Have you ever wanted to make extra money as an Airbnb host? You can make up to $1000.00 or more while you sleep renting out your home on Airbnb. This post will guide you on how to set up, get started, and how to start making money right away.
In 2016, I quit my job to become a full-time entrepreneur and build my vending machine business.
When I started my business back in 2014, I purchased just enough machines to manage in my spare time, before or after work, and take home a decent amount of supplemental income. The keyword here is Supplemental. I knew that while I was ramping up the vending business, I would need some additional revenue to keep the lights on. So, I did the only thing I knew; I started to look for part-time jobs!
I was applying for serving jobs, personal assistant positions, and I even tried some gig apps, but I couldn’t get hired anywhere!
In hindsight, it was for the best. I probably would have quit whatever job I had after a week lol, plus, I would have never stumbled upon Airbnb. Of course, I had heard of Airbnb before, and I even knew a couple of people who were already hosting, but I never considered it as an option.
Why? To be honest, it was the thought of having a complete stranger in my house that paralyzed me from moving forward. Another reason was that most people I knew were renting out the entire place, I only had one room to offer. But, the bills are due every month, and I didn’t have any other viable options for quick cash.
I was living alone in a three bedroom house, and my guest room was already set up for when friends and family came to visit. I decided I would create a listing and see what happens.
I got to work clearing my personal things out of the drawers and closet; I put a fresh set of sheets on the bed took a few items from around my house to decorate the room.
Remember, I was low on cash, so I didn’t buy anything new! I cleaned up the bathroom and found some matching towels and washcloths to use in the pictures.
I went online to start creating the listing, but you can also do it from their app. First, I had to create a profile, added a picture and wrote a few nice things about myself lol! As a host, Airbnb requires you to complete a verification process so that they know you are who you say you are. You have to provide a government photo ID, and they ask you to take a picture of yourself mimicking a person in a photograph they show you.
Of course, you need to add your financial information! The whole point of this is to get paid at the end of the day, right?
Now for the exciting part! When you begin to create your listing you will be directed to a page that will provide you with an estimated monthly figure like the one below:
$779 a month ain’t bad! That could pay for a lot of things! Utilities, groceries, insurance...I tried not to get too excited because there’s no guarantee that anyone will even book my place, let alone, make almost $800 in one month.
But regardless, I said I was going to give it a try, so no need to let the skepticism creeps back in.
On the next screen, I was asked to enter a few basic things like how many guests can I accommodate, how many beds there are and in what rooms, the number of bathrooms, etc.
Next, I entered my address, and it showed up as a pin on a map. This is just to give guests a better idea of the area and how to get to your place after they have booked.
I selected from a list of amenities available, as well as what spaces the guests would have access to since I didn’t offer the entire house. After that, I had to create a title for my listing and write a brief description and post some pictures. I just used my smartphone to take photos of the bedroom, bathroom, and all the areas the guests would have access too.
Once all the pictures and descriptions were added, I had to complete the booking settings along with Airbnb’s standard requirements; I could add any additional requirements of my own that the guest would have to agree to book the space. Setting the house rules is very important!
Not setting house rules correctly can lead to significant issues that you could have easily avoided. For example, is smoking allowed, is the house suitable for children, can guest throw parties, etc. If there are any rules that you need your guest to follow due to city regulations, HOA, and the like, they are added here.
After the booking settings, I selected all my preferences for how often I’d like to host, min and max days required or allowed, and how far in the future the guests can book. As a newbie, I kind of just breezed through this section and just left the default settings.
Not aware of how people would book, I didn’t think about the fact that someone could reserve my space 6 or 7 months out. Or that someone would book a Saturday night, since my minimum was just one night, and I’d lose money not being able to book Friday and Sunday. The one thing I did right was set my maximum at 30 nights.
Twice now, I’ve had people book the entire month! The part that I did spend my time on was the nightly pricing. Now, this is where a lot of people go wrong and set their prices way too high or too low. You might look at the listing near you and think, “If they can get $40/night for a space that’s not that nice, I can get $60 because mine looks a lot better.” or the opposite, “Wow, that place is gorgeous! There’s no way I can get $40/night; I’ll just set my price at $25/night.”
Just set your price even with everyone else’s give or take $5. Once you get reviews and find your secret sauce, you can always charge more later.
Airbnb does have price tips they suggest for your listing and even smart pricing that fluctuates with demand. The last step right before I could publish the listing was to block off unavailable dates on the calendar. Easy!
Now, let’s see if someone books...
