Remember that airbnb unit we wanted to start?

[milovany]

We spent the last month outfitting it (I'm scared to add up the receipts!) and we opened for business tonight. We already have the entire month of September booked (except for four days that we chose to take off for family activities) as well as more than a week's plus worth of nights in October.  Wowza!

 

Edited to save a kitten's life. 

Edited again because I almost killed another one in my attempt to save the first one.  Here's a new attempt to save both. 

[klmama]

I hope it goes well for you!  My cousin owns an airbnb rental, and she says it's been a great experience so far.  She did say there was a learning curve, and they do have to pay some kind of room tax to the city (and so they have to include that fee in the rental charges). 

[happi duck]

Yay!

[Lady Florida.]

Good luck to you! I hope it goes well.

 

And thank you for saving the kittens. ;)

[Rachel]

Good luck! Were you previously renting out the property? I'm curious to hear how it works out.

[milovany]

Good luck! Were you previously renting out the property? I'm curious to hear how it works out.

 

Yes, it's been a rental in the past and it turned over three times in a year (even though people are asked to sign a one year lease).  I got tired of advertising, replying to emails (we get a lot of response when we advertise because the unit is very close to a state university), processing applications and answering questions, going through the lease signing process over, collecting rent and hoping the check clears, etc. over and over and over again. The main part of the house is still a rental but when the studio became available yet again recently, we decided to go for it. 

 

We only have to rent it as an Airbnb eight nights a month to make the same amount as the monthly rent (and eventually that will go down to about six when we raise our introductory rate a bit), plus it's feeding my active entrepreneurial side -- win/win! ;) We can employ the kids to help us clean and maintain it and they can have a fun place to spend time with friends once in awhile, too. We're hoping to be able to keep it going, paying for itself, through to next spring/summer so we can see how the more traditional travel months go.  Right now, we're covered through December. 

[TranquilMind]

We spent the last month outfitting it (I'm scared to add up the receipts!) and we opened for business tonight. We already have the entire month of September booked (except for four days that we chose to take off for family activities) as well as more than a week's plus worth of nights in October.  Wowza!

 

Edited to save a kitten's life. 

Edited again because I almost killed another one in my attempt to save the first one.  Here's a new attempt to save both. 

Wow!  Awesome.  Following stuff like this closely because I have a decision to make. I just renovated a nearby house (in a great area) beautifully and am trying to decide whether I should airbnb it for top dollar or move there and airbnb (or just sell) my own current house. 

 

Are you in a great tourist area?  Do you mind telling me what state or at least what region?  I'm not.  Not too much exciting going on here so not sure how I would do, but what you say is really encouraging, especially if you aren't in the most exciting area. 

[milovany]

TM, bringing this back up to see what you decided.  Yes, we're in a somewhat high tourist area.  Maybe not tourist but a lot of people travel here and especially through here because we're at a main crossroads for two interstates (one N/S and one E/W).  Did you decide to try airbnb?

 

I posted a couple of weeks ago about trying to decide what to do for the winter months.  We were solidly booked for both Sept. and Oct but then come Oct 30, I didn't have anything for Nov. 1 and beyond.  I did get a request, though, for a two-month stay and I couldn't decide if I wanted to do that or not.  I wanted to see what a regular winter might be like.  Someone in that thread said, "Maybe that is a regular winter -- a longer term tenant" and while I don't know fully about that, the same person that wanted the two months changed it to four weeks through November and into December so I decided to do that.  That makes a third month in a row that we're sold out.  Now I guess I'll see what Dec/Jan/Feb will be like.  We have had enough business now to technically see us through April which was the goal -- to get to the warmer spring months and summer to see how they go. 

