Best Airbnb Courses in 2026: An Operator's Honest Guide
Disclosure: This article includes courses I sell alongside competitor courses. I earn revenue from purchases made through my course links. Full transparency statement below.
This guide is reviewed and updated quarterly. Next scheduled review: May 2026.
Students I have trained across all my courses. ~120 active properties managed today, 155+ at peak. $1M+ per month in revenue. That is the basis for everything in this guide.
- No ranking article is written by someone operating at this scale. Most comparison guides are from SaaS companies, aggregators, or creators who list only their own programs.
- Competitor courses get genuine praise here. 10XBNB's live coaching structure is excellent. BNB Formula's alumni network is real. I say so below.
- My own courses get real limitations. Cracking Superhost is not for someone testing the waters. RE:Algorithm is useless pre-launch. I say that too.
- Price range: free to $30,000. Most serious courses fall between $174 and $2,997. The right choice depends on your current stage, not the biggest budget.
- Use the verification checklist. Run any course creator, including me, through the 6-point check before spending serious money.
If you are looking for the best Airbnb courses in 2026, the market has a credibility problem, and I want to name it before I try to solve it.
Nearly every "best Airbnb courses" article you will find online is written by one of three types of people: a course creator who lists only their own programs, a software company farming SEO traffic with no real skin in the game, or an aggregator site that has never managed a single rental property. None of them have the standing to give you a genuine side-by-side comparison, because doing that honestly would cost them sales.
I run courses. I also compete with other course creators. And I have managed enough properties, for long enough, to actually evaluate what each program teaches against what the market requires, from dynamic pricing strategy to rental arbitrage negotiation. That combination is either a massive conflict of interest or the most useful perspective available.
I run several of the courses listed in this guide. That means I have a financial interest in how you perceive them. This page contains links to products I sell, and I earn revenue from purchases made through those links. It also means I have spent 11 years operating short-term rentals, currently manage around 120 properties — having scaled to 155 at peak — generating over $1 million per month in revenue, and have trained more than 5,000 students. I know what works because I do it every day, not because I read about it.
Every competitor on this list gets a genuine review, including real praise where it is deserved. Every one of my own courses gets a real limitation, not a fake one crafted to seem balanced. If a competitor's program is better for your situation than mine, I will tell you.
Airbnb Course Comparison Table: 2026 Overview
Here is how the 10 most notable Airbnb courses in 2026 compare across the factors that actually matter: who the course is built for, what it costs, and what you can realistically expect to learn. My courses are marked with an asterisk.
| Course | Best For | Price | Level | Support |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cracking Superhost * | Best Overall | Discovery call | All levels | Coaching archive |
| 10XBNB | Best for Beginners | From $7,000 | Beginner | Live weekly coaching |
| BNB Formula | Best for Arbitrage | $2,997 | Beginner-Intermediate | 12 months coaching |
| RE:Algorithm * | Best for Algorithm | $174 | Beginner-Intermediate | Self-paced |
| Udemy | Best Budget Option | From $14.99 | Beginner | None |
Quick reference for the top 5 picks. Scroll down for the full 10-course comparison and detailed reviews.
| Course | Best For | Price | Key Strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cracking Superhost * | Best Overall | Discovery call | Full operating system built from 11 years and 155+ properties at scale |
| RE:Algorithm * | Best for Algorithm Ranking | $174 | Only course dedicated to Airbnb's search ranking system |
| 10XBNB | Best for Beginners | From $7,000 | Structured beginner program with live weekly coaching calls |
| BNB Formula | Best for Arbitrage Pioneer Path | $2,997 | 25,000+ students — the original rental arbitrage course |
| Udemy Airbnb Courses | Best Budget Option | From $14.99 | Low risk, 30-day refund, good for exploratory learning |
| Target Price * | Best for Pricing Strategy | $410 | No-cleaning-fee pricing model from a working operator |
| Pricing Masterclass * | Best for Rate Optimization | $525 | 13-lesson pricing science course built from real portfolio data |
| Closers Crash Course * | Best for Closing Your First Deal | $800 | Proven lease negotiation scripts and deal-closing frameworks |
| BIG DATA * | Best for Market Analysis | $180 | Data-driven market selection from an active multi-city portfolio |
| Airbnb Academy | Best Free Resource | Free | Official Airbnb training — accurate, free, risk-free entry point |
* Courses marked with an asterisk are mine. Prices current as of February 2026. External links go directly to each provider, not through affiliate redirects.
