Did you start hosting to earn extra money?

[Liv]

Hey everyone,

There are several reasons why people decide to give hosting a go. It could be due to a desire to get to know guests from around the world, a goal of working in hospitality or, for many, a way of making extra money. 💵👌

Whether it’s saving for retirement or securing an income that will help you pursue other passions, I’m curious to learn more about your reasons for becoming a Host.

Did you start hosting to make extra money? If so, what has that additional income helped you achieve? 🌈✨

Thanks,

Liv

[Robin4]

@Stephanie 

Thanks Steph, both Ade and I are plodding along, can't wait till Covid restrictions lift and we can head east and see our grandies again.

I have been full on busy here, not just with hosting but trying to complete those house reno chores I said I would get around to a decade ago. I am doing one room at a time and I have set myself a deadline of a room per season! No matter how long it takes I want this old lady to be original on the outside but, WOW on the inside.....that is what sells properties these days.

Yesterday I started replacing skirtings and spent $1,000 on pressed metal panels for one of the front rooms.

A couple of years ago when @Lizzie was here is Australia she came and stayed with us and spent a night in this room.

In another month it will look nothing like the room Lizzie stayed in. The pressed metal will be subdued a bit with a deep emerald green satin paint. The wooden slat venetians are going, replaced with white concertinas and nice wallpaper above the picture rail to the ceiling......

We have got some beautiful furniture to put in this room and still retain its Art Deco feel. The double bed is going and we have bought a nice sofa bed to take its place so the room can retain its feeling of space.

It's fun Steph, I can't wait to wake up each day and get stuck into it again.....and that is why my CC involvement has suffered somewhat.

Next month Australia opens its borders again to international travel as we will have hit the 80% fully vaccinated milestone and we are looking forward to having international guests again.....bring it on!!!

Hope all is good with you guys and Peter.....is he talking yet? telling you what you are doing wrong! Crawling onto all those forbidden spots!!!

Cheers........Rob 

[Liv]

You're an inspiration, @Robin4. Thanks for sharing a bit of yours and Ade's story with us.

I'm really glad Airbnb gave you purpose again, because it's clear you still have a lot more to share with others 😊

Good luck with the renovations, I would love to keep seeing how things are going!

Have a great weekend,

Liv

[Marie6762]

Thanks, Rob!  Your post is interesting and inspiring to read and you do beeeeauuutiful work!   

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Robin4 , what a great project!  ADA is good for Ade and everyone else.  Your work is high class and classy at the same time, keep it up old man (from another old man!).  

[Debra300]

@Liv,

For us, our goal with hosting is just to have the have the properties help pay for themselves.  We built our house in St. Lucia to have a place of our own whenever we visited the island, because we didn't want to stay with family.  We built the guesthouse and the apartment in our Atlanta house because we thought there would others like us who prefer to live among the locals when traveling.   

[Brian2036]

@Liv 

We’re actually more interested in the tax deductions…

[Laurelle3]

@Liv your question, Did you start hosting to make money? I have to say no, we started hosting because we had built a cottage to live whilst we renovated our main residence. The cottage sat vacant for 6 months so we decided to turn the cottage into an Airbnb As we had stayed and experienced them whilst travelling in Australia, UK, New Zealand and Spain.

But I have to say yes, we are now making money which we have invested with extras for the cottage and finish the renovations.

As @Sarah977 says we are not dependant on the income. @Fred13 says it is really about meeting people and I agree with him and sharing our cottage , sharing our knowledge of our local area with our guests. I like the photos of @Robin4  of the conversation of the bathroom especially the added red towels.

@Brian2036 points out tax reductions which we have implemented with saving our receipts and keeping the spreadsheet upto date for the accountant. This helps with negative gearing for government taxes.

Lastly, @Michelle1861 points out that you when you host because it becomes a labour of love but you have to know when to have a break.

The little extra income we planned to use on our holiday when we take that break but Covid and hard lockdowns in Australia has prevented us travelling this year. We are now entering our summer season and  accommodation bookings are filling fast which looks to be another positive year. 

[Robin4]

@Laurelle3 

Decoration is the key to any renovation work Laurelle, I spent the best part of 2 months fixing those wall tiles in place! Each tile is 60cm x 30cm (2ft x 1ft) and there is no grouting joint between the tiles! Each tile has to fit neatly with the next, there is nowhere to hide any mistakes....and in an old house with out of square walls, uneven plastering, that is bloody hard. The tile joints all had to look like this.......

Sometimes I would only manage to lay 8 tiles in a whole day....but I didn't care, I needed to get it right.

