we tell you what to verify before you commit. Time matters too: a self-managed Airbnb is close to a part-time job. The best strategy is the one that fits the property and the life you want around it.
House hacking and ADUs
Living in one unit and renting the others, or adding an accessory dwelling unit, can change the math on a property entirely. Denver has done both in his own portfolio. We look at what it would cost, what it would earn, and what it would take to get there.
Questions we work through
- Airbnb versus furnished medium-term versus long-term: net income after all costs
- Furnishing, turnover, cleaning, and management approach
- Local short-term rental rules and HOA limits to check
- Is an ADU or house hack worth it here?
- Systems, vendors, and process improvements
What you leave with
- Side-by-side net income for each strategy
- A list of rules and approvals to verify
- A recommended strategy and what it takes to switch
Bring this decision to a session
$199 per hour, billed in 15-minute increments, or $499 for a three-hour block. The first 30 minutes are free.
Related questions
Should I convert my Airbnb to a long-term or medium-term rental?
Compare net income after all costs, not gross revenue. Short-term rentals often earn more on paper but carry higher cleaning, furnishing, platform, and management costs, more vacancy risk, and local ordinance risk. We compare short-term, furnished medium-term, and long-term scenarios for your specific property and market.
What should I bring to my first session?
The property address, purchase price and date, current loan balance and rate, current or expected rent, 12 months of income and expenses if you own it, and what you want the property to do for you over the next few years.
How much does it cost?
$199 per hour, or $499 for a three-hour block that you can use within 12 months. The first 30-minute introductory call is free.
Go deeper
Airbnb, medium-term, or long-term: comparing what you keepA side-by-side of costs, time, and rules, with a worked example on the same house.Short-term vs medium-term vs long-term calculatorCompare what the same property keeps under each rental strategy, with your own numbers.Free guide: what would your Airbnb earn as a 30-day rental?
The five-step method from Denver's paid client reports, with a worked example and a fill-in worksheet. Covers cleaning fees, platform fees, breakeven rent, and the slow-month hybrid.
This page is general education, not legal, tax, investment, insurance, or lending advice. See our disclosures.