How I Evaluate Airbnb Courses
Before the individual reviews, here are the five criteria I apply to every course on this list, including my own. Run them on any course you are considering, from anyone in this industry.
1. Does the Instructor Still Operate?
The most important question, and most people never ask it. There is a meaningful difference between an instructor who did operate properties and one who still does. The market in 2026 is not the market from 2020. Algorithm changes, dynamic pricing tools, regulatory shifts. Someone teaching from five-year-old experience is teaching you a different business. Ask specifically: how many properties do they manage today? Ask whether their income still depends on STR performance, or only on course sales. That incentive shift matters.
2. Is the Curriculum Actionable or Theoretical?
The best courses put a tool in your hand. Lease negotiation scripts, pricing spreadsheets, cleaning management systems, listing copy templates. Things you can use in week one. The worst courses give you frameworks and philosophy dressed up as education. If a course sales page describes concepts but never shows deliverables, ask for a curriculum outline before you buy.
3. What Happens After You Buy?
A video library is not a program. Does the course include a community where you can ask questions? Live Q&A or coaching calls? The price difference between a $15 Udemy course and a $1,000 program should be fully visible in the support structure. If a premium course does not include any live component and no ongoing community, you are paying for production value, not access to an instructor.
4. What Is a Realistic ROI Timeline?
I am skeptical of any course promising "your first booking in 30 days." For most markets, the honest timeline is: 60–90 days to identify a market, find a property, and get your listing live. Six months to understand your market, get pricing dialed in, and build a consistent occupancy rate. If the marketing makes it sound faster, ask why. Overpromising timelines is either ignorance or dishonesty.
5. Can You Verify Student Results?
Screenshots on a sales page are curated by definition. Real social proof lives in forums: Reddit's r/airbnb, BiggerPockets threads, Facebook groups, where students you did not select are talking about the program. A large, searchable alumni community is worth more than a hundred headshots with five-star quotes. Look for results with names, markets, and numbers.
Quick Checklist Before You Buy Any Course
- Does the instructor currently manage active properties?
- Does the curriculum include specific deliverables (scripts, templates, spreadsheets)?
- Is there live support: Q&A calls, community, or coaching?
- Is the ROI timeline realistic (60–90 days minimum for first property)?
- Can you find organic student reviews on Reddit or BiggerPockets?
The 10 Best Airbnb Courses in 2026 — Full Reviews
★ This is my course. I have a financial interest in your perception of it.
1. Cracking Superhost — Best Overall
What You Get: A complete operating system for building a short-term rental business from scratch. It covers property acquisition, furnishing and setup, professional photography, listing optimization, guest management, housekeeping systems, pricing strategy, and scaling, across 100+ video lectures and 15+ sections. The course includes the full archive of coaching calls from 2020 through 2026, plus an AI Playbook for incorporating ChatGPT into your operations. Lifetime access with all future updates.
Every system in this course is the same system used to build and manage an STR portfolio that scaled to 155 properties. The lease negotiation templates, the cleaning management framework, the pricing school. These are operational tools battle-tested across hundreds of units over 11 years. When the market changes, I update the course because running around 120 active properties today forces me to stay current. There is no equivalent on the market from an operator still actively running a portfolio at this scale.
This is not the right starting point for someone still deciding whether they want to do this. The course is comprehensive and the price reflects serious intent. If you are in the "maybe" phase, there are cheaper options to test your commitment first. Cracking Superhost is also sold through a discovery call, not a checkout button, which adds friction for people who want to evaluate and buy immediately.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Someone who has decided they are building an STR business and wants the full operating system from someone doing it at scale right now.
- Not a fit: Someone still testing the waters, not yet committed, or primarily looking to list a single property they already own.
★ This is my course.
