The short-term rental industry hit $201.6 billion in global gross bookings in 2024, according to Phocuswright’s Global Short-Term Rentals report. Airbnb alone surpassed $11.9 billion in annual revenue through Q3 2025, with over 5 million hosts on the platform. The opportunity is massive. But here is the reality: most new hosts lose money in their first year because they skip the education and jump straight into listing a property.
We built 10XBNB after generating $5M+ in booking fees, earning 1,000+ five-star reviews, and managing a portfolio worth $100M+ in premium real estate. We have trained over 1,000 students. Some started with zero properties and now run six-figure Airbnb businesses. Others came in as experienced hosts who needed systems to scale. The right course changed everything for them. This guide breaks down exactly what separates a good Airbnb course from a waste of time, compares the four main course types, and helps you pick the one that matches where you are right now. For a detailed look at your options, read our 10XBNB vs BNB Mastery guide.
Why You Need an Airbnb Course in 2026 (Not Just YouTube Videos)
Free content on YouTube and TikTok covers the basics. You can learn how to take decent photos and write a listing title. But free content has three fatal problems: it is scattered, it is often outdated, and it does not give you a system.
AirDNA’s 2026 U.S. Outlook Report calls this year “the best year to invest in short-term rentals since 2021” — but only for hosts who understand market selection, dynamic pricing, and operational efficiency. The U.S. market now has 1.76 million active listings, a 6.1% increase year-over-year. Competition is real. Winging it worked in 2019. It does not work now.
A structured course gives you three things free content cannot:
- A proven system — step-by-step frameworks you follow from day one through your tenth property
- Current market data — not advice from 2021 that ignores today’s regulatory environment and supply levels
- Accountability and support — mentors, communities, and feedback loops that keep you on track
The difference between struggling hosts and profitable ones almost always comes down to training. Not talent. Not luck. Training.
4 Types of Airbnb Courses: Which One Fits You?
Not all Airbnb courses teach the same thing. The best programs focus on a specific business model or skill set. Here are the four main categories, what each one covers, and who it is built for.
| Course Type | Best For | Key Skills Taught | Income Model | Startup Capital Needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entrepreneur Course | Hosts ready to build a real business (not a side hustle) | Business planning, scaling, team building, financial modeling, multi-property operations | Multiple revenue streams: ownership, arbitrage, co-hosting | Varies ($0 – $50K+ depending on model) |
| Beginner Course | First-time hosts with zero experience | Account setup, listing creation, pricing basics, guest communication, getting first reviews | Single listing income ($1,500 – $4,000/mo typical) | Low ($500 – $2,000 for furnishing/supplies) |
| Property Management Course | People who want to manage others’ properties for a fee | Owner acquisition, contract negotiation, cleaning/maintenance systems, pricing optimization, guest ops | Management fees (15 – 25% of gross revenue per property) | Very low ($0 – $500 for business setup) |
| Arbitrage Course | Investors who want STR income without buying property | Market analysis, landlord negotiation, lease structuring, furnishing on a budget, legal compliance | Spread between lease cost and nightly revenue ($2,000 – $5,000/mo per unit) | Moderate ($3,000 – $8,000 per unit for lease deposit + furnishing) |
Most people fall into one of these four buckets. If you are brand new, start with the beginner course. If you want to scale fast without owning real estate, the arbitrage course or property management course will get you there. And if you are already hosting and want to turn this into a legitimate business with multiple income streams, the entrepreneur course is where you need to be.
What Separates Elite Airbnb Courses from Generic Ones
There are hundreds of Airbnb courses online. Udemy alone lists dozens. Most of them recycle the same surface-level advice: “take good photos,” “respond quickly,” “price competitively.” That information is free on Airbnb’s own help center. You do not need to pay for it.
Here is what separates courses that actually produce results:
Taught by Active Operators, Not Retired Hosts
The short-term rental market changes fast. Regulations shift. Algorithms update. Pricing dynamics evolve. A course creator who stopped hosting in 2022 is teaching outdated strategies. Look for instructors who are actively managing properties and generating revenue right now. At 10XBNB, our founder Shaun Ghavami still operates a portfolio worth $100M+ and has earned $5M+ in booking fees. He is not teaching from theory.
Systems Over Tips
Tips are useless without systems. A good course gives you repeatable frameworks: how to analyze a market in 30 minutes, how to negotiate a lease for arbitrage, how to onboard a new property in 48 hours, how to handle a guest complaint so it turns into a five-star review. These are systems. They work whether you have one property or fifty.
Community and Mentorship Access
The best learning happens between modules. When you hit a roadblock — a landlord says no, a guest damages your property, your occupancy drops — you need real-time guidance from people who have solved that exact problem. Courses with active student communities and mentor access dramatically outperform self-paced video libraries. Check our real student results to see what this kind of support produces. See is 10XBNB worth it based on verified student outcomes.
