For those of you new to my blog here is my routine spiel.
My Mission
My intention is to test out as many side hustles as I can, show you how I did it AND most importantly, I am going to show you the financials on each side hustle I will be evaluating. I want to know which side hustle works so I can stop wasting my time and yours.
Without further ado! Lets see if AirBNB is a good side hustle.
THE CLAIM: Those with an Airbnb side hustle can make some extra pocket money, and full-time Airbnb hosts can make multiple six figures.
Here we go! Lets find out if this side hustle is legit.
Why did I choose AirBNB?
On most of the top 10 Side Hustle lists that I have read (and there are tons), AirBNB is usually on it. Personally, I think that is for good reason. My wife and I did this side hustle for a couple of years. It can be considered mostly passive depending on what level of involvement you want. In this blog, I am going to share with you my experiences and show you how to get up and running in no time.
My wife and I have a home located right on the water at Lake Of the Ozarks in Warsaw, Mo. Back in 2016, my AC unit went out at that house. It was a heat pump unit with the old Freon in it (Foreshadowing). Well, it was shot. It was going to cost me about $3000 to get it repaired and there was no guarantee it would be fixed for long term. The unit was 15 years old to begin with. I figured I should go ahead and upgrade the unit to the non Ozone destroying freon which meant the inside components to the HVAC system needed to be upgraded as well. Long story short, it would cost me $5500 to upgrade to a new system. Ouch, I really didn’t want to spend that kind of money on a part time home. I ended up doing it of course. We really like spending the weekends there in the summer and it would be awful without AC. Then my wife had an idea. She said, lets rent out the house on AirBNB. I thought, sure, why not but what is AirBNB?
I realize now that Airbnb had been around since 2008 but at that time, I didn’t travel a lot outside of hotels. I was a bit antiquated on how I did things.
What is AirBNB?
I am sure you all know what AirBNB is, but for those of you who live under a rock like I did for many years, here is the low down. Airbnb is an online marketplace that connects people who want to rent out their homes with people who are looking for accommodations in that locale. The AirBNB website says it currently covers more than 100,000 cities and 220 countries worldwide. Here is something you may not have know. The company’s name comes from “air mattress B&B”. If you want to rent out your house to complete strangers and make some money, you can use AirBNB. It’s not the only company that does that kind of thing but it’s the one I have used.
What was my strategy on doing AirBNB?
How did I join Airbnb?
Here’s a warning, if you are NOT interested on how I joined step by step, you may want to scroll past the next 30% of the blog. My apologies for the mundane but I promised my readers a step by step process on what I did.
First, I selected the host button on the top right corner of the AirBNB.com website.
Then selected Get Started.
Then selected the create a new listing, and hit next.
I then filled out the property information: Address, the kind of place we are listing, type of house, is it the entire property, and I am a hosting as a private individual, how many guests can I accommodate, and anything else they asked. A snapshot of all the questions I answered are below.
How to properly advertise an AirBNB home
My wife and I learned early on that photos were very important. We have several pictures that we took with different angles, heights etc. The one thing to keep in mind is, you want to represent a real view of the home. You know what it’s like to go somewhere and the pictures make the home look so much better than what it actually looked like. My favorite comment that was made on the pictures is that the home was exactly what they expected or the pictures didn’t do it justice. Both of those are very important for good ratings.
The Description
The description you write has to be accurate but also enticing. My wife wrote ours, it worked very well as we had several guests stay at our property over the two year span we did AirBNB.
Try to paint a picture of what your place looks like. Below you will find our listing on AirBNB, you can see how our description read.
Finally, we put a lot of thought in the Airbnb listing title. This is going to be the most important step in attacting renters. Along with the feature photo, the first thing people see is going to be the title.
Our home is used for family fun and relaxation to us, so that was what we attempted to present. Below is our AirBNB published home.
Other things to consider is your guest experience
Now that you’re an Airbnb host, you’re a part of the hospitality industry. Remember to make an effort to give your guests a good experience, because reviews are everything now.
What would you expect at an Airbnb?
If you’re willing to go the extra mile, that’s fantastic! It doesn’t mean you have to go above and beyond what’s practical or reasonable for you. Give them towels, rooms, and, most importantly, a spotless environment.
Now that you’ve decided how you’ll actually rent out your home (or part of it) on Airbnb, the next step is to prepare it for guests. Here’s how you can make sure your home is Airbnb ready.
First, you need to make sure you have the basics to offer your guests:
- A comfortable bed
- Clean sheets
- Bedside lamp
- Clean towels
- Pillows
- Curtains
This will ensure that your visitors get the most important things: a good night’s sleep and a shower. The most important thing to remember is to keep the room spotless. Cleanliness is, without a doubt, one of the most critical aspects of maintaining your Airbnb side business. It should be hotel, professional-level clean, not just regular-home clean.
Now you are ready to start making money.
Payment method and proof
As promised, here are the financials for our 2 year AirBNB side hustle.
Why are we no longer doing AirBNB?
- It served its purpose of paying off the AC unit. We made $5,409 in two years.
- We had a child at the end of 2017. Essentially, making us non or limited travelers for a couple of years.
- The house is located 1 hour and 44 minutes away from our primary residence. That was a long way to go, sometimes in the middle of the week to take care of some of our residents. That was challenging at times.
- AND probably the most important part, the HOA said we are not allowed to have a business in our subdivision. OOPS!!
My slightly biased opinion.
I am not sure we would still be running an AirBNB if the HOA didn’t shut us down. What happened was one of our renters drove to fast down a dirt road and almost hit someone. That started the fuss and the timing was such that we were ok with no longer having to travel back and forth, cleaning and setting up for the next renter. I suppose if we could do it over, we would make it truly passive by hiring someone local to clean between renters and would put more emphasis on the subdivision rules and driving limits. Now, with all that said, this is an awesome and viable option for people and is an excellent semi-passive way to make some really good money.
Verdict: LEGIT ($$$)
If you like this blog and would like to see my other side hustles. Please follow this link ‘View All Side Hustles’.