2. RE:Algorithm — Best for Understanding Airbnb's Search Algorithm
What You Get: A focused replay covering how Airbnb's search algorithm actually works: the three core ranking parameters (Price, Quality, Availability), the new listing boost, smart pricing configuration, the no-cleaning-fee strategy as an algorithmic lever, and how Airbnb evaluates listings for search placement. Dense and direct: a single session, not a lecture series.
The only course dedicated entirely to how Airbnb ranks listings in search. Everything here comes from testing across 155+ properties in multiple markets over 11 years of active operations, not speculation, not reverse-engineering from forum threads. If your listing is live but buried in search, the answer is almost always in the three parameters this course explains.
Narrow scope by design. RE:Algorithm solves one problem: search visibility. It does not teach you how to run a business, close a deal, or optimize pricing beyond algorithm performance. If you have not listed your first property yet, the algorithm is not your bottleneck. Property acquisition is.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Existing hosts who have listings live but are not getting the search visibility they expect.
- Not a fit: Pre-launch operators or anyone looking for a comprehensive business program.
Competitor course. No financial relationship.
3. 10XBNB — Best for Beginners
What You Get: A structured introduction to co-hosting and rental arbitrage built for people starting from zero. Includes a step-by-step video curriculum, live weekly coaching calls, and a student community. At the premium tier, the Done-For-You option adds hands-on setup support. The founders report $5M+ in collective student bookings and operate their own portfolio.
The live weekly coaching calls are the program's most defensible advantage. Most courses sell you a video library and disappear. Knowing you will show up to a group call and report on your progress is one of the most underrated accountability mechanisms in education. The beginner onboarding sequence is also well-designed: clear, logical, and hard to get lost in.
The price is the single biggest drawback. Committing $7,000 before you have earned your first dollar is real financial risk, especially for someone still validating their target market. There is also no public refund policy, which I consider a significant oversight at this price tier.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Someone completely new to STR, with capital to invest in premium education, who wants structured accountability.
- Not a fit: Budget-conscious operators, experienced hosts who already know the basics, or anyone who needs to validate a market before a large capital commitment.
Competitor course. No financial relationship.
4. BNB Formula — Best for the Rental Arbitrage Pioneer Path
What You Get: An Airbnb rental arbitrage curriculum covering market research, property sourcing, landlord prospecting and negotiations, business setup, and listing optimization, with 12 months of coaching calls included. Brian Page has been teaching this model since 2016 and reports 25,000+ students across 47 countries.
Brian Page is a genuine pioneer. He was teaching rental arbitrage before most people had heard the term, and the community of 25,000+ students across 47 countries is a real asset: a searchable pool of people who have done what you are trying to do in almost any geography. His story of using this model to recover from the 2008 financial crisis also gives the course a perspective on market resilience that more recent programs cannot replicate.
The primary acquisition strategy relies heavily on direct landlord prospecting (door-knocking and cold outreach), which is more labor-intensive than the marketing suggests. Reviews across forums also note that the curriculum can feel surface-level relative to the $2,997 price point for operators who want deep operational systems for scaling.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Someone focused specifically on rental arbitrage who wants an established community and the perspective of a genuine pioneer.
- Not a fit: Operators who want deep systems for scaling beyond 5–10 properties, or anyone who prefers digital lead generation over direct cold outreach.
Third-party marketplace. No financial relationship.
5. Udemy Airbnb Courses — Best Budget Option
What You Get: A marketplace of on-demand video courses from independent instructors across a wide range of STR topics. Quality varies significantly, but the 30-day refund policy eliminates most financial risk at this price point.
The risk-adjusted value is genuinely hard to beat. Spend $15, go through a course over a weekend, and you know within 30 days whether STR education is worth pursuing further, or get a full refund. That is a legitimate strategy: use Udemy to validate your interest and identify what you do not know, then invest in a premium program targeting your specific gaps.
Quality is inconsistent and most instructors are not currently operating significant portfolios. No live support, no community, no coaching after purchase. Content can be significantly outdated. You are buying a video library, not an operational system. Treat it as orientation, not education.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Someone exploring STR for the first time who wants low-risk, low-cost exposure before committing serious money.
- Not a fit: Anyone ready to build a real business. The lack of operational depth will frustrate you quickly.
★ This is my course.
