My Honolulu Airbnb Made This Much in 2026… (Real Numbers).

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Aloha everyone. Today I'm back in my Airbnb condo in Honolulu. It's been over a year and a half since I bought this short-term rental condo on Aahu, and it's been around 8 months since I updated everyone on my rental income, and how the overall investment is going so far. So, in this video, I'm going to offer full transparency and reveal my occupancy rate, how much rent was collected, and what the cash flow was after paying expenses.

[00:00:28]In particular, I'm really curious to see how the 2026 numbers compared to 2025.

[00:00:35]But before we jump into the numbers, here's a quick overview of the property.

[00:00:39]This is the executive center, and it is the only building downtown Honolulu that legally allows short-term rentals. It is a hotel property in the correct zoning for short-term rentals. And there is a front desk that is managed by the Aqua Aston. My condo is a one-bedroom, one-b unit, and it has excellent views of the harbor, the city, and the mountains from the wall to ceiling windows in both the living room and the bedroom.

[00:01:08]There's also a rooftop pool and hot tub.

[00:01:11]And as an added bonus, one parking spot is included for guests.

[00:01:16]Now, while most people think of Wik Ki as the most popular vacation spot on Aahu, the unique downtown location of this condo has proven to be a real advantage. And it also made the purchase price much more affordable. If you're curious to see more details about my condo, I'll share a link to the Airbnb listing in the description.

[00:01:37]Okay, now let's go over the numbers together. Starting with the occupancy rate comparison for the past 2 years.

[00:01:42]2025 is shown in blue and the orange is 2026.

[00:01:47]Oh, and I should also mention that the June 2026 numbers that are shown in this video is what is currently booked as of the end of May. So June could actually fill in a few more nights by the time we get to the end of the month. Now, as you can see, the two years are fairly similar so far except for January.

[00:02:04]January 2026 was quite a bit lower than the year before because I did have to block off a few nights to take care of some maintenance.

[00:02:12]But if we look at the overall occupancy summary for the two different years, you see that we had an occupancy rate of 81% in 2025.

[00:02:21]And so far in 2026, we're still at around 76%.

[00:02:28]Next, let's take a look at the monthly rental income numbers for the past two years. Again, it looks fairly similar for both years, but March this year was quite a bit lower. March 2025 had a gross revenue of $7,137 and in 2026 it dropped to $4,671.

[00:02:48]Now, I think this is most likely because of the big storms and flooding that we had that month. There were a few weeks of really bad weather which did slow down vacation rental bookings on both Aahu and Maui around that time.

[00:03:01]If we look at the revenue summary, we can see that in 2025, we had rental income of just over $67,000.

[00:03:08]And so far in 2026, we're over $30,000.

[00:03:13]This breaks down to an average of 5,589 in 2025. And our average so far in 2026 has dropped to $5,119.

[00:03:24]Now, this rental income might sound really good for a property that I bought for only $365,000.

[00:03:30]And I think they are really good numbers, but what really matters is whether or not the property is cash flow positive or cash flow negative. So, let's take a look at my average monthly expenses and see how it stacks up against the income.

[00:03:44]I pay a general excise tax of around 4.5% and a transient accommodation tax of around 14%. On top of that, I also pay a property manager 20% of the gross rental income. And even though I could net a lot more if I manage the rentals myself, I'm personally am happy to pay a property manager because it really does make it truly passive income for me. I also have a mortgage payment of $1,755, which includes my property taxes and my insurance. My HOA dues of 1,36 does include all my utilities, and I paid $275 per month to rent a parking spot for my guests. All of this totals up to around $5,300 per month.

[00:04:31]Which means when we subtract the expenses from the income, we were cash flow positive last year by about $4,100.

[00:04:40]So far this year, we're right around break even. Now, that being said, I did have a few maintenance items that I had to take care of last year. So, overall, I'm right around cash flow neutral for this investment.

[00:04:53]Now, it's clear that the rental income is definitely not making me rich. But here's the thing. For me, I'm more focused on the other benefits of owning a short-term rental. First of all, I was able to use 100% bonus depreciation to save a ton of money on my earned income taxes.

[00:05:11]In fact, the amount of money that I saved on my taxes was about the same as my cash down payment. So, technically, it feels like I did not come out of pocket at all to buy the property.

[00:05:22]In addition to that, the renters are paying down my mortgage as each month passes. I am able to stay in the property every now and then, which I do enjoy.

[00:05:31]And I think the value of this property will go up as downtown Honolulu gets revitalized and as inflation pushes up the cost of all assets.

[00:05:41]So while most beginning investors are ultra focused on the rental income and cash flow for the right person, there really are a lot of other benefits of buying a short-term rental beyond just the rental income ROI.

[00:05:55]Now, to be clear, I don't think buying a property like this is the right investment for everyone, and I definitely don't suggest using all of your cash reserves to buy one. Look, I personally invest in several different asset classes to stay diversified. I like to buy and hold quality stocks. I invest in precious metals, mostly silver, and I even have a little bit of cryptocurrency, mostly Bitcoin and Ethereum.

[00:06:21]So, the way I see it, buying a short-term rental is just one tool in your financial tool belt. If you use it wisely, it can be a very effective way to preserve and build wealth.

[00:06:33]The tax savings alone make it worth it for me and my personal scenario.

[00:06:38]But, of course, I'm not a financial adviser and everyone's financial scenario is unique. I'm just explaining to you all why I think it makes sense for my scenario and maybe it could be a financial tool that's helpful to you as well.

[00:06:52]I'll dive deeper into how some people can take advantage of the tax benefits of short-term rental investing in future videos.

[00:07:01]Anyways, that was a really quick breakdown of how my Aahu short-term rental investment is doing so far. Make sure to hit the like button if you appreciate the full transparency that I provide from my own personal experiences.

[00:07:14]In addition to this short-term rental, I just took back possession of the short-term rental that I own on Maui from FEMA after a long-term tenant moved out last week.

[00:07:25]So, now that I'm putting that property back into the short-term rental market, I will be able to compare my numbers across a couple of different islands.

[00:07:34]So, make sure you subscribe to the channel if that's something that interests you. And if you're interested in buying a property like mine or one that suits your individualized needs, feel free to reach out to me directly.

[00:07:46]Tell me a little bit about what you're looking for in either myself or one of my associates will get back to you right away. The best way to get started is by filling out the contact form on my website. I'll share a link to that contact form in the description. I'll also share a link to all the current listings in this building, the executive center, as well as a link to all the short-term rentals that are for sale on Aahu.

[00:08:09]But if you aren't ready to talk to a broker quite yet, and you want to start by doing your own research, I totally understand. I'll share a link to the rental income calculator that I use for doing my preliminary research. The QR code on the screen now will take you there as well.

[00:08:25]One thing that I really like about being bal is that in addition to estimating the rental income revenue, it helps you to estimate the tax benefits of purchasing any short-term rental as well.

[00:08:37]There are also some really exciting upgrades coming to this software in the near future. So, I do plan to make a dedicated video that goes into more detail of how I research the profit profitability of short-term rentals, not only here in Hawaii, but anywhere in the world.

[00:08:54]So, make sure you stay tuned for that one because I will be giving away a lot of free information.

[00:09:00]Anyways, that's all I have for you on this video. I hope to see you on the next one. Aloha.