Current situation
This post discusses my 5 favorite things about hosting an Airbnb. However, at the time of this article the world is in the grips of dealing with Covid-19. Everyone’s reality has been turned upside down. This is definitely true for those of us who are hosts. As soon as the severity of this virus was realized and non-essential businesses were forced to discontinue functioning, I ceased all activity on Airbnb. Any future reservations coming up were immediately cancelled. Any days without bookings were blocked off from the calendar promptly. It did not make sense to continue to have my doors open to perfect strangers.
No one completely understands how this virus is transmitted; all we know is that it is extremely contagious. Being that I am a host who opens up the doors of my own home to potential guests, I wanted to take all the precautions possible. I did not want to take these extreme risks. Guests could come in and get me sick. Even worse, I could inadvertently put guests in harm’s way by providing the possibility of contracting the disease from either myself or from other guests within the home. It seemed to be a lose-lose situation. The only safe option was to block the calendar moving forward. As a host I am impatiently waiting to hear when the country could once again open back up.
5 Timeless factors
This time has allowed me the opportunity to reflect on the joys of home sharing within the Airbnb world. Below are my 5 favorite things about hosing on Airbnb. I have been hosting rooms within my home via Airbnb for sometime now. I have had countless experiences of different types of groups and individuals coming through from different parts of the world. I’ve had quite the well-rounded hosting experience.
Listed below are the top 5 things I miss from hosting rooms in my home. I’m really hoping the tides change soon. Hopefully, I won’t need to miss these things for too much longer. However, until non-essential businesses are able to open back up again and until we are all past this terrible time, my home and its listings will remain off the market..
1. Meeting all types of people
Out of my 5 Favorite things about hosting an Airbnb, the absolute best part of hosting hands-down is all the people you will meet. At first this can be a very daunting thought wondering who is going to come knocking at your door. There is an entire slew of stories dedicated to illustrating exactly what it’s like to be an Airbnb host. You truly meet all types!
In my adventures as a host, I have been able to meet a great group of people. When guests are staying at your home and using your kitchen and your living room and depend on you to get things such as toiletries, towels, and sheets you tend to have a lot of interaction. There have been some duds; that is part of the the ride. However, for the most part the people who have stayed at my home have been fantastic!
We’ve enjoyed personal stories together as well as laughs and good times. These are people that I otherwise would not have met in my daily life. We all get used to our routines with our family, friends, and co-workers. Hosting an Airbnb allows you to connect with all types of people. Many otherwise would not have entered your life and I do see this as a tremendous privilege.
2. Having to Always keep my place Clean and Tidy
I realize this may sound like a disadvantage as opposed to a top 5 favorite but…
When hosting an Airbnb one of the main criteria is to always keep your place ready to go. Keep it ready for whomever is currently staying with you and for whomever may check-in. This means the home should be free of miscellaneous clutter and it should be clean – sparkling clean whenever a stranger has booked your listing.
If you’re going to allow check-ins the same day, it is mandatory that your place is always presentable even if no one is currently at the premises. Now I understand this may sound like a huge hassle to always have your entire home completely clean and completely straightened up as if no one lives there. One must take their cleaning to the next level if you want to have your place appear as if it’s ready to be in a magazine. It may seem strange, but this is definitely one of my favorite things about hosting an Airbnb.
The advantage of always being ready
For myself, I have found great comfort in always having my home ready to present to strangers! I really have. Cleanliness is a major factor that hosts are graded on and heavily scrutinized by. To have high ratings, one must take cleaning very seriously. My personal style when I am not hosting is not always so tidy. I am a disinfectant queen, but I do have some difficulties when it comes to always putting things in their correct place.
To have my home stay at Airbnb standards without guests visiting, this would require a maid to come behind me and put things away throughout the day. I am very guilty of trying to get ready early for work and not being able to decide on outfits and whipping the unselected items on the floor. Likewise, I sometimes go out at night and can’t figure out which outfit to wear. Once again, I come home to clothes and accessories piled up that I did not have time to put away.
The same goes for bills or any work-in-progress that I may have. Why put it away if you are going to have to just take it back out again? (Is often my non-hosting attitude.) I love to cook and sometimes I can’t be bothered to put all those spices away. Yes, I know these are 1st world problems, but always having the possibility of a newcomer checking in has drastically helped me to keep my place in the condition I prefer it to be. Presentable with everything put away. Guess I need the pressure!!
If this is too much pressure…
You may think this sounds crazy. How could this be one of someone’s 5 Favorite things about hosting an Airbnb? Should you not be able to comply with always having a spic and span home at the drop of a hat, it is possible to set up your reservations requiring advance notice. This setup does not allow for maximum bookings. The availability setting I use allows people to check-in the same day. This availability setting is highly recommended when you are first starting out.
