A Host’s Comeback: From a Short-Term Rental Crisis to a Mid-Term Rental Miracle!

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Hello, and welcome to Snowball Rentals’ WeChat account, where you can read about recent developments in the US short-term rental market.

Homeowners, today I want to share an awkward incident that happened this summer.

One quiet Friday afternoon, the Snowball Rentals team suddenly received a call from the city government, telling me the city no longer permitted short-term rentals of less than 30 days and demanding we immediately take our listings down.

For us, having worked so hard to operate our Airbnbs, this was a bolt from the blue and a devastating blow.

Here is what happened. Mercer Island, in greater Seattle, is an affluent area. Each household has an average annual income of US$170,000, and it ranks 28th among America's wealthiest cities. It has excellent schools and an ideal location connecting Seattle and Bellevue.

When we received the city's call, we were completely at a loss.

We had operated Airbnbs on the island for over three years, and there were 50–60 active short-term rentals there. How could the city suddenly announce it was shutting them down?

The enforcement officer told us that Mercer Island had passed an ordinance back in 2019 banning rentals of detached houses for less than 30 days. The mayor took it very seriously and planned to hire more enforcement staff to crack down comprehensively on illegal short-term rentals. Continuing to operate could lead not only to fines and license revocation, but even prosecution.

It was a bolt from the blue! Years of effort and investment were erased by a phone call. And what about the owners, who had invested real money and carefully furnished their homes?

It reminded me of New York City's sudden short-term rental ban in late 2023. Its original 22000 short-term rental listings fell overnight to fewer than 3000, with more than 80% immediately removed.

This is especially common in affluent cities or cities governed by the political left.

Facing reality, despite the pain, we made several key adjustments: canceling short-term bookings that had not yet checked in, changing the minimum stay to 30 days and relisting the properties.

The result was unexpected... a miracle happened!

Within days, all our short-term rental properties were booked. We successfully transitioned to mid-term rentals, even earning more than we had through short-term rentals!

First, look at this detached lake-view house. After switching to mid-term rentals, we immediately received a 58-day booking for US$15,200. How many days was it vacant during the transition?

The answer: zero! A seamless transition!

If this happened to only one property, it might be luck. But look at the second property:

After switching to mid-term rentals, this house rented for 72 days at US$16,800. The guest then paid another US$8,960 to extend for 28 days, bringing the stay to 100 days. After that came another 30-day booking for US$11,000.

The next 130 days were fully booked.

How long was the gap in switching from short-term to mid-term rentals? Just one day!

Even more remarkably, this house has six bedrooms, but we opened only four. Those rental figures came from making only part of the house available.

Now look at the third property:

After switching to mid-term rentals, we received a 30-day booking for US$7,300. Although we had to cancel a seven-day short-term booking, leaving eight days vacant, the result was still satisfying.

Finally, look at this detached lake-view house:

Although the house was older and we priced conservatively, we immediately received a 47-day booking for a total of US$9,600 after switching to mid-term rentals.

How many days was it vacant during the transition? Only three!

After so many examples, do you also feel a miracle happened? This really was a comeback: just when the road seemed to end, a new path opened!

Without planning it, we discovered a mid-term market with enormous potential and far less competition than short-term rentals!

And this Wednesday evening, September 18, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky announced that, because governments worldwide were restricting short-term rentals to varying degrees, Airbnb would focus on expanding mid-term stays of 30–90 days!

Chesky said there were huge opportunities in mid-term rentals. Before the pandemic, this category represented only 13%–14% of Airbnb's total business; recently, it had grown to 17%–18%.

Market data really does not lie: even Airbnb, the short-term rental industry leader, has changed direction and entered mid-term rentals!

If you own a property and are considering short-term or mid-term operations, please contact us at any time.

Our previous official WeChat article, “Short-Term, Mid-Term or Long-Term Rentals: Which Is Right for You?”—click to read—also provides a detailed analysis of these different

rental markets. Take a look to see which suits you best.

As a homeowner, you may now be wondering: my home is quite good, but how much could it earn on Airbnb? Would it earn more than a long-term rental? Would it involve a lot of trouble?

Contact us right away! We will evaluate it for you free of charge.

If you:

Hope to increase rental income through short-term rentals;

Cannot spare a great deal of time to handle the small details;

Occasionally need to use the home yourself, making it unsuitable to empty out the furniture for a long-term rental;

Then:

Snowball Rentals’ management team is your best choice.

From pre-launch vacation-rental styling, big-data analysis and online marketing to tenant screening, dynamic pricing, customer service and sales, cleaning and repairs, Snowball Rentals provides everything as one complete service for your home.

This Week’s Booking Results

Through long-standing relationships with insurers, assignment companies and technology companies, Snowball Rentals rents homes for medium- and long-term durations at short-term rates, then gives owners a rebate of 5% in management fees to maximize their income.

