Airbnb Rental Arbitrage is when you rent a property from the owner and receive their permission to legally use the property as an Airbnb Short-Term-Rental (STR). You then secure a STR License from the City so that you are compliant with local regulations. Next, you furnish the property with beautiful decor and amenities > List it on Airbnb to generate revenue > Then pay your rent and expenses like cleaning, electricity and water. The profit that's left over is what you keep! At Steam & Stream, we always target properties that can produce a profit of $3,500 per month -- and we aim to payoff your initial startup expenses in the first 7-months.

If you're earning good money, chances are you thought about buying Real Estate for Long Term Rentals because it makes sense, it builds wealth, it's stable and it's proven. But when you begin looking into the details, you'll find that you need an average of 15% as a down payment to finance an investment property. If you want a nice property in a good market where Airbnb is compliant, you might be looking at an average cost of $600k which means a down payment of $90k. Also, you will have to jump through many hoops to get financing from banks, you'll be faced with high interest rates, you'll have to do renovations, you'll have to pay closing costs, if anything breaks it's your responsibility, and it could take you over a year until you ever see a dollar in profit...

Airbnb rental arbitrage is a proven strategy with a clear set of processes where you can get into a property for less money out of pocket and begin earning profits within weeks. You do not have to tie up all of your capital, there's no mortgage involved, no long term debt or renovations. Although t's not fully passive, it's for people who want results. At Steam & Stream, we target properties that would require startup capital of $25k that can produce $3.5k per month in profit using our system. With a 2 year lease, this means you would have made roughly $60k in profit on a property that you did not have to purchase.

Yes, Airbnb is still profitable in 2025—but only if you take a strategic, data-driven approach to experiential design. Many low-quality listings that thrived during the pandemic when demand peaked have since failed due to over-saturation of boring listings, customer demand changes due to economic fears, and maturing customer preferences in design. With Airbnb losing marketshare to sites like Booking.com, Google Vacation Rentals, VRBO and smaller firms, it is more important than ever that operators understand the value of multi-channel exposure (being listed on all platforms at once).

At Steam & Stream, we help investors avoid pitfalls by identifying high-performing, legally compliant markets and curating standout, amenity-rich listings with unforgettable experiences that land in the top 5%–10% of Airbnb listings. Our team conducts in-depth deal analyses, forecasts demand, and adds luxe amenities like hot tubs, theaters, mini golf and game rooms to maximize appeal. By crafting unique guest experiences and leveraging targeted ad campaigns, we ensure our listings attract higher occupancy and command premium nightly rates.