Can I sell my Guatapé Airbnb as a running business with bookings included?

You can sell a Guatapé Airbnb property with 12 months of trailing performance disclosed to the buyer, but you generally cannot transfer the Airbnb account, reviews, or booking calendar itself: those belong to whoever created the host account, not to the new owner.

Two very different things buyers mean by "buying the business"

Some buyers mean simply "I want a property with proven rental performance," which is straightforward: you disclose trailing revenue and occupancy, and the sale is a normal real estate transaction with strong supporting data. Others mean something closer to "I want to acquire the actual operating business, including its existing reviews and future bookings already on the calendar," which is legally and practically more complicated, because the reviews and account history are tied to the host identity, not the property.

What transfers cleanly	What does not transfer cleanly
The physical property and its title	The Airbnb host account and its accumulated reviews
Furniture and inventory, if included in the sale	The existing booking calendar and guest history tied to that account
Trailing financial performance, disclosed as documentation	The platform-level "Superhost" status or ranking tied to the seller's account
A newly created RNT registration in the buyer's name	The seller's existing RNT, which is tied to the current operator, not the property

General platform-terms and Colombian tourism-registration practice, current as of 2026. Verify current Airbnb policy directly, since platform terms are periodically updated.

The RNT problem specifically

The Registro Nacional de Turismo is tied to the operator, not automatically to the physical property. A buyer taking over a short-term rental generally needs to register their own RNT before operating legally as a tourist accommodation, even if the previous owner had one in good standing. Structuring the deal so the buyer understands this upfront, rather than assuming an existing RNT simply carries over, avoids a compliance gap in the first weeks of new ownership.

Why transferring guest reviews is not really possible

Reviews and account history belong to whoever created and operates the Airbnb host account, not to the property itself. Handing over login credentials to a buyer, even informally, is not something the platform's terms support, and doing so risks the account being flagged or suspended, which would erase the exact reviews and ranking the buyer was hoping to acquire. A cleaner approach is for the buyer to launch a new listing and rebuild reviews from scratch, using the seller's disclosed trailing performance as evidence of the property's earning potential rather than a transferable asset itself.

How to value the trailing performance honestly

No public benchmark exists for a standard revenue multiple on short-term rental businesses in this specific market, so resist quoting one as though it were established fact. Instead, share 12 months of documented revenue and occupancy data transparently with a serious buyer, and let the underlying real estate value, anchored to the índice's property-type medians, carry the base price, with disclosed rental performance supporting rather than replacing that base.

Structuring the sale correctly

If the property and its short-term rental activity are held inside a registered company (an SAS, for example), a share sale of that entity is a genuinely different legal transaction than a straightforward property sale, and it may carry over certain registrations differently. This distinction matters enough that it is worth a specific conversation with a Colombian corporate lawyer before assuming either structure applies by default; do not assume a share sale automatically transfers the RNT or the Airbnb account either, without confirming both specifically.

Common mistakes sellers make marketing an "Airbnb business for sale"

The most common mistake is advertising the sale as including "bookings and reviews," implying a transfer that platform terms do not actually support. A second is quoting an invented revenue multiple as though a standard valuation benchmark existed for this market. A third is failing to mention the RNT re-registration requirement, which surprises a first-time short-term rental buyer after closing rather than before.

Setting buyer expectations correctly from the first conversation

Being upfront early, ideally in the listing description itself, that the sale conveys the property and disclosed performance data rather than the account and its history, prevents a frustrating renegotiation late in the process when the buyer eventually learns what does and does not transfer. Buyers who understand this from the start still find real value in documented trailing performance; they simply price that value correctly instead of assuming a plug-and-play acquisition.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sell my Guatapé property with the Airbnb bookings included?

Not the account or bookings themselves. You can sell the property and disclose trailing performance, but the buyer generally needs their own new listing and RNT.

Does the RNT transfer automatically to the new owner?

No. The RNT is tied to the operator, not the property, so the buyer typically needs to register their own before operating legally.

Can I hand over my Airbnb login to the buyer instead?

This is not supported by platform terms and risks the account being flagged or suspended, erasing the reviews the buyer was hoping to acquire.

Is there a standard revenue multiple for valuing an Airbnb business here?

No public benchmark exists for this specific market. Share documented trailing performance instead of quoting an invented multiple.

Does selling through a company (SAS) change any of this?

Potentially, since a share sale is legally different from a property sale, but do not assume it automatically transfers the RNT or Airbnb account without confirming with a corporate lawyer.

What should I actually disclose to a serious buyer?

Twelve months of documented revenue and occupancy data, honestly presented, alongside the underlying real estate value.

Should I mention the account limitation in my listing itself?

Yes, ideally upfront. Buyers who understand what does and does not transfer from the start still value documented performance; they just price it correctly instead of expecting a plug-and-play handover.

Next step

Before marketing your property as an "Airbnb business for sale," confirm what genuinely transfers and disclose trailing performance honestly rather than implying a full account handover. Review the lakefront property pricing guide if the underlying real estate is shoreline.

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