Why Start an AirBNB?
Everyone would like to make some extra money, isn’t that true? This is what has led to a recent surge in AirBNB locations, where homeowners are trying to make a profit by either renting out their home or even buying an additional home to rent out full-time. While this might seem as if it could be free money, it’s important to sit down and consider what the cost will be. Sometimes the effort and cost involved could be overwhelming to a host that doesn’t have a clear enough grasp of everything that is involved in the process.
In this article, we are going to highlight both the good and the bad of starting up an AirBNB. We hope that it will help you to make a wise decision if you are considering this.
Consider Potential Damage
One of the most common issues that you will face as an AirBNB host is damage to your home. It’s important to remember that this is going to be a very different experience from having friends staying in your home. You might end up with guests that have little to no concern for your possessions. This is why there’s an advantage to having a separate building that you use as an AirBNB and not your residence. If you have items of sentimental value in your home, you might want to remove those before renting the place out. There is protection under AirBNB’s Host Guarantee program, but that wouldn’t replace photos or other personal items that could be damaged or lost.
Decorate Your AirBNB For Success
The décor for your AirBNB property is also something that requires advance planning. Naturally, you don’t want to spend a ton of money on furnishing a property that is going to be rented out on a regular basis, but at the same time, you want your clients to feel at home and comfortable during their stay, so some investment is going to be necessary. While a lot of your stuff could come from second-hand stores and auctions, you should not go cheap on the bed, linens, and towels. These are things that a client will notice right away, and if they don’t get a good night’s rest in your AirBNB, they will surely mention that in their review. Unfortunately, the bad is a lot more likely to make it into a review than the good, so you should make sure that you provide as good of an experience as possible for your clients since reviews can make or break an AirBNB.
Making a Profit
When it comes to the profitability of your AirBNB, there are many factors that weigh in. What you can ask will depend on things such as the location of the property, what you offer in the way of luxury amenities, how large your property is, as well as many other considerations. Getting the right price set is very important, since setting it too high could deter potential clients while setting it too low could make it difficult to profit from the endeavor. Before you decide to start your own AirBNB, it could be a good idea to look at similar properties in the area to get a gauge of what the going rate is for rentals. You don’t want to overcharge since that could turn away potential clients, but at the same time, setting the price too low could make it difficult to make a profit, or at least not make it worth the work involved.
Don’t Forget the Hidden Costs
There are some costs that you might not think of when you first decide to get into the AirBNB business that can have an effect on your bottom line as well. For example, you will need to have the property cleaned in between guests. Do you pay someone to do that for you, or do you take time out of your schedule to do it yourself? If the property is close and you have the time and energy to do it yourself, it could save you a lot of money compared to when you hire a professional cleaner, but then again, it will take several hours out of your day every week if you have a steady stream of guests.
Set the Rules… But Not Too Many
It’s also important to write up the house rules for your guests early on. While there might be some items that you don’t think of until after you have been running the AirBNB for a while, having an idea of what you will expect of your guests can help both you and them to find a better fit. Some rules could turn off a potential guest, however, so you should give it some serious thought.
Do you want pets in your home? Do you want to avoid bothering neighbors with loud noises late at night? What cleaning expectations will you have of your guests? Is smoking allowed in the home? All these things need to be outlined in your rules, but try to avoid making your house rules too long and complicated since they might just be ignored altogether instead. There are some templates available online that could help you to create your own. Many have found that pictograms prove useful to make the rules a little easier to digest.
Be the Guest at Your Own AirBNB
A good way to figure out how the experience for a guest in your AirBNB will be is by pretending to be a guest yourself. Go through the whole process from check-in until check-out. Look for things that a guest might wish for that aren’t available. See if anything is confusing. Even better, if you have friends that you can use as guinea pigs, that will give you an outside opinion. It’s especially helpful if your friends feel free to speak their minds, not holding back something that might hurt your feelings.
Make Your AirBNB Smarter
A great upgrade to your AirBNB for your convenience is adding some smart home elements. You can set up a lock to have a unique passcode that is only valid for the time of a booking. That can save you from the hassle of dealing with lost keys or visitors that are locked out. You can also make it very simple for guests to control everything from the climate control to the lights from a single interface.
Conclusion
Running an AirBNB out of a property you own can be both profitable and rewarding – if done right. If not done right, it can be expensive and frustrating. Make sure that you sit down first and figure out as much as you can before you actually take the plunge. Figure out if you have the personality to deal with the occasional irate client that is impossible to please. Even though you are in the right, a situation like that which isn’t handled correctly could land you with unfavorable reviews that stick with you.
You can find many resources for an aspiring AirBNB host at https://www.airbnb.com/host/homes. Of course, they are not the only place where you can go to get started, but they do have the name recognition going for them. We are not affiliated with AirBNB.
If you are looking for more interesting articles, you can check out our articles on Landscaping that Pays Off and Your Neighborhood – An Important Part of Your Home.
