It’s amazing to learn about all the folks that forge their own paths to success and make every effort to stamp a big reputation for themselves in their chosen fields rather than blindly following the lead of more established figures. It is more important than ever before to shine a light on the experiences and accomplishments of these individuals and professionals, the majority of whom are in their 20s and 30s and who are not afraid to put in the time and work required to see their ideas become a reality in their chosen fields. We couldn’t help but take notice of how Malcolm Nguyen, another driven young man, followed in his footsteps and is now dominating the entrepreneurial world with his innovative and savvy business practices.
Since its inception in 2008, Airbnb has evolved to incorporate a wide variety of creative ways to legally monetize the site beyond just short-term rentals and property ownership. The practice of “Airbnb rental arbitrage,” wherein hosts sublet rented spaces to Airbnb guests, is a relatively recent technique among entrepreneurs.
After finding himself temporarily houseless, Malcolm decided to launch his Airbnb rental arbitrage business. He left his home in 2017 because he was unable to live up to his family’s lofty standards and because he refused to participate in further formal education. He had no place to live, no money, and no credit, but he took a chance nevertheless because he was confident in his own resolve to succeed. He had no money to invest but managed to persuade a wealthy person to teach him the business. He showed Malcolm an ancient house and instructed him to update it and rent it out through Airbnb. After completing the renovations for the landlord, he would not have to pay rent for the first three months. The rent was to be $2,000 per month, with utilities, and Malcolm was to pay $6,000 in three months. He had nothing to lose by accepting the offer, so he did.
As a minor who was not living with his parents, he was eligible for city financial assistance. Now that he had an extra $900 coming in every month, he and a friend pooled their resources and borrowed $4,000. In order to save money, they subsisted primarily on potato wedges, beer, and occasionally rice and chicken. Many pieces of furniture were discovered by driving about at night and browsing the “free” category on social media and websites like Facebook and Kijiji. He soon paid back the landlord, including the loan, after remodelling the house and advertising it on Airbnb. His first investment property made nearly $130,000 in one year. The seed for his future company model was placed when he realized the strategy had huge profit potential. He later learned that the word for this method was Airbnb Arbitrage. Together with his partners Quinton Lee, Madi Tirit, and Awab Idris, Malcolm expanded their firm to 30 properties in just one year. However, he was not a property owner, unlike the majority of Airbnb hosts.
Malcolm’s firm is now wildly successful, but he admits that getting there wasn’t always easy. For successful Airbnb rental arbitrage to begin, one must first have a solid strategy in place. Getting in touch with a helpful landlord, outfitting the space, and posting it on Airbnb while giving it as much exposure as possible are all steps in the process. He initially approached hundreds of potential Airbnb hosts, but they all turned him down. He perfected his method and developed novel advertising approaches that broke with the norms of the vacation rental industry. Landlords gradually became interested. When his listings began to perform better than the market as a whole, he decided to start teaching people how to turn Airbnb into a successful enterprise through The Vacarya Academy. Finding out how much money you can invest in a search for rental arbitrage opportunities safely is a key roadblock for most would-be arbitrageurs.
He hopes that by writing about his Airbnb adventures, others might benefit from his successes and failures and get up and running more speedily. The tools and resources he provides in his course will help students launch their own successful Airbnb arbitrage businesses. Optimizing Airbnb listings for higher ranks, employing innovative strategies to dominate the market, and increasing the likelihood of receiving five-star ratings are just a few of the topics he covers in his masterclasses.
What was begun as a last-ditch effort is now a thriving million-dollar empire.
Malcolm Nguyen is pleased with how quickly Vacarya has grown to become a 7-figure real estate powerhouse in its short five years of operation. Malcolm Nguyen is an industry leader in many other areas as well, including social media branding and public relations, marketing services for lead generation, virtual assistant services, automation and systems, and mentoring. He broke new ground in rental arbitrage and is now guiding others to what they consider to be the pinnacle of success.
