Airbnb in Seattle's winters

[Veronica55]

Hi,

I'm new to hosting.

My mortgage recently almost doubled so I'm renting a bedroom to help. So far I'm booked solid for the summer, but I'm worried about the viability of airbnb in the late fall and winter.

Any long time Seattle hosts have any insight? 

Cheers,

Veronica

[Jacquelyn0]

I used to rent year round, it can slow during the winter however I would get quite a few business travelers during that time and it helped with keeping the property occupied. Try marketing torwards business professionals during your slower months.

[Bridget0]

I am on the Eastside. For us, nearly every summer day can be filled but winter is much less starting in October. If you absolutely bed the money to pay for a mortgage you might consider a regular roommate. Oct / April is very spotty, but good for biz people if you can get them!

[Libby7]

You just have to lower your prices. My summer bookings tend to be much shorter stays, anywhere from 1-4 nights usually. In winter I've found that I have to reduce prices by a good 30-40% from what I charge in summer, and I tend to get more people who need a place for a week+. I don't do long term bookings - my max is 10 days - but if you do, it will probably be easier to keep your calendar full. There are a lot of visiting students who only need a place for a month or for one semester who don't want to/can't sign a lease for that reason. In the winter I get a lot of business travelers, Amazon interviewees, apartment/house hunters, convention attendees, students traveling for fall/winter/spring break, etc. My calendar usually stays pretty full in the off-season, but I'm obviously making a lot less money due to off-season pricing.