One of Derrick and my personal goals in life is to get our house paid off early. So after we got married and had cleared out boxes of plates, silverware, and mason jars for the event out of the spare bedroom, it seemed natural to think about using otherwise ignored space to generate some income.
So the day after we got married, we had our first AirBnB guests. (We warned them that the rest of the house looked like a bomb went off but our first guests, who happened to be German, were very gracious.) We’ve had about 20 people come through our house in the last month, hailing from places as exotic as Switzerland to more expected like New Jersey. Some stayed as short as one night and one as long as three days.
Our first reaction when we tell people we do this is that they think it’s weird. But hear me out, it’s actually kind of interesting.
You have a roommate… when you feel like it.
So I have a friend visiting this weekend so I blocked off Friday and Saturday night so AirBanB people couldn’t book the room. Unlike having a full on regular roommate, you just have a roommate when it’s convenient.
You set your price/expectation.
Between the photos, the profile, and your price point, you set the expectation for the experience.
I have taken a stunningly bad photo of the room, mainly so when people see it in real life, they are pleasantly surprised that it doesn’t look like the kind of room they will be murdered in.
And we priced ourselves cheaper than we thought we could get for a few reasons 1) Attract laid back and younger travelers (a relatively affordable option), 2) The room isn’t finished off yet so we didn’t think it was fair to charge full market value, and 3) We wanted to get some people to stay in the space and leave some initial reviews.
When we put in flooring and add a few extras to make it nice, we may up the price and get professional photos but until then, we are marketing ourselves in this way on purpose.
We have met some really interesting people.
The guys from Boston reminded me of my college friends while the couple from Bejing showed us how to properly do a Kung Fu tea service (no joke). We have met people who are thrilled to be in our town and it’s really rubbed off on making us enthusiastic in the same way. Some people who stay over want to talk a lot and we get to know them well and some just want a place to sleep and, as I say in the listing, we are fine either way. Everyone we’ve met has been really nice and grateful. I’ve even met someone who teaches website design and we plan on keeping in touch about work stuff. Networking without leaving my house, who would have thought?
It’s kind of inconvenient so be prepared.
Ever had to go to the bathroom while someone takes a really long shower? Yeah when four people share one bathroom, it is bound to happen. Also between Derrick and I, we’ve really had to coordinate changing bed sheets, cleaning the bathroom, welcoming guests etc. which has sometimes meant we didn’t or couldn’t do something. Adjustable shelves in the party closet? Cleaning out the pantry? On hold projects when you are sharing your space and not wanting to make a mess or a bunch of noise.
I bet now you’re curious. Want to see our listing? Click here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/4120600 And if you have any questions, let us know. We are AirBnB fans, on the host and guest end.