6. Target Price — Best for Pricing Strategy
What You Get: A specialist course built around the no-cleaning-fee pricing model, the most counterintuitive and consistently effective pricing strategy across a portfolio scaled to 155 properties at peak. Covers the model itself, why the algorithm rewards it, when to apply it by market type, dynamic pricing rule sets, and competitive pricing strategy relative to your actual comp set.
The no-cleaning-fee model is the most consistently effective pricing strategy across my portfolio, and the most consistently misunderstood. This course explains the mechanics clearly and gives you the framework to implement it. If your occupancy is solid but revenue per booking feels low, or if competitors are outperforming you and you cannot figure out why, the answer is usually here.
Single-topic course solving a single problem. Pricing optimization only matters after you have the fundamentals in place: algorithm visibility, strong listing presentation, operational history. If pricing is not your current bottleneck, this is not where to start.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Active hosts with listings live who know they are leaving money on the table but cannot identify the specific pricing lever to pull.
- Not a fit: Pre-launch operators or anyone who has not yet gotten consistent bookings from a live listing.
★ This is my course. 14-day money-back guarantee.
7. Pricing Masterclass — Best for Rate Optimization Science
What You Get: A 13-lesson deep dive into the complete framework for professional-level STR pricing: competitive set analysis, dynamic pricing configuration, revenue management principles, seasonal strategy, and portfolio-level performance measurement. The comprehensive version of what Target Price introduces, for operators ready to move from instinct-based pricing to a systematic approach.
The comp set analysis methodology alone justifies the price for multi-property operators. Most hosts benchmark against whoever Airbnb shows in the "similar listings" section, which is not your actual competitive set. Learning to identify and track your real comp set, and price relative to it rather than against an algorithm's suggestion, is the shift that consistently moves both occupancy and nightly rate in the right direction.
Advanced material that will overwhelm new hosts. The frameworks make the most sense when you have operational history: real data from a real portfolio. I would recommend completing Target Price first and having at least two properties running before approaching this course.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Experienced operators who want to move toward systematic, professional-grade revenue management.
- Not a fit: Anyone still in the first six months of operation. Build the business first, optimize the revenue later.
★ This is my course.
8. Closers Crash Course — Best for Closing Your First Deal
What You Get: A 5-hour live workshop recording covering the complete deal-closing process for rental arbitrage: market research, property sourcing, landlord negotiation, deal structure, and financing. Includes the Crash Closers eBook with negotiation tactics, sample lease addendums you can adapt and use immediately, and lifetime access to Airbnb MBA 2.0 (30+ hours of foundational STR content).
The sample lease addendums are the most practical piece of documentation in any STR course I have seen, including my other programs. Walking into a landlord conversation with a templated addendum that has been used to close hundreds of rental arbitrage agreements cuts the learning curve from months to weeks. The gap between knowing you want to do rental arbitrage and actually having a signed lease is almost always a conversation gap, not a knowledge gap. This course closes that gap.
The scope ends when the deal is closed. This is a strong entry point but does not teach you what to do once you have the property: furnishing, listing setup, pricing, operations. Plan to follow this with RE:Algorithm and Target Price at minimum.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Someone who understands rental arbitrage, has identified a target market, and is ready for the landlord conversation but does not know how to structure it.
- Not a fit: Someone still deciding whether STR is right for them. Start with Udemy or Airbnb Academy to validate your interest.
★ This is my course.
9. BIG DATA — Best for Market Analysis
What You Get: A 142-minute deep-dive into how to use data to make STR market decisions: how to identify markets worth entering, evaluate competitive density, read the data signals that indicate a market is growing versus saturating, and use analytical tools to track portfolio performance over time. This is the analytical companion to operational courses like those covering interior design strategy and dynamic pricing. This is the framework behind my own multi-city expansion strategy.
Most STR operators choose their next market the same way they chose their first: intuition, proximity, or mimicking others. That works until you are scaling. BIG DATA teaches you what data to look for before entering a market, not just how to perform once you are in. For operators thinking about moving beyond their first city, this is the most practical analytical framework I have put together.
Not beginner content. Requires comfort with data and analytical tools. The replay format means no live Q&A, so if you get stuck on how to apply a model to your specific market, there is no mechanism to get that question answered within the course itself.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Operators with an existing portfolio evaluating new markets to enter, or who want a more systematic way to benchmark portfolio performance.
