I'm guessing a lot of the Airbnb rentals are just those traditional sublets showing up in an easy to quantify form. This not true for NYC. There's always deman

I'm guessing a lot of the Airbnb rentals are just those traditional sublets showing up in an easy to quantify form. This not true for NYC. There's always demand for rooms in NYC with quick turnover. There's always real estate speculators with empty rooms. In the end, you really answered your own question: the 'rent per day' is going to be a lot better with the hotel room model You're right, it is a different business to manage, and maybe you're after less risk/more passive income as a landlord, but you can't make that assumption for everyone. Plus, AirBNB takes care of most of the paperwork.