Theo and I are coming up on one year of running our AirBnb! I cannot believe this much time has passed and I cannot believe how much we have learned in that amount of time! I thought I would spend this week focusing a little bit on the AirBnb business, because when I was first starting I couldn’t seem to find much information on the practical side of a running an AirBnb (it was all financial/business).
Over the last few months, I’ve collected some of the questions that I get asked frequently, and I thought I would just throw them together in a blog post. Later this week I will talk about how to clean an AirBnB, what supplies are needed and our favorite tips for running one.
Do you feel safe?
This is one of the most common questions I get and I kind of chuckle because not once have a felt unsafe while running this AirBnb. Our AirBnb has access from the outside of the house and there are three locks on the doors that lead from the basement to the rest of the house. Sure, if someone REALLY wanted to get in, I’m sure that they could. But if they really wanted to get in, I’m sure they could even if we don’t run an Airbnb. Half the time we don’t even see the guests and about 85% of the time we don’t have any interaction with them. So the short answer is yes, I feel perfectly safe while running an Airbnb.
As a Christian, how do you handle the “tolerance” policy?
This one is a tricky one for us, and one we have had many conversations about. Airbnb has a full-tolerance policy, which means that we cannot discriminate and say no to anyone who wants to stay and is a paying customer. This means we have unmarried couples, gay/lesbian couples and probably other kinds of meet-ups that are just not glorifying to God. Of course, if there is illegal activity we can always kick the guest out, but we are not allowed to say no to a guest upon their booking for any reason.
When it all comes down to it, it is a matter of personal decision and conscious. We do not feel guilt for running an Airbnb, but that is our personal decision. I can see how someone else would feel guilt for this, and in that case they should not do it.
Do you really make money?
Yes, we do! Our average monthly income is around $1000. Of course, this is a taxable income so we also have to factor that in. There are also expenses associated with running the Airbnb.
What is the hardest part of running an Airbnb?
I’d for sure say the constant cleaning. I know that some people who run airbnbs hire a cleaner, but we have just decided to do it ourselves since it’s so small and right in our home. However, sometimes I am cleaning the apartment 5x a week, and it does take a significant chunk of time! It’s for sure the hardest part about running the Airbnb.
What is the best part of running an Airbnb?
The extrovert in me wants to talk about all the fun people that we meet and that come through our little apartment. We don’t interact with them much, but I love to see what they write in the guestbook and where they are coming from!
The business man in Theo would say how EASY it is to host through Airbnb. Yes, they get a portion of payment from each guest that stays, but they also run the entire platform and just make it easy for us. The app is fantastic, it’s very secure and we have really appreciated the small details like smart pricing, automatic refunds or extra charges, messaging, etc.
What are the expenses?
The biggest expenses were start-up expenses- we had to furnish the place before we could open it, so buying sheets, towels, kitchenware, furniture, rugs, lamps, curtains and a TV were a rather hefty price tag (we shopped around and ended up spending around $800 on these start-up fees). Otherwise, the expenses are minimal- cleaning supplies, toiletries, the occasional replacement item (sheets or a broken light). We also have a higher than average electric/heat bill as well as paying more for internet so we can have a higher speed internet for the whole house.
How long do guests stay?
Guests stay between 1 and 14 nights. Honestly, I prefer 2-4 nights as a host. When a guest ends up staying for 14 nights, there is just more of a margin for error. When a guests stays for one night the cleaning is a beast. It usually takes me an hour to clean (without my kids…more if I factor in the kids “helping”), and cleaning the apartment multiple times a week can be so time-consuming!
Have you had any horror story guests?
We actually haven’t! We’ve had some messy guests, we’ve had some drunk guests and we’ve had some guests who were kinda hard to please. We’ve had guests who have told us their whole life story (way too much information) and guests who won’t even give more than one word responses. We’ve had guests who can follow directions and guests who haven’t (where to park, how to open the lockbox). But so far everyone has followed our rules and been very respectful of the property.
Do you get good reviews?
Reviews are a BIG part of Airbnb. Every guest who stays leaves a review, and most guests who book will read these reviews before booking. We have never gotten lower than a 4 star review, and most of our reviews are 5 stars. Let’s talk about that one time a guest wrote in their review that “most people would find this mattress uncomfortable”, and the very next guest texted me and asked where we got our mattress from because she wanted to buy it for her own home. HA! We usually get rated very high for cleanliness. Some of the ratings are lower because people found things to be very nitpicky about. One lady left a FANTASTIC review and then gave us four stars for our location (a factor we can’t change). It can be frustrating to get negative reviews that are posted publicly, and I can sometimes really let those reviews effect me, but thankfully we receive mostly positive feedback.
I’m still so intrigued by your experience and would love to try it someday at our house! We have a partially finished basement that I think would totally work if we finished it!