I wrote a post last week about our experience with hosting through Airbnb and I received some questions after that post, which I wanted to make sure I answered. So, here are some questions Tim and I have been frequently asked about our experience with Airbnb. I hope you find them helpful or insightful, especially if you’re considering hosting, yourself!
AIRBNB FAQs
What is Airbnb?
Airbnb is an online service that allows people to list their properties for short term rentals so that guests can stay there during their travels. A lot of people list rooms in their house and some people list their entire house or apartment – there’s quite a range of accommodations available! It’s an easy way to find rental houses/spaces in whatever city you may be traveling to. I have actually never used it to travel (only to host!) but I fully intend to now that we will have 2 kids and will need more space than a single hotel room can provide. Plus, Airbnb has some very affordable options. I just wish I would have known of this service sooner!
What space do you rent out to guests?
Tim & I rent a house (in Seattle) with a MIL suite in the basement. This apartment has a small living area, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom. The guests never actually come into the area of the house we live in, they enter their unit through a side door. We also have a keyless entry, so we set a code for each guest to use and then delete it when they leave. This makes us feel more secure so our house keys aren’t floating around. (And, since we get asked this often – our landlord knows we rent out a portion of the house and he’s completely okay with it, thank goodness! We asked him before we rented the property if we could sublet the first floor, which is part of the reason we ended up renting this particular house. I don’t recommend subletting a rental property without telling your landlord – that could end not-so-well for everyone involved.)
What did you need to do to get your space ready?
Originally we needed to furnish the apartment, which was a majority of our initial cost. Then of course we needed to clean the space and ensure that everything was working down there – like the heat and lightbulbs and just all of those minor details that we never checked since we didn’t use the space before we began renting it out. We put a lot of our extra kitchen utensils in the apartment, as well. Between guests we have a checklist of items that we do to get the space prepared, including cleaning – lots of cleaning! We also do the laundry (obviously) and I put some pastries and fruit on the table so guests can have a snack when they arrive. It takes us about an hour to turn the apartment over, plus the time it takes us to do laundry. It is only really challenging when guests only stay one day and when one guest checks out at noon and another one checks in at 3pm (which happens often).
What are common questions asked by guests?
We get asked about parking all of the time. We don’t have a reserved space for guests, and people are constantly asking if parking is easy to find in the area. We proactively created a list of restaurants and coffee shops in the area, even though we’ve never really been asked for recommendations. I think a lot of people use the internet to find things to do so we don’t get asked many ‘touristy’ questions.
How do you handle check-ins?
Ideally, we meet our guests when they check-in so we can show them the unit personally. Tim handles the check-ins because I feel weirdly vulnerable as a pregnant lady with a toddler meeting strangers and bringing them inside our house (even if it is a separate unit). However, when we have a newborn or if Tim isn’t available, the guests can let themselves in since we use a keyless entry system. If they were to do that, we would text them later to ask if we could meet them and answer any questions they might have.
How much money are you making?
We put about $1000 into the unit originally (for furniture and cleaning) and have already made that back and then some (just one month in!). And it isn’t even tourist season yet! We started off with super low pricing and I’m working on figuring out a competitive price that makes the most sense. Even with really low prices, we made over $1200 in February alone. We expect to make more than that in March, and it will almost be all profit.
How does Clara do around the guests with the extra people and noise?
Clara doesn’t notice the guests at all because she only meets them if we run into them coming in or leaving the house. However, Ozzie does bark when he hears people coming in and out the side door. But, to be fair, he barks at absolutely everything – leaves falling, squirrels, people on the sidewalk… so he actually isn’t as annoying as I thought he might be with people constantly coming in and out of the house. Once the guests are in their unit, we rarely hear them and Oz doesn’t react at all. We know they can hear him when he barks a lot, but I guess it’s very faint and it hasn’t bothered anyone so far (that we know of). The guests can also hear Clara when she cries – booooo our old vent system!
Obviously, we’re having a really good experience with hosting guests through Airbnb so far, and I hope that our positive experience (and cash flow!) continues for quite a while. It really is nice to have a side-project and an extra source of income – especially since rent in Seattle is so high and this makes it much more affordable for us.
Disclosure: The referral links I used in this post will get you $20 off Airbnb if you use them! Whether you sign-up as a traveler or as a host (and then actually take a trip!), I get some referral money, so I would love it if you used the links! And I hope you love your experience and tell me all about it!
Did I miss anything?! What other questions do you have?
