Introduction
Let’s say you have a house or a few rooms that you do not use much then What are you going to do with so much extra space. You cannot rent it out for people who are living in the same city. If you do that you will be sharing the spaces for many months or even years. So it is not an option for someone who wants their personal space. But you still want to get something out of this extra space you have. It is not a bad thing to try to make money out of your assets. Actually it is a smart thing to do. Just think about it, you are using your assets to bring in more. This can help you in many ways. It is another source of income that can get you closer to achieve your financial freedom.
Of course, there are many other ways to earn passive income. You can become a tester for websites that hire testers to complete the assigned tasks. Apart from that, you can do simpler things like watching videos to earn money or start investing using some of the best micro investing apps that are available in the market. But if you do the math then you will understand that you will be earning nowhere what you could earn if you rent out a room. Especially if you are in a city. Cities are the places where everyone goes to get jobs. Those are the places that attract tourists more. So you have a lot of opportunities to make as these people want a place to stay. You do not want to rent out to job holders but you can certainly host tourists at your home and make money.
How do you do that? Let’s find out in this article.
What is Airbnb and how does it work?
Some of you might have heard of Airbnb and some of you might not. For those who don’t know, Airbnb is like an online marketplace for landlords and tenants. It is a website that connects people who are looking for a home with people who are willing to rent out their homes. The difference is that you will not be renting your home for years but only a few days. You will be renting out to people who are looking for accommodations in your area. The people who rent out their homes are called hosts. So if you are host the Airbnb provides you a way to earn money. All you have to do is host the guests for a fixed period of time for money. Airbnb is a well-reputed company so you don’t have to worry about anything. This company covers 81,000 cities in 191 countries around the world.
Airbnb is a great option for both guests and the hosts. The hosts will be earning money by hosting the guests for a few days. On the other hand, the guests will be getting accommodations for cheaper prices. So it is a win-win situation for everyone. But there is one risk that is the guests may accidentally damage your property. Even the guests are at some disadvantage as the property may not be as good as it is listed. The advantage of Airbnb is the guests can choose from a wide range of options. It lists various kinds of properties like apartments, yachts, single rooms, houseboats, and even entire houses on its website. It is great for hosts as they don’t have to pay a single penny to list their properties. They can also decide how they are going charge for a day, a week, or a month.
How to make money as an Airbnb host?
Once you decide to be an Airbnb host there are few things you need to be clear about. The first thing you should know is Airbnb’s hosting standards. This includes communication with guests, cleaning your place before a guest arrives, keeping all your commitments on reservations, providing basic things like toilet papers and accurate listing. As mentioned earlier you will have the option to decide the rate for hosting guests. You will also get to choose if you want to host a particular guest or not. There are some things you have to take care of if you want to be a host. Know that there will incur hosting costs such as taxes, cleaning, high utility bills. This also includes Airbnb’s host fees as they charge 3% for payment processing. Even the guests you are going to host pay 6% to 12% booking fees to Airbnb.
But you must understand that you have to be reasonable with your pricing with respect to your property. Charging as you wish doesn’t mean that you can put up any price you want. Go to the Airbnb website and look at the listings in your area. See how much they are charging for hosting a guest. Basing that you can come up with the price you want to charge for renting your property. If you want to attract guests your property needs to look beautiful. Airbnb will even send a photographer to the properties of active guests to click beautiful pictures for free. You will have more chances of hosting guests if you add useful information in the descriptions. You can add the advantages of renting out in your area. It can be things like being close to public transport, tourist places, or things like superb nightlife and great restaurants.
Things to consider before hosting
- If you are not going to be present at the home that you are renting out then you don’t have to worry about physical violence. However, there is a high chance of your things getting stolen or getting damaged. So it is up to you to make sure that they stored in a safe place. Do not leave any valuable items in open space. You have to make sure that you safeguard your possessions.
- If you are going to share your home with other guests then you don’t have to worry about things getting stolen when you are present. But you must keep an eye on then to see if they are good guests. Some people may be dangerous so run background checks on your tenants to see if they have any criminal history.
- If you are leasing out the property your listing then it is better to get the permission of the landlord. Failing to do that may cause several problems while hosting.
Conclusion
You don’t have to actually own property to earn money through Airbnb. One can simply lease a property to host the guests. Though you are going to incur some hosting costs you will still be making good money at the end of the month. Remember that you will only get paid after 24 hours of the guest’s arrival. Till that time Airbnb will be holding your money to make sure that everything is fine. The other great thing about Airbnb is it provides a host guarantee. Through Airbnb, you will also get insurance coverage up to one million dollars if your property is damaged. So if you are someone who owns the property you can easily earn money by hosting guests through Airbnb. You can start hosting guests today if you want to earn some good cash. Just make sure that you meet all of the standards set by Airbnb.
