We were busy Airbnb hosts for a few years. We never made Super hosts, but were always very close. Why? Let me tell you, so you don’t make the same rookie mistakes. Now we moved on to the new challenges. Are we done with hosting? It was fun and we would love to do it again sometime, but on a different scale. We learned a lot and are happy to share our knowledge.
Are you opening a hosting profile? Use our referral link here and help us travel more. Welcome to the world of Airbnb hosting. Here a few tips to help you start your new business.
1. What type of host are you planning to be?
Are you, like in the old days when Airbnb was young, renting a spare room or only a bed in your home/dorm room/basement? We had one extra room. Most of those tips work with apartments also.
Do you own multiple cottages on different tropic islands and plan to put them online? If yes, this article is not for you. But, if you are looking for a property manager that doesn’t need to be on site, I might think about it. Tropical islands you say? I would have to test those cottages in person, of course 🙂
2. Am I getting rich fast?
Check out your competition online. When we started, there were a lot less places available in Ljubljana. Are similar places booked or not? More competition means lower prices. After you pay all taxes, is there any profit left? How long will you need to get back the initial founds you had to spend to get the place ready to rent? Unless you are located next to the Eiffel tower, you will probably have start with promotional prices to get the initial reviews. Are you planning to share your space only to meet new people? Try Couchsurfing instead.
There are tons of business books on Amazon, teaching people how to get rich with Airbnb.
For us, it was not the only income, but we could earn a lot more if we wanted to. We meet people who rent there flats during high season and sleep at their friends places. I hope they at least share some profit with those friends.
3. Why would I pay taxes?
Most of hosts in our country forgot to pay income taxes on their Airbnbs for a few years. That didn’t go so well, since all things you do online can be traced back to you. Unless you are Mr. Robot. Airbnb was a wild territory a few years back but most governments know it exists now and are regulating it. In Berlin for example you can rent only 90 days a year.
We live in a typical Slovenian village with neighbors, who know more about us then we do. For a while, we had only Asian guests. No idea why. Lost Asian guy with huge backpack, walking around Slovenian village and looking lost can’t be really checked in without at least one of the older ladies checking the street noticing him. For us, being totally legal or not was never a question.
4. Imagine your perfect guest and find out what he/she needs
We were limited with space and a shared bathroom. If we wanted to host families with kids, there was simply no space for extra beds, toys…. Our place was perfect for a couple or a single traveler. After we had a kid of our own, we preferred single digital nomads, staying longer. Why is this important? You want attract people that are a great fit and will leave happy. Their reviews can make or break you in a world of Airbnb.
5. Test the room before renting
I am sure you feel like at home in the room/flat, but someone who comes from across the globe might see some of the appliances for the first time. We invited friends to sleep over. We used their feedback and made some improvements. At first we had a really comfy rug in there, but it was almost impossible to clean in time for the next guest. We made a habit to tell everyone how to recycle trash and use the kettle in the room, after a few guest incidents.
What appliances did we chose? We tough about what we would want in a room if we were on a vacation and made it happen. It is not nice to steal, but we borrowed a few ideas from the places we visited before and loved. Possibility to make a morning tea or coffee in the room was a must for us. Free map and a ticket for the local public traffic? Yes, please.
This is part 1 of our Airbnb hosting guide. Check back for more.
Here is a older article about Airbnb:
Why I love Airbnb, when I travel?
We loved staying in an small place in Trieste so much, we even took some pics.
Since goblins love to travel, but usually do it on a budget, we use Airbnb. By using this link to subscribe, you get discount on your first trip, and we get one on our next. If you are not into Airbnb, here is a 10% percent discount on your next booking. Travel as much as you can.
