Selling short-term rental apartments to investors

To sell apartments designed for short-term rental, you have to understand that the investor isn't buying a home. They're buying a product they'll rent by the night or the week. They don't ask whether they'd like to live there; they ask whether a guest would choose it over the other listings in the area. The sales material that works best is the one that shows the unit just as it would look in that listing.

What changes when the buyer is a short-term rental investor?

A family buying to live in a unit looks at the second bedroom, the storage, the school nearby. A short-term rental investor looks at other things:

• How the unit photographs. Guests choose from a phone screen, so the first image decides a lot.
• How many people it sleeps comfortably. A studio for two and a one-bedroom for four are different businesses.
• What the building offers guests: a pool, a rooftop, a gym, a self check-in lobby.
• The location from a visitor's point of view: the beach, the old town, the business district, the airport.
• How easy it is to run: durable finishes, simple layouts, a kitchen that works for short stays.

If the sales material talks to a family, the investor has to translate it. If it talks to the investor, they decide faster.

Show the unit the way a guest would see it

The most direct way to sell to this investor is to show them the listing they'll have. That means interior renderings and a walkthrough with the unit furnished for a guest: a well-made bed, a sofa that can become a second bed if the layout allows, a dining table for the number of people it sleeps, a balcony with a couple of chairs.

The investor sees it and recognizes immediately what they'd find on any rental platform. They can picture their unit next to the others, and judge whether it would stand out. There's more on this in virtual staging and interior renderings.

A walkthrough adds something the renderings don't: the investor can check the flow of the unit. Can two couples share it without stepping on each other? Is the bathroom reachable without crossing the bedroom? These are the details that end up in guest reviews.

The building sells as much as the unit

For short-term rentals, the shared spaces are often what makes a guest choose one listing over another. A rooftop pool, a terrace with a view, a gym, a coworking room. They're also what the investor will put in the first photos of their listing.

Those spaces should be rendered finished, with light and life, at different times of day: the pool at noon, the rooftop at sunset. More in amenity renderings. If the project includes hotel-style services, see hotel and condo-hotel renderings.

Which unit type works best for rental

Investors often compare unit types quickly: studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom. Each fits a different kind of guest and a different occupancy. A walkthrough per unit type lets them compare without reading floor plans, and an availability view shows which ones are still free on which floors.

That also helps the developer. When an investor can see clearly why the one-bedroom with the balcony works better for guests than the studio facing the courtyard, the conversation moves from price to value. See walkthroughs by unit type and defending your price per square foot.

What not to promise

There's a temptation, when selling to investors, to talk about returns: occupancy, nightly rates, yields. Be careful. Any number you put in the sales material becomes a promise, and the investor will hold you to it.

The visual material shouldn't promise income. It should show the product clearly and honestly. And whether the building allows short-term rentals, and under what conditions, depends on local rules and on the building's own regulations. That should be checked with a local professional before it's advertised.

The investor is rarely at the site

Short-term rental investors are often not from the area. They may live in another city or another country, and they may be comparing projects in several destinations at once. They won't visit every site.

For them, a link they can open on their phone is the sales gallery. They walk through the unit, look at the building and the surroundings, and shortlist. Then a video call with the salesperson closes the questions. There's more in selling to buyers who don't live nearby.

A typical case

Picture a building near the beach with studios, one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms. The developer sends investors a link to the building. An investor in another city taps through the floors, opens the one-bedroom walkthrough and sees it furnished for four guests, with the balcony facing the sea. Then they look at the rooftop pool at sunset.

They reply with two questions: which floors still have a sea-facing one-bedroom, and whether the building allows short-term rental. The first is answered by the availability view. The second, by the developer's lawyer. In both cases, the investor already knows what they want.

If you're selling a project to rental investors and want to see how it would look, message me on WhatsApp at +54 9 11 6193-3176 or email facundocampo100@gmail.com. I work remotely from Buenos Aires, Argentina, in English and Spanish.

Frequently asked questions

Should the renderings be furnished for a guest or for a family?

If the project is aimed at rental investors, for a guest. That's the image the investor will recognize, because it's the one they'll use in their listing. If the project targets both, you can show the same unit type both ways.

Can you show how many people fit in each unit?

Yes. The walkthrough shows the unit furnished for its intended number of guests, with the beds, the sofa bed and the table, so the investor sees it works.

Can the material be used later for the rental listing?

The renderings show the unit as designed, before it's built. Once the unit is finished and furnished, the listing should use real photos, but the renderings can help the investor plan how to furnish it.

Do we have to say in the advertising that the building allows short-term rentals?

That depends on local rules and the building's regulations. Check it with a local professional before saying anything about rental use in the advertising.