Curious about exeriences with booking one bedroom only in your own home....

[Rosalind41]

Hi,

My husband and I are empty nesters with 3 empty bedrooms upstairs.  He is reluctant to list them on Airbnb, but I'm not.  We already rent out a full house other than our own that so far is going well.

Could anyone who books one  - three bedrooms with 2 bathrooms (or around that number) in their own home in which they live in, share their experiences with this (both positive and negative).  

All would be helpful in making this decision to proceed or not.

Thanks!

[Kath9]

@Rosalind41, I too only rent out one room with a shared bathroom, which I've been doing for nearly 3 years. My guests also have access to the kitchen, dining area and outside areas. It took some getting used to at first (having complete strangers in my home) but on the whole, it works well and I have met some wonderful, interesting people from all over the world.

Just a few tips from my perspective: I initially allowed guests to cook, but quickly realised that wasn't going to work for me because I had people cooking nearly every night, meaning I couldn't get into my own kitchen to cook (plus all the problems with burnt pots, burnt bench tops, grease spatter, rubbish, etc.). Guests still have access to kettle, toaster, microwave and fridge and are welcome to prepare light/non-cooked meals. This works SO much better for me.

Second, I used to allow guests access to my lounge/TV. But again, I realised that this wasn't going to work for me because the lounge (which doubles as my home office) is the only room in the house apart from my bedroom that I can have my own space in. My guests are welcome to lounge around the dining table and quite often I will join them there for a meal, a glass of wine or a chat. But then I have my own space to retreat to if I want.

Third, I try to make the bedroom as warm and inviting as possible so guests feel comfortable hanging out in there (rather than in my space). I'm happy to interact with my guests, but I do have people here most of the time, so it's quite full on.

If you decide to go ahead, you will work out what works for you and what doesn't. It sounds like the extra bathroom will help. I agree with Melanie that you might want to start with just one room to see how you go. I also recommend not activating Instant Book until you get used to it.

On the whole, I have found being an onsite host a very enjoyable experience. Good luck with it!

[Rachel177]

@Rosalind41 I host a private room with separate bathroom in my apartment. Most of my guests are great.

I do offer full use of the kitchen but not a lot of my guests cook as they are either on short stays for work or tourists out exploring. Those that do cook tend to stay longer (4-5 days) and they have been great at cleaning up after themselves.

I have limited how long guests can book with me, it's now down to 10 days max . When I first started hosting I allowed longer stays (it was 4 weeks max, then 2 weeks) so got a lot of people re-locating for work staying with me. I found they started getting complacent with cleaning etc, and became more like flatmates which is not what I wanted.

Shorter stays are better for me, and I prefer hosting solo travellers rather than couples as they can take over the shared space so I'm priced to be more attractive for singles.

[Sarah977]

@Rosalind41  My listing is a single bedroom with private bath for 1 guest only. They do have a private entrance, as my bedroom and the guest bedroom/bath each open with keys off the upstairs balcony. I set up a little seating area on the balcony outside the guest room with a table and chair and guests seem to use that quite a bit. It helps that the view from there is of jungled tropical hillsides and tthere are lots of birds as well. Because the guest room is accessed off the balcony up a flight of outside stairs, I often am not even aware whether the guest is home or not.

And since I seldom go up to my bedroom during the day, I think guests feel quite a sense of privacy up there.

They do have full access to my kitchen and no one has taken undue advantage of that, nor failed to clean up after themselves. Most don't do much cooking, as I live in a tourist town with hundreds of restaurants for every budget. I also prefer them to eat at the dining table on the terrace outside the kitchen, as food in the bedroom will attract ants and other citters here in the tropics. So we often end up sitting and eating together, and sometimes following that up with some lively conversation over coffee or a bottle of wine 🙂