Will renting two separate cabin units side by side deter guests from booking?

[Abbie18]

I am hoping to build a cabin on my property to use for short term rentals. I potentially want to have two separate units side by side that can be rented separately by guests. Does anyone have experience about whether this would deter people from renting the space because they would not know the guests in the next unit over or they may want privacy and may not want to interact with other people? I like the idea of making more money off of multiple spaces. But I don't want to build a second rental space if it is going to be off-putting for guests.  

The upside is that both units could be rented together  if someone wants a bigger space, although it could just be made into one large unit instead. 

I am am completely new to this. I have never even stayed in an air bnb, so any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

[Paul154]

Renting side by side units will not affect marketability.

Look at hotels, apartment buildings...

Since you have the luxury of renting 2 separate or 1 whole unit, make 3 linked listings.

2 listing for the separate units, one listing for the big one.

Price accordingly - you can even charge more  than double for the whole unit

[Abbie18]

Thank you!

[Mel7808]

How does that work though if you do 3 separate links because if one side books and someone tries to book the whole place won't that overlap?

[Huma0]

@Mel7808 

You have to be on top of it and block out the calendar on the other listing when someone books. Obviously this is easier if you do not use instant booking. However, what you could do is have IB on the listing for the whole space (in this case both cabins) and then only take request bookings on the individual cabin listings.

There might be a way to synch the calendars (you can do this when listing the same unit on different STR sites), but I don't know if you can do it on Airbnb when you have different listings for the same space.

[Lyn3]

@Abbie0,

a couple of thIngs my husband and I took into consideration when we built two cabins for holiday rental, back in 2004. We lived in North Queensland, Australia.

a) we had enough land to be able to set the cabins twelve metres apart

b) the bedrooms were placed on the far side of each cabin

c) the kitchen window of one cabin looked across the twelve metres to the kitchen window of the other cabin (blinds for privacy if required) and we planted trees and shrubs in between

d) each cabin had a nice deck looking into bushland, not looking over at each other. Also a privacy wall on the side of one deck ensured visual privacy

e) gardens, trees and shrubs gave the feeling to guests that 'their' cabin was the only one, even though  they shared the driveway in.

Separate groups/families often booked separate cabins.  Also, families frequently booked both cabins and loved it so much they would book their next getaway as they checked out from this one 🙂

We enjoyed that business until 2008 when we sold and retired - before Airbnb began.  The past couple of years we are again hosting, now with Airbnb, a guest suite in the ground floor of our home.

Thanks for reading, and wishing you all the best with your project.

Lyn 🙂

[Abbie18]

Thank your Lyn!

[Fred13]

What you want to achieve is to convey the feeling that they are clearly two separate entities, with each standing on their own. Separate walls. Separate them as much as physical reality allows, following the suggestions Lyn made above. This model allows the renting to two total strangers, or the renting to a larger 'associated' group (aka family). Make both the same size, same price, same amenities; this is important when you get a group of 4 (aka 2 couples); prevents a cat fight of who is getting more.

   The worse model is the single entity, but separate bedroom approach. When one is occupied, and the other isn't, it will not give the feeling that someone is missing and worse, that one party is paying for both bedrooms. It also tends to somewhat eliminate renting to total strangers, or if so that they 'have to get along' which doesn't tend to work too easily. Besides no one has true privacy. Most of my competitors do this for some foolish reason.

[Abbie18]

Thank you! This makes a whole lot of sense

[Sandra126]

@Fred13, you have competitors?

[Fred13]

Yes and no.

   Yes - because they have copied inevitably somewhat our model; our price range is ~$600; there is now one for $300, $1250 and $3000 per night. All three offering one single dwelling split into two bedrooms/shared bathrooms, a key mistake. 

   No - in the sense that we are the only one that offers a true private island (no staff, nor adjacent or near another property),  and it is the finest location by far, being inside an exceptional vibrant coral atoll.

   When guests talk of (non-catered) Bird Island,  they talk about their human sentiments; when they speak about the other 3 (catered) places their guest talk about physical things or how much the staff did for them.  Big difference.

    As you definitely can surmise @Sandra0, imagining you as a person and your place, offerings reflect the owner's personal philosophy. 

[Donnie9]

I have a duplex that consists of mirrored imaged dwellings. I have had great success with it my first years. Out of 170 guests, only one has complained that it was a shared unit. I will be adding another duplex this year. 

www.airbnb.com/rooms/27865819