Braydon Ross
Founder, Ross Stays
I buy, build and operate places people stay. Short-term rentals, boutique hotels and the developments that hold them.
Known in the Airbnb
world as Mrairbnb.
As featured in
About
One condo in Calgary became a decade of hotels, resorts and homes across five countries. Now I would rather own one than run ten.
Braydon Ross is a Calgary-based hospitality entrepreneur and investor, and the founder of Ross Stays. He bought his first property at 21 and listed it on Airbnb at 22.
Over the decade that followed he listed thousands of five-star hotel rooms, resorts and homes on Airbnb across more than five countries, including Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and South Korea. In 2019 he connected a boutique hotel of more than seventy rooms in Edmonton directly onto Airbnb, among the earliest documented cases of a hotel doing so.
He taught thousands of operators between 2018 and 2019, then closed that chapter. He does not sell a course today. His focus is ownership: co-owning property in the city he started in, acquiring boutique hotels alongside partners, and working with developers who want short-term rentals designed into their projects from day one.
The record
A decade, counted.
- $1B+
- Listed on Airbnb
- Cumulative property value listed across five-plus countries over the last decade.
- $100M+
- In bookings
- Across our own properties, client properties and operators we trained.
- 150K+
- Audience
- Travellers, owners and investors who follow the work.
- 5+
- Countries
- Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, South Korea and more.
- Among the earliest to document connecting a hotel directly onto Airbnb: seventy rooms, Edmonton, 2019
- Operated thousands of hotel rooms and luxury homes across five-plus countries before COVID ended it
- Top 1% ranked Airbnb listings in Calgary, including Guest Favourite properties
- Featured on Forbes, Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance and national television
- Taught thousands of operators from 2018 to 2019. No course is sold today
- Acquires boutique hotels alongside partners today
Figures are reported by Ross Stays and are not independently verified. They describe experience, not a result anyone should expect.
The film
The whole story. 88 seconds.
Eleven chapters, from the first set of keys to the company I am building now. Sound on.
- 01I would rather own one
- 02One condo, a bigger idea
- 03A closed door, a new model
- 04New York, January 2019
- 05From one unit to a hotel
- 06Thousands of resort units
- 07The world stopped
- 08Build value, own a piece
- 09Performance was not enough
- 10Investors, hotels, developers
Timeline
Each chapter shaped the next.
- Chapter 012017
The first condo
Bought at 21, took possession at 22, live on Airbnb by July. In December, a second unit across the street became my first rental arbitrage deal, before I knew the model had a name.
- Chapter 022018
Teaching what I had done
Moved into management, then taught what I was learning. In January 2019 I was invited to New York to teach Airbnb to a much wider audience. The Mrairbnb name grew from there.
- Chapter 032019
A hotel, on Airbnb
Connected a friend's boutique hotel in Edmonton, more than seventy rooms, onto Airbnb through its property management system. It filled the gaps in a calendar the hotel already had.
- Chapter 042020
Resorts at scale
Years of negotiation and technical work connected Airbnb into luxury resort portfolios with thousands of units, including five-star properties across Mexico. The assets belonged to their owners. We brought the distribution.
- Chapter 052021
The drawing board
COVID stopped travel. I had operated at scale and owned almost none of it. One thought kept returning: I would rather own one unit than run ten for someone else.
- Chapter 06Seoul
Ten units, run from Calgary
Became the operating centre for a ten-unit building in South Korea without ever visiting. It reached the top 1% for its type, then closed when licensing rules changed. Structure matters more than performance.
- Chapter 072025
Back where it started
An investor funded a new property in Calgary. We furnished it, launched it and built it into one of the top ranked stays in the city.
- Chapter 08Now
Ownership, hotels, developers
Fewer clients, more meaningful work. Ross Stays builds portfolios with investors, acquires boutique hotels with partners and designs short-term rentals into new developments.
Proof, in Calgary
Tuxedo Park.
Bought with an investor, furnished, launched and operated by Ross Stays, in the city where it all started.
- Location
- Tuxedo Park, Calgary
- Launched
- 2025
- Scope
- Purchase, furnish, launch, operate
- Standing
- Top 1% in Calgary, Guest Favourite
I would rather own one than run ten.
Braydon Ross
What I do now
Three partners. One company.
Ross Stays is where the work happens. There is a whole team behind it, and every conversation starts with an advisor matched to your market.
Investors
For owners who want to buy, furnish and launch stays that perform, and keep what they earn. One fee, paid once. No cut of the gross.
02Boutique hotels
Independent hotels, typically under 60 keys, acquired from owner-operators who are ready to hand over the keys to someone who will look after them.
03Developers
For developers who want to retain units and earn from them. We help design short-term rentals into the project, then launch and operate them.
Heard, not just claimed
Long-form interviews.
Conversations where the whole method gets picked apart by someone who knows the industry. Nothing here is edited by me.
- 2024MrAirbnb Shares How To Build Wealth With AirbnbShawn Meaike43:48 (opens YouTube in a new tab)
- 2024How to Build a Million-Dollar Airbnb Empire with MrAirbnbMrTaxes, Episode 644:36 (opens YouTube in a new tab)
- 2023Building a Sustainable Airbnb BusinessWhere Should I Invest?35:53 (opens YouTube in a new tab)
- 2022How to Use Other People's Money in STRThe Investment Property Show28:32 (opens YouTube in a new tab)
- 2022How to Start an Airbnb Rental From ZeroActive Minds43:10 (opens YouTube in a new tab)
Questions
The short answers.
Who is Braydon Ross?
Braydon Ross is a Calgary-based hospitality entrepreneur and investor, and the founder of Ross Stays. He is known in the short-term rental world as Mrairbnb. He bought his first property at 21, listed it on Airbnb at 22, and has spent the decade since owning, operating and distributing short-term rentals, hotels and resorts across more than five countries.
Why is he called Mrairbnb?
Mrairbnb is the name Braydon's audience gave the work. It grew alongside the business from 2017 onward, as he documented what he was doing with his own properties and then with hotels and resorts. It is a personal brand. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Airbnb, Inc.
What is Ross Stays?
Ross Stays is the company Braydon founded. It works with three groups: real estate investors who want to own and build portfolios of stays, partners who want to acquire boutique hotels, typically under 60 keys, and developers who want to integrate short-term rentals into their projects. Details are at rosstays.com.
Does Braydon Ross sell a course?
No. He taught paid programmes from mid-2018 through the end of 2019 and closed that chapter. Beginner education is something he now shares freely. His time goes into ownership, boutique hotel acquisitions and developer partnerships.
Where is Braydon Ross based?
Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the city where he bought his first condo and where Ross Stays still owns and operates property today.
How do I contact Braydon Ross for media, speaking or a podcast?
Email hello@braydonross.com with the outlet or event, the topic and your timeline. For Ross Stays services, start at rosstays.com, where an advisor matched to your market takes it from there.