If you’re serious about buying (or selling) a short-term rental, picking the right real estate agent is almost as important as picking the right property.
Traditional agents are great at school districts and comps. They’re usually terrible at:
- Reading Airbnb revenue data
- Understanding local STR ordinances
- Structuring deals around DSCR lending and bonus depreciation
That’s why platforms like Chalet and Rabbu exist: they connect investors with short-term rental (STR)–specialized agents instead of generalists. But they don’t work the same way, and they don’t optimize for the same things.
This piece focuses on one question:
For finding an Airbnb-friendly real estate agent / STR realtor, is Chalet or Rabbu the better fit?
TL;DR: Chalet vs Rabbu for STR Agents
Here’s the short version before we go deep.
| Question | Chalet | Rabbu |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | STR investor OS: free analytics + calculators + agent & lender matching | Airbnb marketplace: buy/sell/finance STRs, plus agents & lenders |
| How agents get on the platform | Curated/vetted STR agents; focus on investors & STR expertise (own/manage STRs, read STR data, know regs) (Chalet) | Agents create profiles; Rabbu markets “exclusive STR leads” and a “preferred agent” status with fees (Rabbu) |
| What the investor actually does | Use free Airbnb analytics + calculator, then request a no-cost intro to an STR realtor in chosen markets (Chalet) | Browse STR marketplace, run underwriting on deals, then use Find an Agent to connect with STR agents in that market (Rabbu) |
| How the platform makes money on agents | Chalet earns referral fees after successful transactions; no pay-to-play placements for investors (from your own business model) | Rabbu charges agents for STR leads and for “preferred agent” status (e.g. pay-per-lead) (Rabbu) |
| Coverage | STR agents in all 50 states / 200+ markets; 1M+ STRs analyzed; $100M+ in STR investor volume (Chalet) | Nationwide network of STR agents and lenders; specific “verified” STR agent profiles in many markets (Rabbu) |
| Biggest strength | STR-first matchmaking + integrated data (analytics, calculator, regulation content, for-sale STRs) feeding into the agent intro (Chalet) | Strong marketplace + underwriting experience: search STR deals, see projections, then connect with agents and lenders (Rabbu) |
Simple framing:
- If your main goal is: “Get me the right STR realtor in the markets I care about,”
→ Chalet is the better fit. - If your main goal is: “I want a full deal marketplace with underwriting tools where agents are one part of the journey,”
→ Rabbu is often a good complement.
The rest of this article explains why.
How Each Platform Works (From an Investor’s POV)
What Chalet Is Optimized For
Chalet positions itself as an all-in-one STR investor platform:
- Free Airbnb analytics & calculators across 100+ markets (Chalet)
- Market-level dashboards and regulation guides
- MLS-backed “Airbnbs for sale” discovery
- And critically: a vetted network of Airbnb-savvy real estate agents and lenders in all 50 states (Chalet)
On the Real Estate Agents page, Chalet is very explicit about what its STR agents look like:
- They usually own or manage STRs themselves
- They can interpret STR metrics (ADR, occupancy, gross revenue, cap rate) and build data-backed projections
- They understand local ordinances, licensing, and tax angles like cost segregation and bonus depreciation (Chalet)
Chalet’s flow is:
- You use Chalet’s calculator / analytics to explore markets or a specific address. (Chalet)
- When you’re serious, you submit a quick form with your price point + target markets. (Chalet)
- Chalet matches you (at no cost) with an STR-savvy agent in that market.
- Behind the scenes, Chalet earns a referral fee when a deal closes, not by charging you or selling positions on a directory (from your own model, plus descriptions like “100% free” to investors). (Trustpilot)
So Chalet is very clearly optimized for:
“You’re an STR investor. We’ll give you the data and introduce you to the right agent & lender to execute this strategy.”