Allowing last minute guests builds your repertoire the fastest. Many potential guests look for rentals the same day. By opening up your doors with such short notice you increase your opportunities to allow a greater inflow of people. This also allows an increase in reviews since more people will have had the opportunity to choose your listing. I have chosen to keep my availability for my listing set up this way because I like being “forced” to stay on my toes and keep my place neat and tidy. I love to come home knowing that everything is going to be in order. Step 3 speaks directly to how to set up your listing so that you have it set up in the fashion that is comfortable for you.
Furthermore, if you have multiple rooms you are renting out it is very important that you always keep things presentable. Guests should not have to deal with the mess of other guests. That is not their responsibility and just plain gross. You have invited people into your home. Some guests are going to be messier than others. This is all part of the game. You must, must, must always keep things as clean as you can. Now that we have entered the era of COVID-19, keeping clean is more important than ever.
3. The Money
Yes, this factor seems an obvious choice as a favorite things about hosting an Airbnb. And you may be wondering how this factor was not listed first. Well money may be the reason you start hosting an Airbnb, but after you get started you will realize there are many other benefits.
But back to the money side of things!. As a host, I have been able to use Airbnb income to pay for many home expenses as well as some extras. Depending on the month and the activities occurring around town, this can be a pretty sizable income. In addition to extra income, this also puts you in the self-employed/business side of the tax law. You may now take advantage of many of the benefits owning your own business allows.
With that being said, we all know that everything we’re going through regarding COVID-19 is temporary. Yes, a new normal will develop from this; however, I truly believe Airbnb is not going anywhere. People love to get a glimpse inside of other’s homes. The money you are able to earn from hosting is fantastic. The ultimate income you can earn from hosting greatly depends on location. Regardless, the option of making some extra cash no matter your location by simply allowing people a place to lay their heads is an awesome idea! I cannot wait to get back to this form of income. Hosting allows you the other incentives mentioned in this article and while helping raise the levels on your bank account 🙂
4. The People!
I understand that the people factor was already mentioned, but it is worth repeating! The people are what make Airbnb. In my time, I’ve been able to host people from various parts of the world. They have introduced their cultures to me and in turn, I have been able to show a little piece of America to them. It has been truly rewarding! I’ve also had people come from all walks of life with various types of struggles and it helps you to feel grateful for the things that you have. Even when you have difficult guests coming through, it is still an opportunity to learn something new about people and about yourself.
I have been able to meet people who have been actual movie stars, people who have been homeless and have conquered the struggle, doctors, lawyers, tree climbers, strippers, you name it! All types have stayed with me and it’s been truly fascinating getting to know these people. If you are the slightest bit curious about human nature or just genuinely enjoy meeting people, hosting is for you. For another point of view on how great the guests really can be, check out this link.
5. Safety
This last factor may sound very strange. One typically would not associate safety with having complete strangers stay in their home. As a host, you have to open up your doors and trust that the people you allow inside your place are good people. Hosts must cross their fingers in the hopes that these perfect strangers are going to respect the home and not steal. Extreme negative possibilities include experiencing physical pain or damage to your home from a guest.
It’s important to fully grasp that yes, these unfortunate situations can happen. However, in all practicality, these things can happen even when not hosting. One thing is for sure, one truly never knows what they could be getting themselves into by opening the door up to someone you’ve never met before.
Unexpected advantages
So where does the safety come in? If you are someone who happens to live alone your neighbors typically notice. Some neighbors may watch your home more than you realize. The great gift Airbnb offers is that when you have different people staying with you during different times, no one ever really understands the flow of your home. Visitors coming and going have different behavior. Some may be going out all hours of the night where some people may be early morning risers. Guests may stay with you that are homebodies and some you may only need for a brief moment in time.
My point is until someone checks in, you have no idea what their comings and goings will be and neither does anyone else in the neighborhood. No one wants to rob a home that has constant traffic of various types of cars in front of it. The same goes for when you see people going in and out in different lights going on and off in different rooms in the house. You can never truly gauge what is happening inside the home and I love Airbnb for this. I moved to a relatively small town without knowing a soul. I am single and living in a large home by myself. With guests coming in and out no one is able to know for sure when I am by myself or when the house is completely empty. This truly is a comfort and one of my favorite things about Airbnb hosting!
In Conclusion
As you can see, there are many pleasures that can be found via hosting. Many get into the experience of opening up their homes to strangers. However, soon after starting one will realize that the money is not the only benefit of taking on such an endeavor. More often than not, hosting is a great experience that I highly recommend to those looking to expand their horizons. With hosting you will not only make money, but you will also learn something about people and yourself.