For high-income W-2 earners

Own a hotel room. Offset your W-2 income.

Normal rental property can't lower the tax on your paycheck — those losses sit unused against wage income. A hotel room is different. When you stay involved as the owner, the depreciation on your room may offset your W-2 wages. Your CPA makes that call.

At closing, you receive a recorded deed to one specific guest room unit. It is a hotel room unit, not a home. The hotel handles guests, cleaning, and repairs. About 3 hours a week of real owner work. Our app tells you what to do, and you approve the records your CPA needs.

See how it works · Book a 30-minute call · Try the owner app →

Tax results depend on your facts. Your CPA makes the final call on your return.

STR Shield overview

STR Shield overview

How it works

1. 1. Buy a room

   At closing, you receive a recorded deed to one specific guest room unit. Think of it like buying a condo — a hotel room unit, not a home. The hotel takes care of the guests.

2. 2. Write it off faster

   A cost segregation study — a review that sorts the room into parts that wear out faster — moves a big chunk of the value into short-life categories, so much of it may be deducted in year one instead of over 39 years. Your CPA decides what you can use.

3. 3. About 3 hours a week of real owner work.

   Plan on about 3 hours a week of real owner work — roughly 150 hours a year. The IRS test requires more than 100 qualifying hours and more than any other single person who works on your room. Your CPA decides whether you meet it. Share your room's discount code and booking link, decide discount and promotion changes for your room, and keep an eye on your room's vendors. A single hotel operator holds a Unit License from every owner. The app hands you a short task list each week.

4. 4. Hand your CPA the file

   Every hour you confirm is logged with a date and a description. At tax time, download a ready-made package for your CPA.

How much work is it, really?

Plan on about 3 hours a week of real owner work — roughly 150 hours a year. The IRS test requires more than 100 qualifying hours and more than any other single person who works on your room. Your CPA decides whether you meet it.

A typical week:

• Share your room's discount code with people or groups planning a trip — ~20 min
• Write or customize a post promoting your room's code (the app can draft a starting point) — ~30 min
• Review your room's bookings and decide whether to change your discount — ~20 min
• Check in with your room's vendor on cleaning or maintenance issues — ~20 min
• Follow up on direct-booking leads from your code or link — ~30 min

You do the work. The app does the planning, the reminders, and the paperwork. Nothing is logged until you confirm it.

See the owner app →

What you own

• At closing, you receive a recorded deed to one specific guest room unit. One owner per room.
• The income from your room stays with your room. It is not pooled with other owners.
• It's a business asset, operated as a hotel room year-round. Any owner-use rights are limited and governed by the Declaration.

Who runs the hotel

A single hotel operator holds a Unit License from every owner. The hotel is currently operated as a Choice Hotels franchise. The hotel has 24/7 on-site staff, professionally overseen. You hire your own vendors and pay them a fixed fee. You set your own discount code off the hotel's base rate. You're the owner, not the night manager. The hotel is operated by Paladin Equity Management LLC dba Paladin Hotels, an affiliate of the sponsor, under a Unit License from each owner. The operator's role, fees, and conflicts of interest are described in the offering documents.

Normal rental vs. an STR Shield hotel room

Common questions

1. Do I need to be a real estate professional?

   No. This structure is designed around a different rule that applies to short-stay properties, and it does not depend on real estate professional status. Whether it applies to you depends on facts your CPA must review each year, including average guest stay and your own qualifying hours.

2. How much time does it really take?

   Plan on about 3 hours a week of real owner work — roughly 150 hours a year. The IRS test requires more than 100 qualifying hours and more than any other single person who works on your room. Your CPA decides whether you meet it. Nothing is logged until you confirm it.

3. Can the app just log hours for me?

   No. The app suggests entries based on what you actually did in it, and you confirm each one. Reading and classes do not count. Association board service and voting are not logged as qualifying hours. Your CPA uses the file you approved.

4. I live in California (or New York). Does this still work?

   The federal analysis is the same shape. California doesn't allow the big first-year bonus write-off on your state return, and New York limits it, so your state result is different. The CPA page describes that difference.

5. What happens when I sell?

   Depreciation you took is generally "recaptured" as taxable income when you sell. Your CPA plans for this. Many owners hold long-term or use the deductions during their peak-earning years.

6. Do I need my own CPA?

   Yes. We built a page just for them with the technical details and the records package. Open the CPA page →

7. Is my income from the room mine alone?

   Yes. Your room's income stays with your room. It is not pooled.

Send this to your CPA

All the tax mechanics, citations, and a sample of the records package live on our CPA page. It's written for them, not you.

Open the CPA page →

See how it works, then talk it through

Read how it works, try the owner app, and book a call when you're ready.

See how it works · Book a 30-minute call · Try the owner app →