Anonymous P&L Sharing for Short-Term Rental Operators
We witness it all the time — in marketing messages, on Property Manager Websites, and overhears in casual conversations at airports. STR Operators making bold claims that they have the highest revenue. It’s like calling 8 people your “Best Friend” without any qualifying tag like “my best friend from grade school” or “my best friend from college”. The STR Operator might have had the highest revenue … in June 2019 by a half percent, but then dropped the ball in Low Season that same year. Or they may only keep track of revenues, not expenses. Or they may not know how to properly analyze Financial Statements.
Self-Managed Short-Term Rental operators may be asking the same question:
“How am I really doing compared to others?”. Or “Does a Property Manager actually pay for themselves with higher revenue?”. Or “Is this worth it? I never had to fold laundry for my stock portfolio to pay me the same return!”
And yet, no one shares real numbers. We all guess., and we all guess alone. Until now!
What is Show & (Don’t) Tell?
Show and (Don’t) Tell is a quiet, anonymous data-sharing initiative for STR operators who want to compare true financial performance — without the posturing, and without giving up privacy.
You share. Others share. Everybody learns. Nobody brags (until the data shows they have the right to brag).
What We Collect
If you own or operate a Short-Term Rental, you’ve got data. It’s super valuable, but only when it’s analyzed. We’re asking you to share:
- Gross Revenue for a full Calendar Year
- All Expenses for a full Calendar Year
- Occupancy
- Property type & location basics — so that we can compare apples to apples.
No Names. No Addresses. This isn’t about you—it’s about insight.
Why This Matters
We’ve been in this industry before AirBNB’s Founder Brian Chesky ever even dreamed about renting out his friend’s couch. We know:
Most STR owners don’t actually know their margins.
Everyone’s faking confidence, but few are sharing facts. Or the opposite, operators have a lack of confidence because they don’t know where they land.
Small operators can win—if we share what we know.
Because in this business, the highlight reels are everywhere. But the real story?
It’s “between the sheets”. The spreadsheets, that is!
- You might be crushing it, and not know it. Let us help you be sure.
- You might be bleeding money, and think it’s normal. Let us help you stop the bleed.
- You might just need to see what’s possible. We are always happy to help you dream big!
This is your mirror. Your compass. Your quiet community of fellow nerds.
No Selling. No Judgment.
This isn’t a pitch. We aren’t going to sell you our Consulting Services . We don’t have a business coaching side hustle, nor do we want one.
We aren’t trying to gain your business. We only manage properties owned by our by our current partners. We aren’t looking to fold more fitted sheets.
You won’t be added to a Mailing List. We’re good at data and connecting people, not marketing.
You won’t get a call from a sales rep. We don’t even have a Sales Rep. We have Data Nerds.
We won’t be collecting your contact information anyway. I couldn’t contact you even if I wanted to.
We are trying to do what we are best at: Connecting people and analyzing data.
We want STR Operators to make sharper decisions. When your rates rise, we benefit (because our rates rise, too).
We want STR Operators to be proud of their achievements. So, let us compliment you.
We want STR Operators to know if they’ve been getting hosed on their Insurance Premiums because the identical unit pays a third for their insurance.
We want to be a little bit disruptive to the STR Norms.
How to Join the party
Submit your anonymized Profit & Loss spreadsheet via a secure form.
We aggregate the data with other similar units in the same market. Line by line, in one beautiful spreadsheet.
We prepare a written analysis of the data. Written with humour, thought provoking questions, and links to more resources … because that’s how we naturally talk.
We post the aggregated data in a secure folder that only YOU, and the other verified collaborators, have access to.
Nobody knows who’s who. Everyone gets smarter.
Our Why
If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it 1000 times: “A rising tide lifts all boats”. We want everyone to be successful! This is our quiet act of data solidarity, while maintaining privacy.
It’s not about showing off. It’s about showing up. For each other.
Does it sound to good to be true? Fair point. So, why aren’t we charging for this uber-valuable service?
- We have access to the data, too. So it’s kind of an “I’ll show you mine, if you show me yours” situation. We are offering to aggregate, analyze, and share our own data in exchange for your data. Combined with anonymous data from others.
- We help people buy and sell Lifestyle Real Estate, and are paid a commission on those sales. One of the best ways to help people buy Lifestyle Investments is to show them accurate data. There is a lot of misinformation online — we prefer a Full Disclosure model (with a side order of anonymity).
- We believe people need good data to make good decisions. No one should be buying something as expensive and life-commitmenty (not a word) as Real Estate based on their idiot Cousin Eddy saying something like “Yeah. I’m making $100k a year” … while failing to disclose that that his expenses are $150/year.
- We are actually that nice. Yeah. Really. You can stop by the office and meet us; you can call and talk to us. We have been consistently committed to helping others for a lifetime … that’s how we chose a career in hospitality.