- Not a fit: Anyone pre-launch or in their first 6-12 months. Build operational experience first.
Airbnb's official program. No financial relationship.
10. Airbnb Academy — Best Free Resource
What You Get: A free curriculum produced by Airbnb covering hosting basics, listing creation and setup, guest communication, and platform policies. Content comes from experienced Superhosts and is accurate by definition because it is from the platform itself.
It is free, it is from Airbnb directly, and the foundational content is accurate. For understanding how the platform works (how listings are structured, what guests expect, how reviews affect visibility), this is the most credible starting point available. Anyone who has not gone through this before spending money on a paid course is skipping a step.
Completing Airbnb Academy is roughly equivalent to reading Airbnb's Help Center articles very carefully. It will make you a functional host. It will not teach you how to build a business. No pricing strategy, no property acquisition framework, no scaling systems, no revenue optimization. Think of it as orientation, not education.
Who This Is For
- Good fit: Absolute beginners who want free, official training before deciding whether to invest in a paid course.
- Not a fit: Anyone who already understands the platform and is looking to build a serious business.
Honorable Mentions
Two more programs that consistently come up in STR community discussions. They are not in the top 10, but worth knowing about depending on your situation and learning style.
Competitor course. No financial relationship.
STR Secrets — Best for Community Accountability
Mike Sjogren runs an active podcast and coaching program with a genuine community component. The emphasis on accountability and mindset alongside tactical content distinguishes it from purely content-delivery programs. Best suited to co-hosting operators and those who learn better in structured group accountability settings.
The community accountability structure is real. Knowing you will report progress to a group of peers is one of the most underrated mechanisms for actually implementing what you learn. The STR Secrets podcast also provides consistent free content that gives a clear sense of the program's approach before committing any money.
Less depth on data-driven market selection and algorithm optimization. Better suited to co-hosting operators than to rental arbitrage operators building large portfolios from scratch.
Competitor resource. No financial relationship.
Thanks for Visiting — Best for Guest Experience
Annette Grant and Sarah Karakaian are verifiable STR operators with years in the industry and a large podcast audience. Their content focuses on the guest experience side of hosting (presentation, communication, hospitality systems), which is consistently underrepresented in the STR education market. Not focused on rental arbitrage or large-portfolio scaling, but excellent for operators who want to elevate the quality of their guests' experience.
Guest experience is the dimension most STR operators underinvest in, and the dimension most directly correlated with review scores, repeat bookings, and algorithm favor. The Thanks for Visiting approach to hospitality quality fills a gap that most algorithm- and pricing-focused programs leave open entirely.
Not the right fit for operators focused primarily on rental arbitrage, market selection, deal-closing, or large-portfolio scaling. The content strengths are in hospitality quality and co-hosting operations, not in the business-building mechanics that define a scalable portfolio.
Student Community and Independent Verification
Students trained across Sean Rakidzich's course portfolio since 2020. 300,000+ YouTube subscribers on Airbnb Automated, one of the largest independent STR education channels online.
The testimonials on any course sales page are curated by the seller. Organic community reviews, selected by operators rather than marketers, are the standard this guide holds every program to, including the ones I sell. Here is where to find them for the programs on this list.
Where to Find Unfiltered Student Reviews
- Reddit (
r/airbnb,r/realestateinvesting): Search any course name for unfiltered student experiences from operators who were not selected by the course creator. Both positive results and failures are reported here. - BiggerPockets STR forums: Multi-year discussion threads on every major program. Search the instructor name plus "course" or "review" to find community discussions that predate any recent marketing push.
- YouTube comments (Airbnb Automated): The comment section on the 300,000-subscriber Airbnb Automated channel carries organic student discussion from operators at all stages. The positive and the critical both appear without moderation.
- Facebook STR groups: Join 2-3 of the larger short-term rental Facebook groups and ask for course recommendations in the forum. You will get peer-to-peer input from operators who have no incentive to promote any specific program.
Independent operators consistently point to the algorithm and pricing courses as the most immediately applicable for hosts already running listings. The specificity of the material, derived from an active portfolio, is frequently cited as the differentiating factor versus more general business courses.
