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

[Dimitar27]

No one wants to admit... 🙂 🎭

[Fred13]

Strictly for an income and has been a wonderful way to make a 'living'. Addedly, we see the people for 1/2 hour coming in and not for at least 4 days when they leave. Best 'job' I ever have created for myself and my Mrs.

And thanks to Airbnb for being an important part of that equation.

[Fred13]

The fun part has been seeing families with kids and groups of friends have a great time.

[Liv]

That's lovely, @Fred13! You have created not only a job you love, but also an amazing place. No wonder your guests have such a good time there 😊

[M199]

@Liv 

We have owned our cottage for close to 18 years.  We retired in 2019 and were getting  bored.  So, we thought "why not give it a try.  It gives city folk an opportunity to get back to nature." Very beneficial these past few months when the lockdowns were lifted.   We cover our costs plus a little bit, but that's a small price to pay for our guests.  99% have been awesome and we have learned a lot from them.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Liv @Mia199 Same here ! We've been here 30 years and love sharing our bit of wilderness with city folk who keep the world running for us. It is not a money maker but a help in paying taxes and doing maintenance and repairs. We consider that a lovely thing and our guests are so awesome!

[Liv]

@M199 @Kitty-and-Creek0 that's a great sentiment! I'm sure very grateful to Hosts who open their doors to give us guests the opportunity to stay at so many amazing places.

[Sarah977]

@Liv  My house was a new build I designed, and I live alone, so it's a modest size, with just 2 bedrooms, mine and a small guest room. I originally thought that room would be for family and friends when they came to visit, and it still is, but it sat empty most of the year.

A friend from Canada has come to stay several times, and she was an Airbnb host. She kept telling me I should Airbnb that room, that solo travelers would love it (there's only space for a single bed). 

It also lent itself well to Airbnb, as the bathroom opens directly onto my bedroom on one side, and the guest room on the other. So I can easily lock off the door to my room and the bathroom becomes an ensuite solely for the guest use, me using the downstairs bathroom. 

The upstairs where the bedrooms are is accessed by an outside staircase, with locking doors to each bedroom off the upstairs balcony. So guests also have a private entrance to their room.

I procrastinated listing it for a couple of years, then decided to go for it. 

As it only accommodates one guest and the tourist season here is only about half the year, it isn't a big money maker, and I never assumed it would be. Until Covid hit, it earned me enough to finance my annual 5-6 week summer trip to Canada to visit my daughters and grandkids, along with the things I buy up there to bring back that aren't available here (like nice cotton sheets). 

So it was a combination of making use of a space that was languishing most of the year, thinking it would be fun to host travelers from all over, which it has been, plus earning a bit of extra income. 

And as I don't want a full time roommate, and want to be able to have it available when friends and family come down, short term rentals were the perfect option.

I certainly wouldn't do it for free, like couch surfing, as pulling strangers' hair and soap scum out of the shower drain could hardly qualify as a pleasant hobby, but because I'm not dependent on the income, it makes my hosting pretty stress-free. I.e. if a guest needs to shorten their trip for some reason, or cancel, I'm pretty easy going about offering to refund them, and I've never had hassles with guests about that, or really anything else.

[Liv]

Hey @Sarah977, thanks for sharing!

It's great to learn a bit more about how your listing came to be.

Not needing the extra income and being able to use it for traveling sounds like a really good way to have a laid back approach to hosting, without much pressure.

Do you ever host guests when you're in Canada for instance?

[Sarah977]

@Liv  You mean host my listing when I'm away, using a co-host? No. My place isn't some automatic condo- it has quirks and door locks, etc. that many people aren't familiar with. And it wouldn't be a  home-share or be in line with what guests say in their reviews, if I wasn't here. 

I would never have strangers in my home if I wasn't here. It amazes me that people do that with their primary residence. When I go to Canada for a month in the summer, I block the calendar (it's off-season for rentals here then, anyway). A friend stays here to house and pet sit.

I don't own a home in Canada anymore. I live in Mexico basically year-round. I used to rent rooms in my home when I lived up north, as my daughters grew up and left home, but to students or acquaintances, by word of mouth.

[Michelle1851]

@Liv  not at all,  I really enjoy traveling and trying new things,  I love staying at different places and relaxing.  When my children were babies I took time out from the business world and worked at the front desk of a luxury hotel.  I just loved it.  So when we had the opportunity 2 years ago on a road trip to stay at Airbnb’s I really hit the lottery.  They were so nice and had so many cute amenities to try.  When I got back I suggested that we try it in place we love.  It’s worked out well, it’s really a labor of love.  I’m still hurting over my first bad review and trying to move on and not take it personally.  But really it’s been a good time and Fun bringing people together to enjoy the area. 

[Liv]

Thanks for sharing, @Michelle1851!

I can only imagine how disheartening it must be to get a bad review after putting so much work and love into your place, it's really not possible to please everyone.

Your place is beautiful and judging from your reviews, the great majority of your guests agree. That's quite the accomplishment 😊

I'm glad to hear that it has overall been a positive experience, I'm sure your guests appreciate your hospitality.

[Robin4]

@Liv 

Hi Liv, When Ade was diagnosed with MS in 1994 I wound my business back and we spent the next two decades travelling, because we had to do it there and then.....we knew when retirement age came, we would no longer be able to do it. We bought a small motor-home and traveled all over Australia.....

We traveled all over the world....my God it was a great part of our life!

In 2013 we found ourselves with enough money left to buy an old run down property, and that was about it! I had this passion to make this old lady great again....and I had the time to do it.

In 2014 my youngest daughter booked us into an 'Airbnb' in Manly in Sydney! I have vaguely heard of Airbnb but had no idea just what it was all about. That host and property were wonderful and that stay convinced me that I had some real estate at home that I could make some money out of. 

I set to work restoring my old garage, my motivation was to feel useful again! When you retire  you feel like you have outlived your usefulness to society.....you feel like a burden that should just sit and patiently wait until death. Airbnb gave me motivation again, it bought me and this old lady back to life again. All the money we spent over the previous 2 decades was our retirement, here we were with an age pension and a mortgage on an apartment in Sydney to take care of!

From the moment I listed on Airbnb we have not looked back! We are fully booked month after month and the $27,000 a year Airbnb deposits in my bank account on top of our pension and other investments gives us a really good lifestyle.

Yeah, I started hosting because of the money but, I had not counted on all the lovely experiences along the way. And Airbnb is enabling me to live out my dreams to make this old lady great again.

Typical of what I am doing here, being a retired couple we did not need 4 bedrooms  so, I converted the second bedroom into a bathroom.

Here it was when I started out. I removed the wood floor over most of it and put in a dividing partition for the toilet.

Two months or so down the track with new floor and ceiling this is where we ended up......

Even the shower curtain is motorised to make things easier for Ade! Jut press the button and up or down it goes!

That's how you make a bathroom out of a bedroom!

The money side of things with Airbnb is the one thing I don't have a grizzle about. It is reliable and it is enabling me to turn this house into something I am proud of. 

Yes, I host for the money!

Cheers........Rob

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Robin4 ,

Great to see you, I hope you've been well! Fantastic post 🙂

Thanks