If you have a space to rent, whether it’s an entire space (even your own home) or just a room, there is money to be made on Airbnb.
When we were looking for a house to buy back in 2016, one of our soft requirements was that the property have an extra living space, like a basement apartment or mother-in-law quarters, so we would have the option to rent it out if we wanted.
That is exactly what we found and bought in 2017. Then, in 2018 we started renting with Airbnb.
We weren’t sure what the demand would be like, as we are in a pretty rural, non-touristy area.
We were shocked, in the best way possible!
It turns out that people need somewhere to stay, just about anywhere in the world, even if it doesn’t seem like a vacation destination. We were constantly booked and the income was consistent, reliable, and plentiful.
When we travel, we look at Airbnb options before we look at hotels. We shouldn’t have been surprised that other people do too!
We have had guests come for all sorts of reasons: weddings, funerals, visiting family, traveling through, contractors working in the area, traveling nurses, quiet time to study, out-of-town divorced parents spending time with their local children, and touristy things that aren’t even really that close, to name just a few. Maybe the most random reason for visiting our Airbnb was a couple who stayed the night before going on a mushroom hunting tour in a neighboring town!
You won’t know the demand until you try, but I bet you will be surprised, too!
How much can I earn with Airbnb in MY area?
The price of Airbnb rentals varies greatly. Your location is the biggest factor, but as our experience shows, you don’t need to be in a typically touristy area to have success.
Take a look at Airbnb’s earning calculator (if you’re on a phone, you’ll need to click “Learn More” to get to the calculator) to see what you could earn in your area. You can specify if you’ll be offering an entire house, private room, or shared room. I double checked what the calculator says for our area and it’s pretty accurate, though we tend to make a little more than the calculator’s estimate. If you are off the beaten path with no other Airbnb listings in the area, then Airbnb may not yet know the demand for that area, but there’s a good chance you could be pleasantly surprised.
With Airbnb there are no sign-up fees or fees to list your place on the platform. You choose your nightly price and cleaning fees. Airbnb generally charges hosts a flat 3% fee on each booking, which is essentially just the cost of them to process the guest’s credit card. so you won’t pay a thing until you actually have guests book your place and check in. And then, it’s just taken out of the guest’s payment, so you don’t have to come up with any money out of pocket.
Getting paid through Airbnb couldn’t be simpler. Airbnb will direct deposit your earnings into your bank account when your guest checks in (or PayPal if you prefer). There’s no waiting until the end of the month or anything like that. you get paid immediately!
Airbnb is totally flexible. You choose your own availability. You can have your space be available as often or as infrequently as you want. It’s so convenient to be able to block the days when we aren’t going to be home or we’ll have family or friends in town and want to keep our space open for them.
If you’re thinking that you can’t host on Airbnb because you don’t have an entire separate apartment to rent out, think again (and keep reading)!
You can make money with your primary residence!
Some people rent out their own home when they go out of town as a way to help fund their travels.
I remember on one visit to the coast, we stayed in a three-bedroom house that was clearly the family’s regular residence. Every thing was clean and clutter-free, but the house wasn’t as sparsely furnished as many Airbnb homes are. Half of each closet had clothes, the fridge had some food in it, there were plenty of towels, etc. For us, that was great, as there were a good variety of toys for our kids to play with.
From their photos throughout the house, it was clear that the young family liked to travel. I assume they list their house on Airbnb only while they are away on their trips. They had a neighbor be available to help us if we had any issues. The garage was locked and inaccessible to us (they probably put their personal/sentimental/valuable things in there), but we had access to everything else.
What a great way to help fund your family’s travel, by renting out your home while you’re on your own travels!
Here’s another creative option for renting out your primary residence. We had some friends with a very large home who built themselves a smaller, above-the-garage apartment where they would stay when their own house was booked. Their huge house, great for reunions and retreats, rented for over $900 a night, with a minimum booking of 3 nights. Was it inconvenient to move into the garage several weekends a month? Probably, but it paid their mortgage when times were tough.
You don’t even have to leave to rent your primary residence on Airbnb.
Many people rent only a portion of their home, whether it’s a basement or just a bedroom. One time when Mike and I were in Washington DC for a conference, we rented a room in a house that was shared with other guests. We had our own bedroom and bathroom, but the kitchen a living space were shared. We had a great experience chatting with other travelers, and one of the people we met was even going to the same conference that we were!
Is being an Airbnb host worth it?
Some people wonder if hosting on Airbnb on a small scale is worth it. By “small scale,” I mean that we do everything ourselves. We don’t have a property manager or a cleaning person. To some people that sounds like a lot of work and they wonder if just getting a regular long-term, traditional renter is better.
For us Airbnb is totally worth it!
When we host on Airbnb, we earn double what we earned when we rented to long-term tenants.
Do I have to do extra laundry and cleaning with Airbnb? Yes.
Is it worth earning an additional thousand dollars a month? Absolutely!
The additional hands-on work is definitely worth the financial return. Especially once you get into a routine and know what to expect, “turning over” the rental between guests can be pretty fast.
Ready to get started with Airbnb?
If you are ready to start hosting with Airbnb, then I would love to help you get started and answer your questions as you go along.
First, go to Airbnb’s earnings calculator (if you’re on a phone, you’ll need to click “Learn More” to get to the calculator) to see what you can expect to earn in your area. Since this is my referral link, Airbnb will let me know that you are looking into hosting. They won’t share any personal details with me, but I will be able to connect with you through the Airbnb messenger so that I can help walk you through the process. I would be happy to share my best tips with you and mentor you as you get started on Airbnb. Right now Airbnb will also give you a $40 bonus when you welcome your first guest.
If you’ve been following us for long, you know that a year ago we welcomed a Ukrainian refugee family of four to live in our apartment free of charge. While our income has taken a hit, we see it as a unique opportunity to serve and give. While we love our Ukrainian family and they are free to stay as long as they want, we expect that at some point after they settle into life in the United States and the mom learns enough English to get a job to support her family, they might move on. Then we’ll be back to hosting with Airbnb.
In the mean time, I’m happy to help YOU get your own Airbnb up and running! Click HERE to get started. Having Airbnb as an additional stream of income can really make all the difference for your family to reach your financial goals!
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