The Benefits of Being a Short-Term Rental Host

If you happen to be looking for a way to supplement your income, have you considered using your property to do so? Being a short term rental host can provide a substantial income, along with a variety of other benefits.

Whether you have an entire property to rent, or simply a spare room in your home, you can monetize it. More people are now opting to use Airbnb, and other home sharing platforms to do so. Here are 4 of the benefits.

First Benefit: Meet New People

As a host, you will get to meet a wide variety of interesting people you would otherwise never have met. Some may even become regular guests, or lasting friends.

When you become an Airbnb host, you are not merely renting out your available accommodation. To receive great feedback means you need to be a good host to your visitors so that your property is selected more frequently. This requires doing a little more than just handing them the keys upon arrival.

Your visitors will likely come from all walks of life and will be travelling for different reasons. Their needs and the type of information they require during their stay, will vary. Some may be backpackers looking for cheaper accommodations than a hotel. Others may be professionals on business who prefer to stay in a more homely environment than a hotel. By chatting with your guests, and ensuring they have what they need, you also hear their stories and make new connections.

Second Benefit: Make Extra Income

Next, the amount of income that you can make as a rental host will depend on your location, the amount of accommodation space you have available, your proximity to popular attractions, and the effort you put in to providing a positive experience for your guests.

Australia for example, is now the fourth most popular Airbnb destination; therefore should you own space to rent in Sydney, your potential number of visitors will be high. This means you will be able to charge more for as well.

Photo credit: Sydney via photopin (license)

To determine how much to charge, Airbnb has an online tool which recommends a rate depending on your location and the type of accommodation being offered. This is only a guide and you are the one that ultimately determines the rate, however, this can give you a ballpark to shoot for. The platform also enables you to vary your rate according to peak and low seasons.

Third Benefit: Learn New Skills

Thirdly, as an Airbnb host, you will develop new skills in areas such as marketing, customer service, negotiation and communication, finance and marketing. Learning and applying these skills will also have an effect on how successful you are. There are people who have multiple properties, and make a good living from being a short term rental host using Airbnb and other home sharing platforms. Yet, like many other service businesses, you need to provide quality customer service in the hospitality and facilities that you offer. You never know where these new skills will come in handy.

Fourth Benefit: Get Connected with a Large Audience of Renters

Lastly for now, one of the major attractions of using platforms like Airbnb to earn income, is the sheer number of users that the service has. Airbnb has been operating since 2008, and has proved to be an immensely popular platform to find and book accommodation. It now has listings in 190 countries around the world, with city destinations such as Australia, New York, Cape Town, Amsterdam and Singapore.

By creating a profile, users looking to book accommodation, get access to the database of all the properties available throughout the world. It also enables them to contact the hosts online via the listing page for the properties that they are interested to rent. As a host you will need to create a listing page for your property so that it appears in the list of properties available in your area. Once done, you too will start to receive requests from potential guests. This saves you a lot of time trying to track down potential renters.

With these benefits, it is easy to see why so many people are opting to become short-term rental hosts. Not only does it earn you money, but it widens your network and skillset. Additionally, there aren’t many business opportunities where you get free marketing and access to a huge audience. So for an interesting and profitable way to make the most of your spare accommodation, check out the Airbnb platform or similar home sharing sites.