Looking for hosts to talk about how they use Airbnb

[Megan56]

Hello, Hosts:

I'm an Airbnb user -- and a reporter! I happen to be writing about ways people use Airbnb to save on their rent or earn a little extra cash. Does anyone have a good story about how you use Airbnb as a means to earn extra money? It doesn't have to be a particularly interesting story. I'm mostly just hoping to hear from a few people who have found Airbnb useful in this way. If that's you, please reply to this post or email me at [email addresss removed]. And thanks in advance for your stories!

Best,

Meg from Chicago

[Rochelle7]

Hi Meg! I fit your criteria perfectly. This June, I walked away from a long career in Corporate America to launch a freelance writing career. I needed some extra money to stay afloat as I built my business. I earned that cash, but have gotten far more than I bargained for in the process. I've met the most wonderful and interesting travelers - all of whom have taught me something unexpected and have helped me stay connected to the planet at large. I've made real friends and have invitations to visit China, Switzerland and Australia. I intend to take advantage of these too! I have made money for sure, but feel like a better human being in general - which is far more valuable to me.

Good luck on your assignment!
Rochelle from Swampscott, MA

[Evelyn18]

Using airbnb to rent our houses has enabled us to pay bills on an otherwise empty home during transition in ownership of the houses after our mother passed away. We have now turned them into airbnb hosted rentals instead of selling them. We are some of the airbnb pioneers in our economically challenged small town Colorado community.

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

My husband and I primarily use Airbnb to gain a little extra money monthly in order to pay off my studen loans quicker.  We rent out the guest bedroom in our house. It's super useful because it doesn't require either of us to work extra/longer hours at our normal jobs, therefore we are still able to spend time together on the weekends and evenings.  It's a great way to generate passive income.

Hope this helps!

[Megan56]

Thank you for your replies! Can you all tell me, is there any special way you decide how much money to rent the room for, or when in particular it's available for rent? For example, do you tend to rend out your room more during the holidays because you'll be home less? 

Thanks again! I'm amazed at how quickly people responded to this. 

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

We host year-round, but our "busy time" is mostly during the summer, as the winters can get really drab and rainy here in the Pacific Northwest.  We are more casual than other hosts who rely on Airbnb to pay for living expenses, so if we decide we would like a weekend away or just to have the house to ourselves, we will block off the calendar so guests are unable to book.  Otherwise, we welcome guests just about any time. 

We decided our pricing by looking at other listings in our immediate area and weighing their accommodations and amenities against ours.  I feel like we are at the low end of the pricing spectrum in our area so we stay booked pretty consistently and generally get low-fuss guests.

[Robin4]

@Megan56 Let me tell you a story Megan....We hosted Rosemary and Tony a lovely couple of 7 years. Tony was from South Africa with a really strong South African accent! They came and joined us (Rosemary in a fantastic black cocktail dress, as though she was about to be introduced to royalty) for a cheese plate and a few wines about 5 in the evening, and after having previously seen the film 'Searching for Sugarman' and following Rodrigeuz in my younger years, I had always wanted to ask a real South African if the story was true.

Rodrigeuz was a protest singer/songwriter in the late 60's early 70's who's career went nowhere! He bought out a couple of albums but they flopped, and story had it that he committed suicide, he self emulated on stage one night as a release from a failed career! In actuality he went back into the construction business in Detroit where he worked for the next 30 odd years unaware that he was a big deal in the music scene in South Africa. In 1995 a Sth African music journo tracked down one of Rodrigeuz's daughters in Detroit and during a phone conversation with her asked how traumatic it had been when her father died! She replied "what do you mean, he is here with me now, would you like to talk to him" !!!

Following that conversation a concert tour was organised for Sth Africa where Rodrigeuz performed to a heros welcome in the largest stadium that Capetown could muster.

As I said Megan, I had always wanted to talk face to face with a Sth African and ask him about that film and if the legend was true so, I leaned across and I said to Tony...."Tony, what can you tell me about Rodrigeuz"?

He looked me in the eye and he said in his broad Africanz drawl....."Rodrigeuz, he, was, bigger, than, God"!!!!!

Megan, this is what is lovely about hosting, you get to meet the most wonderful interesting people. I used to think, no man is an Island....but I was wrong, everyone is an Island! Everyone has a wonderful story to tell of a life well lived....and hosting is the way you discover that.

Cheers.....Rob

[Paul271]

Hi, I may fit your criteria for a story. My story may be different from others in that, yes there was an opportunity to earn a little money from my empty bedrooms but it was also an opportunity to spread the word about something awesome that has happened in my town this year, and will continue in years to come. Let me know if you want to know more. Paul

[Megan56]

Hi Paul, yes, please let me know what you mean by something exciting happening in your town. Was it a big event that brought a lot of people to the area?

[Victoria57]

Here in the Highlands of Scotland the season is from 1 April to 30 September due to the weather. So although we are open outside this time the vast majority of the guests for our 2 rooms - 150+ sets of guests this season - are in this window. The season ends next Sunday and Airbnb (and booking.com whom we also use) have paid for our holiday to Mexico next week!

[Lawrene0]

Hi, @Megan56,

We tried AirBnB as guests for the first time five years ago in Brooklyn, NY. The experience was great! When we got home, I decided we should list our treehouse, even though maybe no one would come. It's a bit rustic and remote. But they came! It has been fantastic to meet so many interesting people. We used the income to get ourselves to New Zealand to visit friends and do some hiking, so that was good, too!

[Megan56]

Hi, @Lawrene0:

Do you mean a literal treehouse? Could you elaborate a tiny bit, if you don't mind?

[Lawrene0]

Hi, @Megan56. Yes, literally a treehouse. Here is the URL: https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/781817

Let me know if you have an questions after taking a look. 

Thanks!

[Littia0]

I'm a fairly new host to AirbnbA friend told me about the site and I started cyber traveling (I love to look at other home in far away places). We actually booked and stayed in an Airbnb in August in Dublin, Ireland. I loved everything about it. My son moved out of his small Carriage House over our garage, and we decided to give it a try. So far, we love it! I had some up-front costs such as purchasing a new king size bed, bedding, pillows, towels. We should have that all paid for in the next booking or two, then we are going to take $500 a month and apply it to our monthly mortgage, and take everything else and put it in a vacation fund! I researched my area and decided on a price point. Good luck with your research....Littia

[City-Limits-Ranch0]

My partner and I run a non profit organization for children and horses.  We use rescued horses to teach natural horsemanship and we host international visitors several times a year to share our horses and horsemanship and to compete in Cowboy Dressage.  When we don't have a visitor at the horsemanship program we use the camper (The Tumbleweed Hotel) that all our visitors stay in for our AirBnb.  So far we have not spent any of the money we have made. We are saving it in a Paypal account to use in case of emergency.  Recently we were able to lend a friend (met through the horse program) money to pay her rent before her scholarship came through.  She's a single mom putting herself through a Master's program in nursing and we originally met her because her daughter is crazy about horses.  We were really happy that we had the AirBnb funds sitting there ready to help her out.  We have met so many great people, had interesting experiences and made so many connections that we otherwise would never have enjoyed by hosting and by traveling with Airbnb.