This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
Let's talk about Airbnb. Airbnb, love them or hate them. And there are plenty of people on both sides. There is no doubt that they have radically shifted the landscape when it comes to booking accommodation worldwide. And of course, it's not just booking accommodation, it's also offering accommodation.
Just like everyone can become a rideshare driver, or at least a lot of people can, doesn't necessarily mean they should, but just like everyone can do that, so too can homeowners, and sometimes even tenants, rent out their space directly to consumers. Now, here's a confession for you. I wanna always be honest with you and tell you if I get something wrong. I try to write most of my books in an evergreen manner, just like the podcast. I want you to be able to listen to, you know, an archival episode a year from now, or read something in one of my books, you know, three years from now, and have most of it still be relevant, right?
And so one of the few things I regret about the Side Hustle book, Side Hustle from Idea to Income in 27 Days, overall, I'm proud of that book. And I think 95% of it should be relevant for many years to come. But toward the end of the book, I did say a few things about Airbnb rentals that have already changed. So it's one of those little things that bothers me. If you are interested in renting out your spare bedroom for extra cash, it's good you're listening to this episode.
So don't read those pages. Everything else in the book is pretty good. And today we have a listener with a question about this. How can I rent out my spare bedroom on Airbnb? [Music]
Hi, Chris, this is Karen from Sacramento.
And I've been listening to the show since the beginning and appreciate the lessons and puns. I'm thinking about renting out my spare bedroom on Airbnb. What do I need to know? I have a two bedroom apartment and work as an attorney. It's just me, so I'm not home much.
I like the idea of earning passive income by renting out one of my bedrooms. But when I think about what's involved in terms of meeting guests, cleaning up and changing the sheets, following up by email and leaving reviews, et cetera, I start to think it's not really passive. What do I need to know about doing this? And is there a way to make it easier? Thanks, Chris.
And I look forward to hearing from you. [Music]
Hey, Karen, what's up? Thank you so much for listening all the way from the beginning. That's pretty cool. That would be 1,190 episodes ago.
Now, what you need to know fits into a few different topics. Logistics, marketing, and legality. And legality is the one that is changing quite a bit. But let's go and order logistics. How will you handle rentals and turnover?
Like who's going to greet the guests? Kind of like what you mentioned. Like who's gonna be available if they have questions? Who's gonna change the sheets? If something goes wrong, who's going to be responsive?
So if that's you, understand that it could take a lot of time. And I think you're onto something when you say, it sounds passive, but is it really passive? Especially when you're working as an attorney and don't have a lot of spare time. So if it all works as planned, if everything goes well, that's great. But we all know that sometimes in life, that's not how it goes.
There is a whole cottage industry of Airbnb concierge services now. And they do essentially all of those things. They do the turnover, the welcoming, the cleaning the place and so on. That might be the answer, but of course that cuts into your profits. So if nothing else, I'd recommend you look into that.
Consider if it might be a good fit for you. Just Google the name of your city or area followed by Airbnb concierge. The second topic is marketing. And the concierge service can help this too. But if you're doing it on your own, making an attractive listing, getting high quality photos, those things are extremely important, as are your first reviews.
Just think about it from the perspective of being a customer in Airbnb. You're looking in your area. You've got all these different options. You want to see a well-written listing. You want to see a lot of photos.
You want there to be good lighting in those photos. And I think if you just browse actually as a customer and look at the other listings, you'll notice what you like and what you don't like. Pay attention to what the popular listings are doing differently than the others, perhaps. Are they really in the best locations and the best priced? Or have they just done a good job putting themselves forward?
Now, last is legality. And this is the tough one. I mean, this is what has changed because it has changed and it continues to change. Rapidly changing regulations for this industry, especially in US cities, but I think also elsewhere, because there's been a bit of a backlash in some popular tourist destinations like Barcelona, where I was reading recently something like one in three apartment rentals are for short-term stays. So Airbnb has, as they say, disrupted the rental economy in that city for better or worse.
Or maybe you could say for better and worse. Because in these situations, some people benefit and others are harmed. In Portland, Oregon, it used to be very easy. There was almost no regulation and now it's basically the opposite. There's a lot of regulation.
It's pretty hard, a lot of enforcement, a lot of checking up on compliance. It can still work if you're in a situation like this caller, like Karen, who just wants to rent a room in her home on a part-time basis. So be sure you look this up for your area specifically. And if you're not sure who to ask, just call around the city, call around City Hall to find out who's in charge and see what they can tell you. And don't be surprised if you get some vague answers or conflicting answers, or we're not quite sure yet answers, just because, as I said, it is a rapidly changing world.
All right, thanks again, Karen, and good luck. Listeners, if you have a question, come to sidehustleschool.com/questions. We'll be featuring them throughout the year, along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects. Thank you so much. Be sure you're subscribed.
Much more is on the way. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is "Side Hustle School." [Music]
- From the Onward Project.
