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5 Questions To Help You Decide If Being An Airbnb Host Is Right For You (And How Airbnb Management Can Help!)

Announcement posted by Airbnb Handsfree 08 Mar 2019

When deciding whether or not to become and Airbnb host, here are 5 questions to ask yourself.
Whether you have a guest bedroom, a vacation rental or a chateau by the sea, renting it out on Airbnb can be lucrative. Conversely, however, becoming an Airbnb host can be time consuming, not to mention a good deal of work. The good news is, you don't have to host any more frequently than you would like to. For instance, if you only want to rent your guest cottage on weekends or during the summer, you have that option. The nice thing about being an Airbnb host is that it can be either a full time or part time source of income. When deciding whether or not to become and Airbnb host, here are 5 questions to ask yourself.
 
1. Do you have the time?
 
Being an Airbnb host can be quite time consuming in some instances. Of course you can alway hire an airbnb management company to manage your property for you, but whether that is feasible or not will depend on the type of property you have to rent. If you have a vacation home, apartment, or separate living space to rent out, then a management company can keep everything running for you. If you are renting out a room in the home, apartment or space that you occupy, however, then a management company might actually be intrusive. Renting out a separate Airbnb property doesn't have to infringe on your time in any way, but if the room is in your home, you will need to clean up after every guest and prepare for the next one. That doesn't mean just changing the sheets on the bed, either. You'll need to clean the bathroom and make sure any and all common areas are cleaned as well. That can consume a great deal of time and you will need to schedule your life around the comings and goings of your guests.
 
2. Do you genuinely enjoy having company?
 
This is again dependent on where the property you are renting is located, but it is an important one to ask yourself if you will have direct contact with guests. Some people would have house guests every single weekend if they could, while others deeply value their personal space. It's easy to look simply at the income that being an Airbnb host can bring in without looking at the very real demands it makes as well. Even if you have an apartment or guest house on your property that is separate from your own living space, you will likely have guests that will expect to have more interaction with you than others. If you don't really genuinely enjoy having constant company, being an Airbnb host might not be right for you, unless you have a property that is completely distant from your living space. Then someone else can manage it for you.
 
3. Are you sensitive to people's needs?
 
The same way some hosts don't always want to interact with people, so do some guests. Some guests are eager to get to know their hosts and spend time with them, while others are literally just looking to get away from it all and want to be left alone. The important thing is to acknowledge whether you are the type of person that can be sensitive to people's needs or not. Being an Airbnb host demands more than just the ability to change sheets and clean up between guests. You also have to have some sensitivity to their needs as well.
 
4. Are you able to have your schedule interrupted?
 
Unlike running a hotel, being an Airbnb host is not a full-time job for most people. While many, if not most, Airbnb guests do their best to be polite, not all guests will be the most well-behaved guests. After all, they are paying guests. While few guests are likely to be destructive, they can be messy and loud, sometimes in the middle of the night. Maybe not even wake-the-neighbors up loud, but loud enough to keep you up at night. They may come in late at night (or early in the morning) and not be super quiet doing it. Unfortunately, they are in fact paying guests and that is their prerogative. Before becoming an Airbnb host, you might consider how well you can handle disruption to your life and sleep schedule.
 
5. Are you ready to manage conflict and drama?
 
While the majority of your guests will most likely be quiet and polite, they won't all be - and those are the ones you need to make sure you are prepared for. When people go on vacation, they can often shed a great deal of the decorum they might demonstrate in their everyday life. They might not be drinkers regularly, but can become sloppy drunks on vacation. They might pick up additional guests in a bar or even get in fights with each other. This is again where having a manager can come in handy if you have a separate property. If you do not, however, then dealing with any incidents or altercations becomes your responsibility. This can be particularly problematic if you live in an apartment or share walls with your neighbors. Some people are highly skilled and adept at managing conflict or dealing with the messes humans can create. If you are one of those people, you will most likely make an excellent Airbnb host.
 
Being an Airbnb host is not right for everyone. There are those that genuinely love meeting new people from around the world and are skilled at dealing with people in general. Then there are those that don't really enjoy having guests but see it as an opportunity to make some extra money from their spare bedroom or extra space. If you don't genuinely enjoy having guests, then being an Airbnb host might not be right for you. Unless you have a completely separate space and can hire a management company to run it for you. Then being an Airbnb host might perfect for you after all.