But people don't notice that, they notice the decoration and those red towels do look good. They are just one of three sets we use in rotation. This is our 'plan B' set.......

And they look just as good. My hard work isn't really relevant, it's the colours we put with it that are!!

Cheers.......Rob

[Katja202]

@Liv  My husband build me an office during the pandemic, so i can work at home from that office. He asked me if i liked it. And i said: I love it, it is so nice you can even rent it out as an Airbnb. It was a joke, but made us think .... and now we have an Airbnb :-). We thought I would still use it as an office in between bookings ..... but there isn't a in between ... LOL. But we love it, all kinds of peolple and really not one is like we would have aspected. Lots of young people who want te get out of the city and have some rest and lots of nature. And we do it for fun, but in the mean time it is paying the bills of another build. Which is a long hold dream. Starting a permaculture school (an other form of giving people a good life :-))

[Gordon0]

We'd traditionally had a lodger back in the day. While this generally worked OK-ish, having somebody under the same roof, with all their foibles, grated from time to time.

This NKOTB, Airbnb, came along and seemed the perfect fit; if you don't like them [the guest/s], they'll be gone in a few days. 

Our first guest arrived on 7 October 2012.  A young single female who I assumed would either murder us in our beds, strangle the cats, or trash the place. (Thankfully, it was a very dull affair with not so much as a coffee stain on the bedside table). At £38 for the (one-night) stay, it seemed like money for old rope.

It was all about the cash in the early days, not quite 'pin' money (because it soon became quite the little earner) and it helped us travel further and stay/fly better. 

We've refurbed/tweaked the space (our old garage) a few times and think we've got it the best it can be - and as private as possible for all concerned.  

Since then we've grown up a bit (a lot) and every penny is going towards our retirement. Pre-pandemic (or 'BC' as it's known) I'd have laughed if you'd said I was going to move out of London, but everything's changed.

We've recently purchased our 'house by the coast', well, a bit of land where it'll stand, eventually. But one of the 'must-haves' was a spare room to get on Airbnb.

The now ever-increasing trickle of guest revenue is helping us fund our seaside dream, and I love welcoming guests into our home, more so in the knowledge they're building our house, brick-by-brick.

The lovely in-love couple from Ohio who checked out this morning have perhaps paid for a window, or a garden gate...who knows.

Our house...in the middle of the street.

 

[Sarah977]

@Gordon0 "Pre-pandemic (or 'BC' as it's known) I'd have laughed if you'd said I was going to move out of London, but everything's changed."

I see that happening everywhere. The pandemic has made lots of people rethink their lifestyle and place of residence, from vowing to not be so into the rat race, taking the time to appreciate and spend more time with friends and family, and do the things that bring them joy, to getting themselves out of crowded situations and onto some land. A place to grow some food (too bad you can't grow toilet paper) and not have to don a mask everytime you go outside because there are always hoards of people on the street.

[Ann783]

Great question. We use the vast majority of our Airbnb earnings to maintain and improve the cottage… as we plan to spend more time there once I retire. A smaller percentage is used to offset college costs for our children - which is our biggest monthly expense.

[Fred13]

Reading these Replies it gives me the impression that this whole 'STR' renting has changed many of your lives, if anything by giving us financial choices we may not have had before in our lives.  This is specially relevant in its timing, many of us not being young anymore, after a certain point some of us are really 'unemployable'.. In some cases this new option of how to make a living has even created the option to live no longer in what country we were originally from. 

[Sarah4186]

I stated Hosting to earn extra money since Covid, loving meeting new people finding out their holiday tick list. We have done some of the walks they have done and enjoyed in our area.

[Ann72]

@Liv  I have so enjoyed reading these replies!  I didn't start doing it for the money; I started because I had a cottage in Maine that I couldn't spend much time in, and someone tried to break into it one icy winter night when I wasn't there.  A friend of mine had been an Airbnb host and he suggested I give it a try.  Even though I wouldn't meet the guests, they would provide the random comings-and-goings that would deter anyone who might be watching the house.  Within minutes of putting up the listing I had my first booking, and it's been growing ever since.  I love sharing the place, because I know what a relaxing and healing place it is. 

At the end of the first season I was very pleasantly surprised at the money it brought in, which enabled me to keep the place in beautiful shape without drawing from my income too much.  It's become profitable (but don't tell my accountant, because he loves the tax deductions).  I like that it pays for itself and then some, and I put the money back into it with upgrades every season.  I'm driven by a desire to make people as comfortable as possible, and I love it when guests "get" the magic of Caterpillar Hill.  And knock wood, no attempted break-ins since.