Updated Content for Current Market Conditions
A course recorded in 2023 does not address the regulatory wave that hit dozens of U.S. cities in 2024 and 2025. It does not account for the supply surge that pushed U.S. occupancy rates down to around 50%, according to AirDNA’s growth trends analysis. The best courses update their material quarterly, not annually.
The Business Models: Ownership vs. Arbitrage vs. Co-Hosting
Before you pick a course, you need to understand the three main ways people make money with Airbnb. Each model has different risk profiles, capital requirements, and income ceilings.
Property Ownership
You buy a property and list it on Airbnb. This is the traditional real estate investing path with an STR twist. According to Bankrate’s guide to Airbnb investment properties, short-term rentals can generate significantly higher returns than traditional long-term leases because the per-night pricing model captures more revenue. The downside: you need capital for a down payment, and you carry the risk of property value fluctuations.
Rental Arbitrage
You lease a property long-term and sublease it as a short-term rental on Airbnb. The profit is the spread between your monthly lease and your nightly booking revenue. This model requires less capital than buying property, and you can scale faster. Our rental arbitrage guide breaks down exactly how this works, including how to find arbitrage-friendly landlords and structure your leases legally. The arbitrage course covers this model end to end.
Co-Hosting and Property Management
You manage other people’s properties on Airbnb and take a percentage of the revenue. Zero capital required. You bring the expertise, the systems, and the guest management skills. The property owner provides the real estate. This is the lowest-risk entry point into the industry and one of the fastest ways to build cash flow. Learn more about this model on our co-hosting page.
Most of our successful students eventually use all three models. They start with co-hosting or arbitrage to build cash flow, then reinvest into owned properties. The entrepreneur course teaches you how to combine these models into a diversified short-term rental business.
How to Evaluate an Airbnb Course Before You Buy
Not every course deserves your money. Use this checklist before you commit:
- Verify the instructor’s track record. Are they an active host? How many properties do they manage? What is their actual revenue? Demand specifics, not vague claims.
- Look for student results. Real courses produce real results. Ask for case studies, testimonials, and verifiable outcomes. At 10XBNB, we showcase our student success stories because the numbers speak for themselves.
- Check when the content was last updated. Anything older than 12 months is suspect. The market moves too fast for stale material.
- Assess the support structure. Is there a community? Live Q&A sessions? Direct mentor access? Or is it just pre-recorded videos with no interaction?
- Understand the business model taught. Make sure the course aligns with how you want to enter the market. An ownership course will not help you if you do not have capital for a down payment. An arbitrage course will not help if your city bans subleasing.
- Look for tools and templates. The best courses provide spreadsheets, contract templates, SOPs, and market analysis tools. These save you hundreds of hours.
- Check refund policies. Courses that work do not hide behind no-refund policies. Confidence in results means confidence in offering guarantees.
The 2026 Short-Term Rental Market: Why Training Matters More Than Ever
The STR market in 2026 is not what it was three years ago. Here is what is happening and why it makes professional training non-negotiable.
Supply is still growing, but demand is stabilizing. The U.S. hit a record 1.76 million active short-term rental listings in mid-2025. Rural destinations saw a 23% year-over-year increase in supply, and suburban areas grew by 18%. More listings means more competition for every booking. Hosts without pricing skills, marketing knowledge, and operational efficiency get buried.
Regulations are tightening. Cities from New York to Dallas to Nashville have introduced or strengthened short-term rental regulations. Permit requirements, occupancy limits, and tax obligations are more complex than ever. An analysis published by Skift noted that some hosts are converting properties back to long-term rentals in response. Navigating this environment without training is a fast way to get fined or shut down.
Major demand events are creating huge opportunities for prepared hosts. The 2026 FIFA World Cup is already driving bookings in host cities. AirDNA’s data shows Philadelphia pacing at +6.3% RevPAR growth, Newark/Jersey City at +5.6%, and Dallas at +5.5% ahead of seasonal norms. Hosts who know how to adjust pricing, minimum stays, and marketing for major events will capture outsized revenue. Those who do not will leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table.
Professionalization is the new baseline. The era of casual hosting is over. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Real Estate, Rental and Leasing sector generated $344.7 billion in nonemployer receipts — the largest share of any sector. Translation: self-employed rental operators are a massive segment of the economy, and the professional ones are the ones surviving and growing.
Why 10XBNB Courses Outperform the Competition
We are biased, obviously. But here is why we believe 10XBNB produces better outcomes than any other Airbnb education program:
Built by someone who does it, not someone who did it. Shaun Ghavami is not a former host selling a course. He is an active operator managing $100M+ in properties, earning $5M+ in booking fees, and maintaining 1,000+ five-star reviews. Every strategy in our courses comes from current, real-world operations.
We cover every model. Most courses teach one approach. 10XBNB covers ownership, rental arbitrage, co-hosting, and hybrid strategies. This means you learn to diversify and build a resilient business, not a fragile one dependent on a single model.
