The typical Airbnb host in the U.S. earned around $14K in 2022 according to Airbnb’s website, though a number of “superhosts” are making much more. With the profitability of short-term rentals on the rise—and increasing competition for those profits—potential property owners and buyers need as much data as possible to increase the odds of a worthwhile investment.
BNB Calc is a SaaS platform led by three UNC-CH alumni that helps those who are interested in buying rental properties make calculated investment decisions. The startup can be used to project data for any address in the United States, including properties offered through Airbnb, Zillow and VRBO.
The startup helps inform consumers of the value of the property they might purchase or rent by analyzing different sets of data. The startup allows property managers to determine whether a house, apartment or condo is a good deal for them and whether they can profit from it or not.
Jeremy Werden, BNB Calc’s CEO and Co-Founder, said he is always trying to add more relevant information to the platform, since there are many factors that go into deciding whether a property is a good investment or not.
“We make it easier, quicker, (and) better to run the numbers on properties at scale,” Werden said.
BNB Calc is working with Steadily Insurance to get an insurance quoting system implemented into the platform, as well as trying to add a feature to help investors calculate the tax incentives they would receive from buying or renting a property.
Parker Place, CTO and Co-Founder, said the startup is allowing renters and buyers of properties to have more information, such as what local tax rates are generally like, how high mortgage rates are, and how much a property owner would have to pay for expenses like cleaning and maintenance.
“You have to run the numbers on more properties to find ones that have high potential,” Place said about the current housing and rental market.
Founded in July of 2022, BNB Calc has about 2,000 paying users so far. The startup also has customers who are real estate brokers who are selling properties that potential buyers might consider using as rentals.
“Our mission has expanded to helping provide brokers the tools that they need to better engage with their customers,” Werden said.
The platform allows users to copy and paste a link off of Zillow into a BNB Calc search bar to see a possible earning amount, as shown in the image above.
BNB Calc gets data from multiple sources including Airbnb, Zillow, Google Maps and AirDNA by looking at comparable properties. For example, it compares a 2-bedroom, 2-bath house to other properties that have similar features within a several-mile radius to show a potential buyer how much it will cost and whether it is a profitable investment.
Users can put in information such as how much they are charging for a guest’s stay at their property and how many days per year they expect the residency to be occupied by guests. The platform will then predict a projected revenue that the user can expect to make.
It is important to have all this information because there are more houses on the market compared to five years ago. Rob Gilliam, BNB Calc’s Head of Growth, said the team is essentially “taking the guesswork out of these investments.”
The platform has had approximately 100,000 analyses run on their website. The median for users’ analyses is about 100 properties. BNB Calc offers a monthly or annual subscription for its services.
“The more educated you are with these short-term rentals,” Gilliam said, “the better you can do.”
Users are mostly located in the U.S., but also Canada and Mexico. Werden, Place and Gilliam are currently bootstrapping their startup.
There are a few “superhosts” for Airbnb that make more money than most renters or buyers.
“The average Airbnb owner is making less, but that top percentage is making more,” which is why having projected data is extremely important, Gilliam said.
