It's no surprise many of DEN's customers end up leveraging their builds as STRs. Airbnb and VRBO guests love a premium experience.

Don't just take our word for it; DEN builds are Guest Favorites in multiple red-hot markets - including Red River Gorge, KY, Catskill, NY, and more. In the above photo, the #1, #2, #3 & #4 listings are DEN builds.

At the end of the day, basic math always wins.

Rental operators need to understand not only what they stand to make from a capital expenditure towards a build - they need to know what that capital expenditure will be.

With DEN's Cost Estimator and extensively detailed plans (including material lists), you can get bids and have a clear idea of how much your build will cost from the outset.

All STR operators know that wear & tear, and resultant downtime for fixes, means one thing; lost revenue. DEN designs are engineered to last.

Just take it from our many customers; they've conducted blower door tests, among many others, and passed with flying colors.

In June 2025, Ted & Ben's 3 DENs boasted a $315 average daily rate. How does that stack up to their local competition? ADRs in the rest of Ellijay are $251 - that means the Atlas STRS are outperforming the local market by 25%.

The Atlas properties have an averaged 80% occupancy rate. Sounds impressive on it's own, but let's stack it against the market it's in; the Airbnbs of Ellijay, Georgia are averaging a 47% occupancy rate for June 2025. That means the Atlas STRS are outperforming the local Ellijay market by 70%.

A $315 ADR with an 80% occupancy rate for the month of June comes out to roughly $7,560 for the month.

And let's keep in mind, this is revenue, not a dubious amount that then gets hit with Airbnb fees.

Let's be conservative, view June as an above average month, and assume a monthly profit of $6,000. That's $72,000/year in profit.

What would you do with $70K+/year?

With hundreds of reviews across their 3 rentals, Ted & Ben have garnered a flawless 5 star review for their Atlas Hideaway. They've also leveraged Instagram to market their places, gaining thousands of followers in the process. Now look - of course we can't take all the credit here - clearly these guys know what they're doing, and are repeatably giving their guests an incredible experience. Still, those Modern Loft Barnhouse plans can't hurt.

As of this point in June 2025, Dakota nabs $350/night for the Pedernales A-Frame. What a haul. Compared to the local Airbnb market, which averages $257/night, that's more than a 36% increase. Oh, how it must feel to outperform your peers on average by close to 40%.

So far in June 2025, Pedernales A-Frame boasts an occupancy rate of 63%. Not too shabby, eh? When compared to the local Fredericksburg, TX Airbnb occupancy rate of 34%, though, it really starts to shine. That's an overperformance of 85%.

In the calendar year of 2024, Pedernales A-Frame did $124,000 in revenue through Airbnb.

The number speaks for itself - in 2024, that'd put you in the top 13% of earners in America.

All from what is pretty darn close to passive income.

In the STR market, good design unlocks massive potential - just put yourself in your guest's shoes: would you want to stay in a DEN?

Pedernales A-Frame has hosted many guests. To be precise, Dakota's hosted 105 guests. That 4.92 rating is hard earned - tried and true across many stays, and almost 2 years. Like Ted & Ben (and many DEN customers), Dakota has amassed a large following on various channels - namely, on Instagram.

Hard work hosting + a beautiful house make it a bit of an easier journey.

Ben & Ted didn't just stumble into an outperforming STR business - they leveraged DEN's designs, built multiple designs, and run a tight ship. Listen to our podcast with them to see how it all came together.

Hear more about how Dakota's DEN came together, and how he built an STR business that outperforms the local market in both occupancy and average daily rates.

The Portera brothers pivoted from defense contracting, with the intent to build a (relatively) passive income generator for themselves. Flashfoward a year, and they operate 3 beautiful, luxury STRs that command above market rates.