Community discussions consistently distinguish between instructors who currently operate properties versus those who stopped years ago. The 155-property active portfolio is frequently cited as the key credibility marker in threads evaluating short-term rental education options.
The reviews in this guide represent my editorial opinion as an active STR operator (120 properties today, 155 at peak), applied to each program based on my knowledge of what the market actually requires in 2026. I have a financial interest in my own courses and none in any competitor course. Use the verification resources above to cross-check any claim in this article, including mine. That is the standard I ask you to apply.
How to Verify Any Course Creator's Claims — Including Mine
The STR education space makes it very easy to claim operational credibility without having to prove it. Here is a six-point checklist you can run on any instructor, designed to be equally applicable to me as to anyone else.
Verification checks to run on any STR course creator before committing serious money. Apply all six, including to this article's author.
- Search their name on BiggerPockets and Reddit. Real operators who have been in the industry for years have a history of engaging with the community: answering questions, sharing data, contributing to discussions. Look for genuine participation, not just marketing posts.
- Check their LinkedIn for verifiable business history. A working STR operator has some kind of visible business presence: a property management company, a management LLC, a documented business history. If the only entity on their profile is their course company, ask yourself what their operational history looks like.
- Ask whether they can point to verifiable operations. Legitimate operators at scale are findable. Management companies have web presence. Properties appear in public records. If an instructor actively resists this kind of verification, that is a meaningful signal.
- Check when the course was last updated. A course not updated in two years is teaching you about a different market. An active operator updates their course because the market forces them to. Look for a clearly stated "last updated" date.
- Search "[course name] review reddit" and "[instructor name] scam." Independent reviews from students who were not selected by the course creator exist in forums. If you cannot find any organic community discussion about a course that has been around for years, that is unusual.
- Verify that they still operate. Someone who sold their portfolio five years ago and only sells courses now has fundamentally different incentives than someone whose income still depends on STR performance.
I am active on BiggerPockets and YouTube (search "Sean Rakidzich"). I operate properties through a documented management structure across multiple cities. My courses are updated as the market changes. At peak I managed 155 properties; as of this writing I actively manage around 120. Do not take my word for it. Verify my credentials here. That is the point.
300,000+ Hosts Learn STR Strategy Here
Weekly videos on pricing, algorithm, and operations from an active ~120-property portfolio. Airbnb Automated
Frequently Asked Questions About Airbnb Courses
Are Airbnb Courses Worth It?
At the budget tier ($15-$50 on Udemy), the risk is low enough that almost any course is worth exploring. At the premium tier ($999-$7,000+), the ROI equation is more demanding: the course needs to teach you something specific that you will apply, that will change your results, in a timeline you can track. Use the five evaluation criteria above to answer that question before buying rather than after.
How Much Do Airbnb Courses Cost?
By tier: Free-$50 covers platform basics (Airbnb Academy, Udemy). $174-$525 covers specialist skills (RE:Algorithm, BIG DATA, Pricing Masterclass). $800-$2,997 covers full programs with coaching (Closers Crash Course, BNB Formula). $7,000+ covers premium programs with ongoing live coaching (10XBNB, Cracking Superhost). See the comparison table for current prices.
Can You Make Money on Airbnb in 2026?
The hosts struggling in 2026 are largely operating the same way they did in 2021, when any listing could fill itself during peak demand. The hosts thriving are running professional operations: algorithm-aware listings, calibrated dynamic pricing, systematic guest communication, professional photography, and data-informed expansion decisions. The market got more competitive, which means the skill gap carries a larger financial consequence than it used to.
What Is the Best Free Airbnb Course?
YouTube has also become a credible free education channel for STR. Channels from operators who show their actual portfolios, data, and real results can cover specific skills in 20-40 minute videos that rival some paid courses. The limitation is structure: YouTube gives you isolated topics on demand; a course gives you a designed learning sequence. Use free content to identify what you do not know, then invest in a course that goes deep on your specific gap.
Is Airbnb Arbitrage Still Profitable in 2026?