Not even 30 minutes later, I got a booking...for the SAME DAY!!! I was so excited, it was for three days, and I was going to make around $200! That person ended up canceling, but I still received some money from it lol!
My first month didn’t turn out too bad! I made $645 for the month, and this was at the beginning of the slow season for Atlanta. I made $484 in November 2016, and I didn’t have a lot of days available for the month since it was the holiday season.
In December, I made $296 before deciding not to host for the rest of the month.
You are maybe wondering, “What about 2017 and 2018?” I only hosted part of the year in 2017 due to the vending business picking up, but here is what I made:
2017
2018
About Author:
Hi, my name is Candra, an entrepreneur that specializes in helping people create and increase income through systems and process development. I also own and operate a successful vending machine company in Atlanta, Georgia, that I grew into a six-figure vending business in less than one year! Please visit candrarenee.com to learn more!
In 2016, I quit my job to become a full-time entrepreneur and build my vending machine business.
When I started my business back in 2014, I purchased just enough machines to manage in my spare time, before or after work, and take home a decent amount of supplemental income. The keyword here is Supplemental. I knew that while I was ramping up the vending business, I would need some additional revenue to keep the lights on. So, I did the only thing I knew; I started to look for part-time jobs!
I was applying for serving jobs, personal assistant positions, and I even tried some gig apps, but I couldn’t get hired anywhere!
In hindsight, it was for the best. I probably would have quit whatever job I had after a week lol, plus, I would have never stumbled upon Airbnb. Of course, I had heard of Airbnb before, and I even knew a couple of people who were already hosting, but I never considered it as an option.
Why? To be honest, it was the thought of having a complete stranger in my house that paralyzed me from moving forward. Another reason was that most people I knew were renting out the entire place, I only had one room to offer. But, the bills are due every month, and I didn’t have any other viable options for quick cash.
I was living alone in a three bedroom house, and my guest room was already set up for when friends and family came to visit. I decided I would create a listing and see what happens.
I got to work clearing my personal things out of the drawers and closet; I put a fresh set of sheets on the bed took a few items from around my house to decorate the room.
Remember, I was low on cash, so I didn’t buy anything new! I cleaned up the bathroom and found some matching towels and washcloths to use in the pictures.
I went online to start creating the listing, but you can also do it from their app. First, I had to create a profile, added a picture and wrote a few nice things about myself lol! As a host, Airbnb requires you to complete a verification process so that they know you are who you say you are. You have to provide a government photo ID, and they ask you to take a picture of yourself mimicking a person in a photograph they show you.
Of course, you need to add your financial information! The whole point of this is to get paid at the end of the day, right?
Now for the exciting part! When you begin to create your listing you will be directed to a page that will provide you with an estimated monthly figure like the one below:
$779 a month ain’t bad! That could pay for a lot of things! Utilities, groceries, insurance...I tried not to get too excited because there’s no guarantee that anyone will even book my place, let alone, make almost $800 in one month.
But regardless, I said I was going to give it a try, so no need to let the skepticism creeps back in.
On the next screen, I was asked to enter a few basic things like how many guests can I accommodate, how many beds there are and in what rooms, the number of bathrooms, etc.
Next, I entered my address, and it showed up as a pin on a map. This is just to give guests a better idea of the area and how to get to your place after they have booked.
I selected from a list of amenities available, as well as what spaces the guests would have access to since I didn’t offer the entire house. After that, I had to create a title for my listing and write a brief description and post some pictures. I just used my smartphone to take photos of the bedroom, bathroom, and all the areas the guests would have access too.
 |
| The picture was taken of bedroom using a phone. |
Once all the pictures and descriptions were added, I had to complete the booking settings along with Airbnb’s standard requirements; I could add any additional requirements of my own that the guest would have to agree to book the space. Setting the house rules is very important!
Not setting house rules correctly can lead to significant issues that you could have easily avoided. For example, is smoking allowed, is the house suitable for children, can guest throw parties, etc. If there are any rules that you need your guest to follow due to city regulations, HOA, and the like, they are added here.
After the booking settings, I selected all my preferences for how often I’d like to host, min and max days required or allowed, and how far in the future the guests can book. As a newbie, I kind of just breezed through this section and just left the default settings.
Not aware of how people would book, I didn’t think about the fact that someone could reserve my space 6 or 7 months out. Or that someone would book a Saturday night, since my minimum was just one night, and I’d lose money not being able to book Friday and Sunday. The one thing I did right was set my maximum at 30 nights.
