No doubt by now, you've heard of Airbnb. If you're unfamiliar with what it is, the quick explanation is that Airbnb is a website where people can rent bedrooms or houses to stay instead of staying at hotels.
As a guest, most of the time Airbnb listings will fit your situation better than staying at a hotel. If you're a large family needing a lot of space for a vacation, you can rent out a house instead of multiple hotel rooms, and have a more at-home feel. If you're a single traveler looking for a cheap place to stay that isn't a hostel, rent the guest room in someone's house. You could be vacationing, visiting family, going to an event, traveling for work, waiting for your new place to open up, or any other number of things, Airbnb is a good source for finding a good place to stay.
So why become an Airbnb host and let strangers stay in your place? A lot of people are making good money renting out some of their property, from a single guest room in their house, to listing many properties and managing them on Airbnb. Airbnb can be a good source of income, and a great source depending on where you are and what you have. Guest rooms, investment houses, apartments, mother-in-law basements, vacation homes, there's a lot you can list on Airbnb.
What can you do with the money? Some make a living off their Airbnb listings. Others fund their hobby projects. Some use it pay for vacations themselves. Pay off debts. Invest. Help with rent without having an actual full-time roommate. The income varies too much to give a general income statement, instead, check out Airbnb's guestimated earnings webpage for a basic ballpark here:
https://www.airbnb.com/host/homes
There are more advanced tools for looking up potential earnings, such as AirDNA and Mashvisor.
Another reason people host is the opportunity to meet people, especially if you're renting out a place in your home. If your kids have moved out and your house feels empty, it helps alleviate that feeling. If you like connecting with people and different cultures, Airbnb hosting is a great way to get a real mix of people. You also get the opportunity to help people in the local area. Overall being an Airbnb host is a great experience.
This guidebook is primarily written for those looking to list rooms in their house. Many of the same principals apply to hosting in general, but the main focus of this guidebook is for shared home guest rooms.
Continue to Part 1 → |
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