@Sophie916
My situation differs from yours in that I host private rooms in my own home, so I can only speak from that perspective, but I used to have long-term lodgers (usually staying from six months to two years) before I started doing Airbnb. For a while, I had a combination of the two, before switching completely to Airbnb.
I definitely bring in more money this way, even factoring in bills/cleaning, but it's a lot more work. You have to decide for yourself whether the extra revenue is worth the extra time . I have found a happy medium with long-term Airbnb guests (1-6 months) and try to attract them as often as possible. A lot of hosts are against the idea of long-term guests, but it has worked out very well fo me.
Although it's less money than short-term guests, the work is considerably less, it's still more than I would get with lodgers, and they don't take over my home like some lodgers do (e.g. having boyfriends/girlfriends practically move in, throwing parties whenever I'm way etc), although that might not be an issue for you if you are not renting in your own home.
If you do decide to go that route though, make sure you thoroughly screen the guests and have some sort of binding legal contract. I don't worry too much because in the UK the law is on the side of live-in landlords, whereas in a whole unit, it is on the side of the tenant. If you get guests who stop paying and won't leave, Airbnb will only help you so far and you might have to go through the legal eviction process, but then that is the case with any type of tenant. Make sure you are well versed in tenants' rights vs. landlords' rights.
Also, my long-term guests have always been overseas visitors or Brits living abroad, coming to London to study, do an internship or a short work contract, so they have no reason to try to squat my place afterwards! I would be more wary of locals wanting a long stay.
To give you an idea of income (but bear in mind this is for private rooms in a shared house), compared to what a lodger would pay me (rent + bills + cleaning), I would expect to get around £300 more per month per room with long-term guests and £400-800 more with short-term guests, depending on the time of year. With three rooms, this adds up!
However, as @Mark1412 says, it totally depends on location and what you are offering. I am in London, not too far from the centre and with great transport links. I also have a property that is very far from your standard IKEA furnished rental pad. Both these factors mean that my rooms are pretty much fully booked year round. You would really need to do some research into your local competition to get an idea of prices and also additional research to ascertain demand in your area.
