Will my space rent on airbnb?

[Mike38]

I'm considering hosting while my wife and I are away on short trips. However, I'm not sure what kind of demand there would be for our house. Is there a way I can check demand with similar homes in the area? In case location is important, it's a single-family two-bedroom house in Cranston, RI 02905.

[Wendy-and-Markus0]

@Mike38:

Yes, you can check to see what homes in your area go for and what they offer. Simply type in your city, state, and zip code as if you were a guest and you can see the listings that pop up in your area. I would recommend you click on a few filters to get more accurate options.

You can start off by selecting: maximum number of guests your place would accommodate, Entire home and see what comes back. If you've never hosted before, I would recommend you do a test run or have someone you really trust be your "on call" person. Inevitably something might come up and it makes it very difficult to provide guest with prompt responses and follow ups if you are away trying to enjoy your own vacation.

For example if the guest locks themselves out, the toilet backs up, the blow dryer stops working etc. Having someone they can contact to handle these unexpected hosting situations would be helpful.

[Mike38]

Thanks. I did take a look at listings and prices in the area. However, that only shows half of the picture - is there a way to see how frequently those spaces have been rented?

Also, thanks for the tips on doing a test run or having someone on call.

[Wendy-and-Markus0]

@Mike38:

You can try a few options:

1. Check the calendars of the hosts with comparable properties. Note, this would only give you an idea of their current or future availability or bookings not their history. This isn't a 100% accurate either and the reason is as a host, we can block weeks or days within my calendar, but if you were to go onto my calendar it will show as blocked which we can assume is not available.

2. You can try reaching out to a few hosts, although they may or may not be pleased with an inquiry that is not real.

3. You can look into: http://www.airdna.co/services/datafeed (not sure what the fee is, but it looks like you can contact them to inquire)