As the weather gets cooler, Seattle’s short-term rental low season is approaching again.

Short-term rentals in peak season and mid-term rentals in low season: this is the new strategy we have repeatedly emphasized and tried this year! Some recent large bookings have been like a ray of sunshine. Homeowners, let us support one another and face the approaching low season with confidence.

The detached house below, located in Seattle, has an estimated long-term monthly rent of approximately $3200, which can be looked up on REDFIN.

This is a brand-new house, making strong performance easier to achieve.

The owner placed great trust in the Snowball Rentals team and commissioned us to furnish it immediately after buying it, then put it straight into short-term rental operation.

Fortunately, it received a large booking shortly after listing!

As shown in the booking screenshot below, a guest rented this house through Airbnb for a total of 75 nights. Without deliberately planning it, a short-term rental became a mid-term rental.

The rental income plus cleaning fee for this booking reached $13595.76!

Using Redfin's monthly estimate of $3200, the long-term rent for 75 nights would be approximately $8000.

In summary, with Snowball Rentals operating this detached house, what the source calls “monthly rental revenue” rose from $8000 for the long-term comparison to

$13595.76, an increase of nearly 70%.

Securing such a large booking in low season is no easy feat!

Look more closely: this booking's 75 days run from early October to December this year, covering nearly three months of the short-term rental off-season, September through the following March. As a new house with excellent condition and location, we believe it can achieve further strong results before peak season arrives.

For homeowners, combining short- and mid-term rentals in this way can earn more in peak season and help them get through low season smoothly. Even if the low-season rental figures look less dramatic, they still outperform long-term rentals and give homeowners a strong sense of financial security.

More importantly, the owner does not have to worry about maintenance or cleaning. When something needs to be discussed with guests, we also help with communication and oversight.

Here, we again thank the owner for placing trust in the Snowball Rentals team!

After nearly two years of Airbnb’s downturn, we at Snowball Rentals hope to help owners make steady progress in low season, navigate the challenges safely and lay a better foundation for next year’s peak season.

Once again, heartfelt thanks to our homeowners for their trust and support. Whether the market is strong or weak, Snowball Rentals will stand with you and look for ways to increase your income!

Some homeowners will surely ask the hard question: was a large booking like this just a stroke of luck? What if the home does not rent? A long-term rental is more stable—even earning less is better than earning nothing!

Our answer is: the outcome depends on what we do.

Vacation-Rental Styling

Competition on Airbnb is becoming increasingly intense. The days of piecing together secondhand furniture, taking phone photos and earning easy money on Airbnb are over. Airbnb hosts have moved toward professional operations.

Careful design and furnishing before launch, followed by professional short-term rental operations, will be the only choice for a rental that continues to generate high income.

Here is another of Snowball Rentals’ core services: vacation-rental styling!

The detached house mentioned above was a completely empty new home when it came to us. Here is how it looked after furnishing:

When choosing a short-term rental on Airbnb, would this home’s appearance attract you?

If you would also like to make your home more attractive and earn more rent, please contact us at any time!

This Week’s Short Videos

We regularly update short videos every week.

The content you need is all here.

👇🏻 Homeowners are welcome to follow us 👇🏻

Snowball Rentals

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Snowball Rentals

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We also share practical vacation-rental styling plans and creative ideas to help you achieve more with less spending!

Keep rental income growing!

Xiao An’s Vacation-Rental Styling

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Referral Rewards

If you are already a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$500 referral fee for each referral.

If you are not yet a Snowball Rentals homeowner, you receive a US$250 shopping voucher for each referral.

Snowball Rentals Management

1. Full service — We provide pre-launch rental design, furniture procurement, furnishing, professional photography, online marketing, copywriting, tenant service and sales, cleaning, supply purchasing and property repairs. You only need to be a hands-off owner; we handle the rest.

2. Multi-platform promotion — We promote the home on Airbnb, VRBO, HomeAway and other mainstream platforms for maximum exposure.

3. Dynamic pricing — Using big data, we adjust prices every day according to seasonal demand, holidays, last-minute vacancy offers, weekends and local activities, maximizing the owner’s income.

4. Income-improvement SOP — We follow 44 secrets for maximizing short-term rental income, optimizing each property’s online marketing, on-site operations and other aspects to work toward maximum income.

5. Flexible owner stays — Owners can flexibly choose when to stay themselves. This is especially suitable for owners with multiple residences around the world.

6. Terminate at any time — Management does not require an annual commitment. The owner can end the agreement with one month’s advance notice.

7. Corporate housing — In addition to nightly rentals, we work with insurers and assignment companies to provide executives with hotel-style managed accommodation for stays longer than 30 days.

8. Transparent fees — For rentals longer than 30 days, we charge 15% of accommodation revenue. For nightly rentals under 30 days, we charge 20% of accommodation revenue.

Author’s tip: Personal views, for reference only.