 

At this point, we're thinking of reworking the house which is currently one small and one large rental unit.  It's the small one we're renting through airbnb.  It wouldn't be hard at all to reconfigure the set up so that the two units are more even (in other words, "giving" one of the bedrooms from the 2bd side to the smaller studio) so that each unit could take even up to six occupants rather than the two the small one is limited to right now.  (The renter in the other side isn't even using that large bedroom so we could use it and offer her a rent reduction in exchange). This would give more people coming to town options, while still allowing for the lower-priced two-person option, because right now no one is offering any airbnb accommodations for groups larger than two -- not in town, where our unit is, or out in the country where there are a handful of others. 

 

Anyway, much of this is to say that we've had a great experience so far and look forward to continuing.  Oh, and nicely enough, airbnb chose our state recently to be one where they're collecting and submitting taxes on our behalf so that's all out of our hands now. People staying would have had to pay these taxes at a hotel/motel anyway, so I don't think they're shocked by now having to pay them automatically. 

[Carrie12345]

I want to do this!  My neighbor is having a lot of success with his, but I'm still having a lot of trouble trying to convince myself to take the risk, let alone convince dh!  

[milovany]

What risks are you thinking of?  Yes, there are some, I suppose, but (for us) there were/are some with a regular rental, too.  Would it be in your own house?  If it's the people, you do have total say in who can rent from you.  You don't have to accept just any and everyone.  Reviews play a big part in that -- you can read their reviews and if they don't have any/many, or if they have negative ones, you can say "no thanks."  The way airbnb works, you don't want to do that too much because declining reservations can affect your own rating, but you do have that freedom. I have found it very fun to meet such a wide variety of people from all over.  We mostly get folks from the metropolitan areas two and three hours from here who are either passing through on their way elsewhere, or here for a brief getaway. But we have had some out-of-staters, too.

 

If it's possible damage, airbnb has a million dollar coverage policy for hosts. Love that.  I haven't had much contact with airbnb personnel but did have to call in once and they were overly helpful in solving the technical issue that I had with my listing page.  I really get the feeling based on several things that you're not flying solo; you have a great team of people behind you who are motivated not solely by profit but by the philosophy they work by -- "creating a sense of belonging around the world." 

 

If it's the money and whether or not it's worth it to outfit something, that will vary of course.  In our situation, we've earned the regular rent and then that again and more each month.  If it stays steady, it fast tracks our plan to pay off the house and we're even considering converting the whole house to airbnb and/or purchasing another small house in the neighborhood for these purposes. I had a lot of fun outfitting the unit and if we purchase something or convert the rest of the rental, I get to go shopping again.  :)

 

Now when we need to go somewhere as a family, I first look at airbnb.  I was considering a trip to Europe recently and it was fun to see what was available there.  For example, I saw a decent flat in St. Petersburg for $25/night!  It's not always the option that works -- but it's worth a shot.  On our next trip, I'm not finding anything cost effective because it's in one of those metropolitan areas where apparently you can charge more and charge for extras.  For example, some people charge quite a lot for cleaning (I don't get that, but that's me) or charge something like $25/guest over two people, and for a family our size that prices us right out from the get-go.  So on our next trip it's looking like Embassy Suites will have to do.  But we've stayed in a couple of different places over the last few months and had great experiences both times. 

 

I was thinking yesterday that there are sometimes threads here about how a homeschool mom can make a little bit of extra money working from home and this definitely can fit the bill. It obviously won't work for everyone, but if there's something that can be converted, it's an option to throw into the mix.  I don't know that I'd personally want to rent a room in my own home, but people certainly do that quite a bit and if there was a separate basement or garage conversion or what-have-you, maybe. 

 

P.S. My husband is cautious, too, so I totally get that.  The reason he was okay with giving it a go was because he saw how tired I was of trying to get the studio rented full time over and over (the main part of the house doesn't have the same issue) and also because I'd socked away a small bit of a savings cushion that brought some peace of mind.  I blew that cushion in outfitting the place, but have already replaced it in less than three months.  He's sold now. 

 

By the way, if you or anyone is thinking of starting an airbnb unit, message me privately and I'll send you a referral link from which you (and I) can get some airbnb credit.  That's so not why I made these posts, but remembered that option this morning.