So you wanna become an Airbnb host? Does the thought make you a little overwhelmed? Well, we went about putting our starter home up as a short term rental in the most chaotic way possible so you don't have to!
What is Airbnb?
Airbnb is a platform where hosts can list their property as a short term rental to those traveling to their city. While Airbnb gets a lot of hate these days, consider some reasons why renting a house could be better than a hotel:
You have the whole place to yourself! Typically, you have the whole house, apartment, or space to yourself unless otherwise stated. This is great for those of us who are light sleepers and can't handle kids running through hotel halls at midnight.
Bring your pets! Most hotels have strict rules regarding pets and few places to let your furry friend relieve themselves. If you book a pet friendly Airbnb, however, your pet will feel like they're on vacation too! Having a home to roam around in will help them feel less stressed; leaving you to focus on enjoying your travels!
Bigger groups can be together Let's break down my Airbnb for example: for $163 a night during the summer, you get the WHOLE house, a cute backyard private garden, and accommodations for TEN PEOPLE! If you're traveling with say two other couples or families, it comes out to roughly $54 per family per night. You can't stay at a hotel for that cheap! AND you get a huge kitchen to cook your own meals in (which can save you some $$$ on the trip as well) and you all get to hang out together!
Why would anyone travel to my city?
Regardless of what your city has to offer, everyone has family and friends! We have guests come and stay for weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, funerals; you name it! So if you're skeptical on who would want to stay at your property and for what reasons, keep in mind, not everyone visits a city for "vacation".
How do I start Airbnb-ing my home?
This is the million dollar question! You've got your property, you have this grand vision... now what? Here are some important things to keep in mind:
Figure out the market in your area
Is there a lot of competition in your city?
Are your neighbors feeling the pressure of the housing crisis?
Is your city looking to crack down on short term rentals in the near future?
Will your property stand out and offer reasonable accommodations to traveling families?
Why are you looking to set up an Airbnb?
Answering these questions will help gauge your own expectations for this endeavor, as well as the ethics of wether you should set up your home as an Airbnb.
Remember, just because you can, doesn't mean you should (Thank you to Dennis my graphic design teacher for that line).
2. Determine where you will live
Are you renting out a room, an apartment, or the whole property to your guests?
If they get full access, where are you going to live?
Do you have your new accommodations in place already?
Have you moved out?
These are some of the most important questions that will help you figure out what will get you from point A (thinking about Airbnb-ing) to point B (welcoming your firsts guests).
Story time:
For our house, we were living in it and fixing it up for a while before it became apparent that we couldn't afford to live in our own home (boo inflation). So, after some careful planning and approval from my in-laws, we BUILT an apartment in their duplex's attic! Yeah. It was crazy.
During that time, we had the opportunity to move OUT of our house and into one of the duplex apartments. It was grandma's at the time, hence the need to build a whole new space, but she went into the nursing home for a while and offered us her place to stay. This allowed us to get out of our future rental space and leave behind what would be used for the guests.
That made it so much easier to see what we needed to purchase, clean, and keep stocked. I highly recommend moving out of the space; even if its just for your own sanity.
3. Do it!
It all comes down to a leap of faith. Take the pics, clean it out, write the descriptions: try it! This doesn't have to be a permanent endeavor, but you'll never know if it works for you unless you try!
Why Airbnb?
Why can't I just rent out my house monthly? You can! It's your space! But I've found that the law doesn't protect landlords like it protects the renters; and all it takes is one bad tenant to sink your hopes and dreams.
Here's why I like short term rentals:
More money. Duh.
Shorter stays=less damage can be done
REVIEWS!!!!
Yeah, that's right. GUESTS HAVE A REPUTATION. You can see their reviews before you accept their booking, meaning, if you think someone is sketchy and might not follow your house rules, you can deny them.
This has come in handy SO MUCH with our own property. The only time we had questionable guests (who again, weren't there long enough to damage anything), they were new to Airbnb and had no reviews. Needless to say, my honest experience with them likely will bar them from being able to book in the future.
So, as a host, look out for other hosts and be tactful yet honest!
I will be posting more helpful tips and tricks to help future Airbnb hosts get up and running with hopefully minimal headaches so stay tuned and happy hosting!
Tldr: Airbnb provides affordable options for families traveling together, and when done right, can provide sustainable income to those in a position to list their properties.
Keep an eye out for part two here I break down a shopping list of essentials for your rental property!
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