Hello Candice,
You have already set the right motion in place to succeed in your new venture!
I remember how I felt when I first started hosting in a private room- a mix of excitement and anxiety, coupled with a strong desire to overcome ‘stranger is danger’ mentality that my grandparents diligently instilled in me!
First of all, some great news, Airbnb has recently set me up on a new platform where I help brand new hosts with free advice, guidance, help set up a new listing, offer design tips, help with pictures, etc, all for free. Airbnb rewards hosts like me and also gives you a bonus in return after you have your first guest. If you want to say hi on airbnb, we will stay connected and I will help with whatever I can whenever you are ready, *
To answer your question:
- Subletting - lowest overhead cost to start airbnb with, this is how I personally got started. You rent an apartment and then sublet rooms or the entire place. If you rent in a very large new apartment complex with all modern amenities, this can work out the best. Most of the time landlords are particular about subletting, but if it is a very large building with too many units and you do it professionally, I believe you can make it work smoothly.
- Your own place - if you have a home, that’s the best way to go, because guests appreciate the personal touches hosts have put in their own space. You have to know your numbers and check if this is a feasible or a lucrative option.
- Other people’s homes - if you know of someone who has a home that they do not use, you can offer them to host in their homes while they are away. If you do not personally know them, you would have to consider liability and terms to work with, in case you get bookings and all of a sudden the owner changes their mind, you don’t want to have to cancel reservations.
- Hosting in homes that are for Sale - this is another option, you have to speak to realtors and private sellers and offer them to host in their listings short term while they are in the process of selling and suggest comprehensive terms to work with, such as being able to block any dates on calendar for viewings or managing last minute requests while making sure guest experience is not affected. I personally stayed at an airbnb in LA whereby the host did one showing, I didn’t like it, as I rented a big house for family gathering, but was understanding of it.
- Lastly, if you know of other people that have homes who are renting on airbnb, you can offer to help them, all they have to do is to invite you to become a cohost. Once you are a cohost, they can give you certain access to their listing features, so you can help them with things like guest communications, checkin/checkout, quality assurance, scheduling cleaners, writing reviews, etc. You want to have had some sort of hosting experience to do this, so that you come across more trustworthy, otherwise if you personally know other hosts, you can offer to cover for them and get experience this way. Airbnb also has a feature whereby they can split the guest payout automatically, so that you get rewarded for helping others.
Wishing you best of luck and congrats for getting started virtually!.
Rose.
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