I built my entire 155-property portfolio through rental arbitrage, owning zero properties. The capital barrier is lower than ownership: first and last month rent plus furnishing costs versus a full down payment. However, the margin of error has shrunk. Operators need professional-level pricing strategy, systematic operations, and rigorous market analysis to maintain profitability. The days of listing any property and printing money are over. If you are considering arbitrage, start with the Closers Crash Course for deal structure and lease negotiation.
Who Should Take an Airbnb Hosting Course?
If you are pre-launch, start entry-level: Closers Crash Course if you are ready to find your first property, Udemy to validate your interest cheaply, or Airbnb Academy to understand the platform. If you are already live but underperforming, diagnose your bottleneck first: bookings too low means RE:Algorithm, revenue per booking feels low means Target Price, evaluating new markets means BIG DATA.
What Do You Actually Learn in an Airbnb Course?
The best courses put a tool in your hand: lease negotiation scripts, pricing spreadsheets, cleaning management checklists, listing copy templates. The worst give you frameworks and philosophy without deliverables. Before buying, ask for a curriculum outline and check whether the outputs are things you can use in week one. See the evaluation criteria section for the full checklist I use to assess every course.
How Long Does It Take to Start Making Money on Airbnb?
The honest timeline depends on your model. Rental arbitrage requires finding a landlord-friendly property, negotiating the lease, furnishing the unit, and listing it, which is 60-90 days minimum. Property owners listing their existing home can go live in 1-2 weeks but will spend months optimizing. Multi-property portfolios take 12-18 months to build sustainably. Any course promising faster timelines is either targeting a very specific scenario or being dishonest.
What Is the Difference Between Airbnb Arbitrage and Hosting Courses?
I built my entire 155-property portfolio through rental arbitrage, owning zero properties. The capital barrier is lower: negotiate a lease, furnish the unit, and your cash outlay is furnishing cost plus first and last month rent rather than a down payment. The risk profile is different: monthly lease obligations, no equity building, and you need landlords who allow subletting. Courses like BNB Formula and Closers Crash Course specialize in the arbitrage path. If you are starting with limited capital, arbitrage courses are your most direct path.
Do You Need a License to Do Airbnb Arbitrage?
This is the most under-discussed topic in STR education. Before committing to a market, research: (1) whether your city allows short-term rentals in the zone you are targeting, (2) what permits or licenses are required, (3) whether there are caps on the number of STR licenses issued, and (4) whether your lease explicitly permits subletting. No course can substitute for this local research. The BIG DATA course includes a framework for evaluating regulatory risk as part of market selection.
The Bottom Line: Which Airbnb Course Should You Take?
Start with Cracking Superhost for the full operating system, or 10XBNB if you want structured weekly coaching from day one. Either gives you what you need to launch. The choice depends on whether you prefer self-paced depth or coached sequencing.
Spend $15–$50 on Udemy or go through Airbnb Academy for free. If you are still interested after a week, spend $800 on Closers Crash Course and get your first deal closed. If you are not, you have lost nothing.
Identify your specific bottleneck first. Bookings too low → RE:Algorithm. Revenue per booking feels low → Target Price. Evaluating new markets to expand → BIG DATA. These are specialist courses for specific problems. Buy the one that addresses your actual gap, not the one that sounds most interesting.
Cracking Superhost. That is what I built it for: the complete systems, scripts, and frameworks from someone who actively runs around 120 properties today, having scaled to 155 at peak.
Every course on this list has legitimate value for the right person at the right moment. The worst outcome is taking no course and paying the tuition through expensive operational mistakes. The second worst is buying the most prestigious-sounding course at a stage where you need something more foundational.
Use the comparison table to orient yourself, run any instructor through the verification checklist, and choose the course that matches where you are right now, not where you hope to be in a year.
Ready to Build a Real STR Business?
Cracking Superhost is the complete operating system for short-term rental operators, built from 11 years, 155+ properties at scale, and $1M+ per month in active operations. Schedule a discovery call to see if it is the right fit for where you are.
Schedule Your CallSources & Further Reading
Airbnb Education Resources
- How Search Works on Airbnb (Airbnb Resource Center)
- How to Become a Superhost (Airbnb Resource Center)
- Airbnb Academy (Official Airbnb Training)
