What about Airbnb'ing an unfinished house?

Samuel1104
Level 2
Austin, TX

What about Airbnb'ing an unfinished house?

So we need to go back to our Texas house and fix it up some, and are leaving the Tennessee house we bought to live in from April 3rd to June 10th.  We have Airbnb'd out the Texas house and become superhosts and have really enjoyed it.  The listing his here: 

 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/722969202732669534?adults=1&children=0&enable_m3_private_room=true&infa...

 

Now our Tennessee house is still a work in progress.  The basement is spacious, finished, has a bedroom and half bath with a washer/dryer + foosball table and lots of children's items.  But no shower or kitchen.  The upstairs has a kitchen we eventually want to remodel and is currently "OK" and well-stocked.  But the upstairs generally is unfinished (windows and doors lack trim, taped over, and baseboards not on yet) and the main bathroom is currently unaccessible and the master bathroom only has a shower.  Even that has a detail to it that's not "finished" but it works fine and we can keep it clean.

 

We're also very near an offroading trail system named Windrock which is VERY popular and have room for vehicles to park.  The house itself is 2440 sqft.  For guests like that, it's not "homey" but it's a great place to "crash" and we'd price it accordingly.

So the question: should we do this?  And how should we describe it when we list it?  Obviously pictures and descriptions that are honest, but has anyone done something like this?  We aren't desperate for money, to me it's kind of fun 

4 Replies 4
Mike-And-Jane0
Top Contributor
England, United Kingdom

@Samuel1104 My fear would be that in attracting a 'crash pad' style of guest you might find the house gets trashed/not properly looked after. Also, remembering back to when we were doing up our house and my brother disturbed a drain pipe to a yet to be finished shower and flooded our hallway. Now our place wasn't prepared for guests so I am sure this won't happen to you but hopefully you get my drift.

Deb216
Level 10
Newport, RI

@Samuel1104 

My opinion... NO.

My fear is you'll end up in Civil Court and having to renovate the property to the occupants' taste/approval.

 

Or a full refund claim and bad reviews AFTER they ck-out from guests who know how to use & abuse the system.

Rebecca
Community Manager
Community Manager
Suffolk Coastal District, United Kingdom

Hey @Samuel1104 👋

 

What did you decide to do in the end? 

 

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Kim4443
Level 1
Ørbæk, Denmark

Hey guys 🙂 

My house is unfinished, still working on the laundry room - the rest of the house is ready though. I've locked that room off and put it out there that there is no access to the room. Then because of the lack of washing machine etc. i've opted out of the longer reservations - for now. I am hoping that when the room is finished i'll get more of the long reservations.

Cheers