How Ansel Troy transformed two tiny 30K houses into a successful Airbnb business

The real estate industry is one of the best sectors for earning and building generational wealth. It is a sector that black entrepreneur, Ansel Troy, is quite familiar with and did not delay in becoming an industry player.

He is currently an Airbnb host and the owner of two tiny homes in Oakland, California. Before that, he had converted his garage into a studio for a long-term tenant, and getting the tiny house was his attempt to make a little extra income on Airbnb, he told Business Insider.

According to Troy, he decided to transition from long-term rentals to short-term rentals because he could make more money using Airbnb in spite of the interest people had in staying in tiny houses for long periods.

Troy started his journey with one tiny house he acquired for $33,000 to test the waters, and became an instant success, which encouraged him to buy another one for $35,000.

“It was a success, and business was booming — which I attribute to Airbnb’s algorithm. I don’t know anything about how it works, and Airbnb doesn’t share that data, but I’m able to look at my analytics and see how many people are viewing the space,” he told Insider.

“I saw that my views were higher than comparable listings. I think the popularity of tiny homes and the minimalist movement, along with my low pricing, helped attract Airbnb viewers.”

Although the facility was tiny, he tried various layout options. He subsequently renovated and designed the tiny house with inspiration from sites like Etsy, Instagram, and Pinterest, and spent some $9,700 on decor and renovations.

He has renamed one of his tiny houses The Black Art Gallary, which features minimalist architecture and an art gallery filled with black art, while the other tiny house, called The Tiny Heauxtel, is designed to be aesthetically pleasing with plenty of fake plants.

Since 2021, Airbnb has become Troy’s main source of revenue. He notes that his business has become successful due to his competitive pricing strategy and transparency, which helped attract Airbnb viewers.