3 rules for making money on Airbnb, from a short-term-rental owner who built a business by optimizing revenue

Real estate investor Mike Savage and his family reside in South Carolina.

Courtesy of Mike Savage Short-term rentals can earn more than long-term rentals, but they require a business mindset.

Mike Savage, cofounder of SynergyStays, shares strategies that can help Airbnbs perform better.

Pay attention to the median booking window, and focus on weekdays, not just weekends.

Mike Savage has owned both long-term and short-term rentals — and he sees a fundamental difference between the two.

With a long-term rental, investors can improve a property and potentially raise the rent, but the market largely determines what a comparable home can earn.

A three-bedroom, one-bath house will generally command something close to what similar homes in the area rent for.

A short-term rental offers more room to influence revenue, but it also requires more work.

"You're choosing to open a business" when you buy a short-term rental, Savage told Business Insider.

Investors need to think beyond the purchase price and location to operations, maintenance, guest communication, hospitality, marketing, photography, and listing descriptions.

Savage started buying short-term rentals in South Carolina in 2017.

At the time, he said, simply leaving guests a nice note and a bottle of wine could be enough to earn five-star reviews.

Today, with stiffer competition, that's no longer enough.

Savage, who quit his day job as a firefighter to invest full time and grow SynergyStays , a revenue-management business for short-term-rental owners, shares three strategies he uses to help properties perform better.