Are Airbnb Courses Worth It? What 80 Students Told Us

Are Airbnb courses worth it? It's a fair question, and the people who can answer it best are students who've already paid for one.

We went through 80 video testimonials from students of BNB Mastery's programs (BNB Co-Hosting Mastery, BNB Investing Mastery and the BNB Tribe) and looked at what they worried about before buying and what they valued afterward. Here's what we found, including the cases where a course isn't worth it.

What students worried about before buying

1. The price (the most common hesitation)

By our count, about 16 students named cost as a hesitation. That was more than any other concern.

"I did hesitate at first 'cause it was a lot of money to invest into a program like this, but man, I'm so glad I did because it has turned out to really pay off." — Deven Ogden

"Being a real estate investor, you always look for what your ROI is. And unfortunately, you don't know that at the onset. You just have to take a leap of faith." — Lisa Smelter

2. Whether it was a scam

"Obviously joining a program like this, you never know if it will help you, if people are just trying to take your money, because there are people out there like that." — Maria Scott

"I was pretty skeptical because I'd attended a lot of free webinars in the past and they hadn't really gone anywhere." — Aly Barnes

3. Bad experiences with other programs

"I've joined programs before that I spent thousands and thousands of dollars on, but because the learning style was different... I wasn't able to receive the value... which ended up turning into wasted time and wasted money." — Sarah Atkinson

"My problem was I had spent a lot of money on other coaching programs a couple of times that didn't bear fruit." — Deborah Gardner

4. Time and commitment

"My hesitation about joining the program was just the commitment. Would I be able to commit to this? Is it right for me?" — Tara Gay

What students valued after

The answers were consistent, and mostly not about the videos.

Saving time versus figuring it out alone

"I had spent hundreds of hours on Google and YouTube... I think it's saved me months, if not a year longer." — Aaron Rasmussen

"I can't even comprehend how much time I know it saved me... I very easily... might not have even gotten the business off the ground." — Drew Rothkopf

Access to the instructor

About 20 students brought up the live calls or direct access to James.

"He is an actual person and you can talk to him online on Facebook, you can talk to him on weekly calls as well. So it was really refreshing and comforting to know that he actually cares about your success instead of just taking your money." — Maria Scott

Community

More than 20 mentioned the community.

"None of the questions that I had were dumb or stupid. People actually appreciated a lot of the simple questions that I had." — Stephanie Soave

Templates, scripts, and tools

"I would pay for this twice over if I knew in the beginning how much I would truly get between the scripts and the templates that James provides." — Jen Barnhart

The mindset training (the surprise)

About 17 students singled out the mindset and personal development content, often as their favorite part, which few expected from an Airbnb course.

"I have a lot of coaches. I've done all of that kind of self-development side of things. No, I haven't. I realized I hadn't done nearly enough." — Caitlyn Carlsen

When an Airbnb course is NOT worth it

A course is not worth it if:

• It's built for a different goal. A hosting course won't teach you to win management clients, and a co-hosting course won't teach you to finance a property. Read how to pick an Airbnb course for your goal.
• You won't do the work. Students were blunt about this. "They teach you how to fish," said Kimberly Dueck. "Be ready to do the work."
• There's no support after the sale. If the people who sold it to you vanish after you pay, walk away.
• It promises income without effort. "This is definitely not a get rich quick scheme," said Sam Harris, who manages five properties.
• You can't name a single real student. You should be able to watch real people's stories, like the ones on our reviews page.

The math on "worth it"

A course pays for itself if it gets you a result faster than you'd get it alone, or helps you avoid one expensive mistake.

• Co-hosting: one property booking $200 a night at 60% occupancy pays about $730 a month at a 20% fee. See the co-hosting calculator.
• Investing: one bad acquisition can cost tens of thousands. See the investment calculator.
• Hosting: better pricing alone can add thousands a year. See the pricing calculator.

"I actually got my money back within a couple months." — Jami Broad

Bottom line

Airbnb courses are worth it when they fit your goal, you can reach real people, and you commit to doing the work. For costs across the industry, see how much Airbnb coaching costs. For a neutral comparison, see the best Airbnb courses by goal.