UH alumna launches Airbnb business, coaches other minority women on how to make money

HOUSTON – At just 25 years old, University of Houston graduate Kierra Castleberry is making a name for herself in the Airbnb business in Houston and at the same time, making huge money by offering more than 10 properties on the Airbnb vacation rental sight.

”I’m not bragging but I really do know how to position a property, how to make it look nice, how to attract people to come to the property and how to set the amount of money you want to make from it. It’s been a lot of fun and I want to help other people do the same thing,” Castleberry said.

She was originally an accounting major who worked in corporate America, but now, Castleberry is poised to make over $350,000 this year by renting out properties on Airbnb.

Relying on her keen sense of interior decorative style and marketing savvy, Castleberry is “paying her success forward” by coaching other women of color on how to make it in this short-term rental arena.

“I have worked with a little over 1,700 women over the past two years. As a Black woman, you don’t always get treated right, and I kind of wanted to give my clients a way out of corporate America and a chance to really make great money on their own,” Castleberry said.

One of those women, Marsha Evans, a former psychologist who quit her job during the pandemic, heard about Castleberry’s success and coaching on social media.

“I mean, Kierra taught me everything. How to market my properties, how to make them look just right, how to maintain them, how to offer them at the right price,” Evans said.

For Castleberry, it’s not just about making money -- It’s about sharing her knowledge of what she has learned and creating long-term wealth.

“The ultimate goal is to own your own property so you can create and make generational wealth for your family and pass that property down to the people you love. Who wouldn’t want that,” Castleberry said.


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Emmy-winning investigative reporter, insanely competitive tennis player, skier, weightlifter, crazy rock & roll drummer (John Bonham is my hero). Husband to Veronica and loving cat father to Bella and Meemo.