Student results are public. We do not hide behind anonymous testimonials. Our student results page shows real people with real numbers. Students who started from zero and built portfolios generating $10,000+ per month. Students who left corporate jobs because their Airbnb income replaced their salary.
We offer free training to get started. Unlike programs that charge thousands upfront before you see any value, 10XBNB provides no-cost training so you can evaluate the quality before committing. If the free material does not impress you, you lose nothing.
The community is active and engaged. Over 1,000 graduates are in our network. They share deals, refer clients, troubleshoot problems, and celebrate wins together. This network effect compounds over time. The longer you are in it, the more valuable it becomes.
Course Comparison: 10XBNB Programs at a Glance
Here is a side-by-side look at how our four main programs compare, so you can match the right course to your goals.
| Feature | Beginner | Arbitrage | Property Management | Entrepreneur |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Experience Level | Zero to first listing | Beginner to intermediate | Any level | Intermediate to advanced |
| Primary Goal | Launch your first Airbnb profitably | Build STR income without buying property | Earn fees managing others’ properties | Scale to a multi-property business |
| Capital Required | $500 – $2,000 | $3,000 – $8,000 per unit | $0 – $500 | Varies by model |
| Time to First Income | 30 – 60 days | 45 – 90 days | 30 – 60 days | 60 – 120 days |
| Income Ceiling | $1,500 – $4,000/mo (single listing) | $2,000 – $5,000/mo per unit | 15 – 25% of each property’s gross | $10,000+/mo with portfolio |
| Key Differentiator | Step-by-step from account setup to first booking | Landlord negotiation + lease structuring | Owner acquisition + operational systems | Multi-model business building |
| Community Access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free Training Available | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Not sure which is right for you? If you have zero experience and no properties, start with the beginner course. If you have some experience and want to scale without buying real estate, choose between arbitrage and property management based on whether you want to control the property (arbitrage) or earn fees without lease obligations (management). If you are already hosting and want to build a full business, the entrepreneur course is your next step.
How to Get Started Today
Here is the fastest path from where you are now to generating Airbnb income:
- Watch our free training. 10XBNB offers no-cost training that covers the fundamentals of profitable hosting. Start here. It costs you nothing but an hour of your time.
- Pick a business model. Based on your capital, risk tolerance, and goals, choose between ownership, rental arbitrage, co-hosting, or a hybrid approach.
- Enroll in the matching course. Use the comparison table above to select the program that aligns with your chosen model and experience level.
- Execute the system. Follow the steps. Do not skip modules. Do not try to improvise before you have mastered the fundamentals. The system works when you work the system.
- Join the community. Connect with other 10XBNB students. Ask questions, share progress, and learn from people who are a few steps ahead of you on the same path.
Every month you wait is a month of revenue you do not earn. The market is not going to get less competitive. The hosts who invest in their education now are the ones who will dominate their markets in the second half of 2026 and beyond.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Airbnb courses typically cost?
Airbnb courses range from free introductory training to premium programs costing $1,000 to $5,000+. The price usually reflects the depth of content, mentorship access, and ongoing support. 10XBNB offers free training to get you started, so you can evaluate the quality before investing in a comprehensive program. Avoid courses that charge premium prices but only offer pre-recorded videos with no community or mentor access.
Can I really start an Airbnb business with no money?
Yes, through co-hosting and property management. In these models, you manage someone else’s property and earn a percentage of the revenue. You do not pay for leases, mortgages, or furnishing. Your startup costs are limited to basic business setup (LLC filing, insurance, marketing materials). The property management course teaches this model in detail.
What is the difference between rental arbitrage and co-hosting?
With rental arbitrage, you sign a long-term lease on a property and sublease it as a short-term rental. You control the property, pay the rent, and keep the profits above your lease cost. With co-hosting, the property owner retains the lease or mortgage, and you manage operations for a fee (typically 15–25% of gross revenue). Arbitrage offers higher per-unit profit but requires more capital. Co-hosting requires almost zero capital but has a lower per-unit ceiling. Many experienced operators do both.
How long does it take to see results from an Airbnb course?
Students who follow our systems typically get their first booking within 30 to 60 days of starting. Income builds from there as you optimize pricing, accumulate reviews, and improve your listing’s search ranking. By month three, most active students have a consistent revenue stream. By month six, many are adding additional properties or clients. The key variable is execution speed. The course gives you the system. How fast you implement it determines how fast you see results.
Are Airbnb courses worth it in 2026 with so much free information available?
Free information teaches you what to do. Paid courses teach you how to do it, in what order, with what tools, and how to avoid the mistakes that cost real money. Consider this: a single bad lease decision in rental arbitrage can cost you $5,000 to $15,000. A pricing mistake during peak season can leave $3,000 to $10,000 on the table. A regulatory violation can result in fines of $1,000 to $25,000 depending on your city. A course that helps you avoid even one of these mistakes pays for itself many times over. With AirDNA projecting 2026 as the best STR investment year since 2021, the gap between trained and untrained operators is only getting wider.