What Rabbu Is Optimized For
Rabbu calls itself “the Airbnb marketplace for investors to buy, sell, analyze and finance profitable short-term rentals—plus connect with trusted agents and lenders.” (Rabbu)
Key Rabbu elements:
- STR marketplace: See active short-term rentals for sale, including turnkey and conversion opportunities with performance data. (Rabbu)
- Analytics & underwriting: Revenue projections, verified income where available, plus other deal-level metrics. (Rabbu)
- Agent & lender connections:
On the investor side, Rabbu’s workflow typically looks like:
- Create a free profile and browse deals or markets. (Rabbu)
- Use Rabbu’s underwriting tools to evaluate cash flow and projections. (Rabbu)
- Use Find an Agent to connect with STR-specialized agents in the market you’re targeting. (Rabbu)
- Optionally connect with Rabbu partner lenders using their “Find a Lender” flow. (Rabbu)
On the agent side, Rabbu is very transparent that it’s a paid lead platform:
- Agents can create a free profile, but:
- There is a fee to become a preferred agent
- Rabbu markets $150/lead and ~7% close rates as a compelling ROI for agents (Rabbu)
So Rabbu is optimized for:
“Come into our marketplace, analyze deals, then use our network of agents and lenders to transact.”
The core difference is: Rabbu is marketplace-first, Chalet is agent-match-first.
Head-to-Head: Which Is Better for Finding an STR Realtor?
Let’s compare Chalet vs Rabbu on the things that matter when you’re picking an Airbnb-savvy real estate agent.
1. How Agents Are Selected and Incentives
Rabbu
- Rabbu is very open that they are a lead-gen platform for agents and lenders.
- Agents can create a profile, and to become “preferred” (and access more/higher quality leads), they pay Rabbu—either for leads, or via advertising/lead packages. (Rabbu)
This is not inherently bad; many good agents pay for leads. But it does mean:
- Your visibility in Rabbu’s ecosystem is partly a function of how much an agent is willing to pay for leads, not just how good they are.
- The platform’s revenue is tightly tied to volume of leads sold.
Chalet
- Chalet does not sell exposure spots or charge you as an investor. It earns when it sends a qualified STR buyer/seller who ends up closing with a partner agent (classic referral model; informed by your own biz model and external descriptions). (Trustpilot)
- Agents are described as a vetted network, not an open directory—selection is curated, with emphasis on STR track record (owning/managing STRs, etc.). (Chalet)
Why this matters
If your primary question is:
“Is this agent here because they’re the best fit for STR investors, or because they’re willing to pay the most for leads?”
…then Chalet’s model is more cleanly aligned with the investor’s interests. Rabbu still cares about lead quality (otherwise agents churn), but the economic engine is leads sold.
Net:
- If you’re very sensitive to pay-to-play dynamics, Chalet has the edge.
- If you’re comfortable that “good agents often pay for good leads,” Rabbu is still a valid path—but its incentives are different.
2. STR Expertise & Training
Rabbu
- Rabbu publishes excellent education for investors and agents around STR-specific topics. Their guide on finding STR agents spells out what separates an STR specialist from a traditional realtor and gives a list of questions to ask (e.g. do they own STRs, how they underwrite, how they treat regulations). (Rabbu)
- Agents on Rabbu are positioned as STR-focused, often showcased via individual agent profiles that highlight STR expertise, ratings, and endorsements. (Rabbu)
Chalet
- Chalet’s STR agents are explicitly framed as Airbnb-first:
- They typically own/manage STRs themselves.
- They’re trained (or at minimum selected) for data literacy: ADR, occupancy, gross revenue, cap rate, yield, etc.
- They understand regulations and can connect you to CPAs, cost-seg pros, lenders, and property managers. (Chalet)
- Chalet’s entire product surface (free analytics + calculator + investor guides) is designed to feed data into the agent conversation, which nudges the network toward more analytical behavior. (Chalet)
Both platforms clearly understand what an STR agent should be. The practical difference is how deeply that standard is baked into the agents you meet and the process you go through.
Net:
- Rabbu gives you access to agents who work closely with its marketplace and underwriting tools.
- Chalet gives you agents selected and presented primarily as STR specialists, with your calculators and dashboards as a shared context.