Twice now, I’ve had people book the entire month! The part that I did spend my time on was the nightly pricing. Now, this is where a lot of people go wrong and set their prices way too high or too low. You might look at the listing near you and think, “If they can get $40/night for a space that’s not that nice, I can get $60 because mine looks a lot better.” or the opposite, “Wow, that place is gorgeous! There’s no way I can get $40/night; I’ll just set my price at $25/night.”
Just set your price even with everyone else’s give or take $5. Once you get reviews and find your secret sauce, you can always charge more later.
Airbnb does have price tips they suggest for your listing and even smart pricing that fluctuates with demand. The last step right before I could publish the listing was to block off unavailable dates on the calendar. Easy!
Now, let’s see if someone books...
Not even 30 minutes later, I got a booking...for the SAME DAY!!! I was so excited, it was for three days, and I was going to make around $200! That person ended up canceling, but I still received some money from it lol!
My first month didn’t turn out too bad! I made $645 for the month, and this was at the beginning of the slow season for Atlanta. I made $484 in November 2016, and I didn’t have a lot of days available for the month since it was the holiday season.
In December, I made $296 before deciding not to host for the rest of the month.
You are maybe wondering, “What about 2017 and 2018?” I only hosted part of the year in 2017 due to the vending business picking up, but here is what I made:
2017
- January 2017 – $1,417
- February 2017 – $801
- March 2017 – $689
- April 2017 – $911
- May-August 2017 – No Hosting
- September 2017 – $563
- October 2017 – $1,174
- November 2017 – $497 (Only hosted Nov 1 – 12)
- December 2017 – No Hosting
2018
- January 2018 – $268 (Only hosted Jan 9-15)
- February 2018 – No Hosting
- March 2018 – No Hosting
- April 2018 - $131 (Only hosted April 27 -29)
- May 2018 – $1,323
- June 2018 – $942
Hi, my name is Candra, an entrepreneur that specializes in helping people create and increase income through systems and process development. I also own and operate a successful vending machine company in Atlanta, Georgia, that I grew into a six-figure vending business in less than one year! Please visit candrarenee.com to learn more!
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Great way to make money if that is something you want to do and are in the perfect area.
ReplyDeleteThe "perfect area" is where ever you are! You'd be surprised at what books! Take a look around in your city!
DeleteI've never used Air BNB before!! But shoot, now I feel like I need to start hosting, ha!!!
ReplyDeleteI've never used Air BnB because yeah having a stranger in my house freaks me out lol But dang $1000 is nice!
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids leave our ouse and go to college I will have 2-3 extra rooms so this is a great thing to keep in mind for extra cash. I will look into this as early as next year.
ReplyDeleteNice. This is tempting. I always hear about AirBNB but I haven't tried it out yet. I can see how it would be beneficial opening your home, but I always worry that I'll get the crazies.
ReplyDeleteI've used AirBNB myself but I usually rent with family or a friend and book an entire place. It sounds like a great way to make some supplemental income.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had more space in my home to do AirBNB. I think it's a wonderful resource and a great way to make extra money.
ReplyDeleteWe live in a touristy type place and I really think we could do this. My husband is skeptical, though.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great way to make extra money. Only problem is, with kids in the house, I have no desire to have strangers here.
ReplyDeleteThis is interesting. I'd love to do this. We have a guest room, but its in our basement. It has a bathroom next to it. I wonder if it would do well.
ReplyDeleteI really like this idea, it is nice to see actual numbers from this. My husband and I have been wanting to invest in property and part of that would be a vacation rental. Thanks for letting me know about your experience!
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a great way to make some extra cash if you have spare room! We don't have any extra rooms, but if we did, I'd give it a try maybe. I'd have to get over the fear of having strangers in the house, lol.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to make some extra cash. My oldest will be off to college soon and we will have an extra room. This is a great idea
ReplyDeleteThis would be prefect for you!
DeleteSo amazing! Thank you for sharing your insider tips! This is definitely a great way to make extra cash, or turn it into you full-time job.
ReplyDeleteWow, interesting! I've heard many people say they have used Airbnb before, not sure if I could do this to be honest! But, its good to know you can make some extra cash while you're sleeping.
ReplyDeleteI have used Airbnb a lot, they have some great rentals. Glad you shared this, I haven't heard of ways to make some cash with them, but this is awesome!
ReplyDeleteWow, I never even thought of this as an option! It sounds like a great way to make extra money
ReplyDeleteSince I'm in a HOA community I can't rent out rooms, but this is great for people who can to make extra money.
ReplyDelete