i already let a small cottage on air b and b - i am thinking of letting a room in the house i live

[Fiona298]

what is the general opinion from people letting a room in the house they live in, as opposed to letting a whole house/cottage?   I am thinking of doing this, just one room, and offering some photography tuition along with this.  Winter letting to get some dark sky workshops in.  Thoughts?

[Florence-And-Michael0]

hello @Fiona298

I let a small room at the house I live in. 

i have been lucky to have great guests 99% of the time. 

A lot of my guests stay with me for more than 2 weeks. 

Here's what I do: 

I have vetted  all the folks who I accept as guests. 

I make sure they have read and know my house rules. 

My house rules are comprehensive and detailed. 

I do not book anyone who do  not have thier face as their profile photo in AirBnB. 

recently, i have intalled locks at ALL rooms. 

As soon as a guest leaves, I change the locks to my house. 

I hope this helps. 

Flo 

[Fiona298]

Thanks for that. Tell me, why do you change your house locks? That seems quite extreme... 

[Frances46]

i rent a room in my house. 1 or 2 people. They have exclusive use of the living room as well and we share the bathroom and kitchen.  I have found people to be 100% respectful of the space they are using and the shared space.  When people arrive, I give them "the sniffy test" and rely on my gut to tell me whether I feel comfortable leaving them alone in the house.  Most of my guests are on weekends - if i didn't feel comfortable leaving them in the house, i wouldn't but that has yet to happen.  

[Michael956]

I have a 4 bedroom flat, and I rent 3 of the bedrooms on Airbnb.  It's a lot of work, but I enjoy it.  I've had guests from all around the world and they have been wonderful.  Since I live in the flat, I have good control over what happens in the house.  No one is ever going to have a loud party and invite over a bunch of strangers, because I would notice it immediately.  My guests are allowed to use all the public rooms--living room, kitchen, and 2 shared bathrooms--as well as the outdoor garden.  The hardest part is keeping the house clean for up to 6 guests (3 rooms x 2 guests in each room), especially the bathrooms as they are shared.  However, the many wonderful conversations I've had at breakfast and impromptu cocktail hours in the evening make all the hard worth  it.  

[Rachel0]

@Fiona298 Your listing  is gorgeous!  I rent out the whole top floor of my London house to a maximum of 2 guests who get their own bedroom, an adjoining private shower room and loo, plus a small sitting room/study.

This works  for  me because I am "in house" and can keep a close eye on things so very rarely  get problems.  You don't say whether you would be willing to share your kitchen or living spaces with guests in your own home or whether they would have to share your bathroom and that is what you would need to consider carefully before going ahead.  The idea of a photography course sounds wonderful however.  Have you  thought about just offering that as an "Experience" instead?

[Fiona298]

Thank you Rachel! The bothy which you looked at is a different location to the one the one where I'm considering one room.  The one room let would have use of a shower room to themselves, or a bathroom if they preferred , I would have to share living room, and  kitchen.  I wasn't nervous about this at all, until a friend looked at me like i was crazy "you're going to let strangers into your house?!" "while you're there?!".... Lol. 

[Rez3]

How r u

[Victoria567]

Hi@Fiona

I let 2 bedrooms in my large home where I also live on site.

Your idea of photography is lovely as we do get Aurora displays in Scotland too, as well as the stunning scenery we are so lucky to have.

No way would I entrust an entire cottage/ holiday home to guests on air bnb, without me living there too on site, as you just need one rogue guest and you are done for.

I have a seaside holiday home which stays firmly unoccupied most of the year, unless it is used for the 6 weeks or so by my own family.

[Susan906]

Hi Fiona,

I'm also in Scotland, your place is lovely. I have two rooms in my home that I let for Airbnb. I've not had any issues so far. It does feel a bit strange sometimes though when the energy of the guests is not quite fitting mine. I'm pretty much here all the time so can keep an eye on things, and generally it's been good. 

I broke a rule once for a small child and I won't do that again! I love kids but this two year old was completely out of control. They didn't bring toys or food for her and had just fed her chocolate espresso cake, she was screaming constantly. I don't know how I survived, other than offering play solutions and food. 

I allowed dogs once but found the clean up too much. Dog hairs were everywhere. So for me I'll stick to my rules, keep clean up manageable and just keep an eye on things with guests in my home. 

[Fiona298]

Thank you for your very detailed response. I must agree on the part about dogs😁  so many people are now travelling with their pets!!! People said I'd lose business by not allowing pets - not so far!!