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Basically, I have a preference for only airbnbing one room (the master) and sharing the condo with the guest (where I stay in the smaller 2nd bedroom). However, I am willing to provide the entire condo (but for a price). So here’s what I do:
List as “entire apartment”
First line of listing states: PLEASE SELECT four (4) to six (6) guests if you desire exclusive access to the ENTIRE CONDO (including the second bedroom with full bed).
Extra charge per person ($50) above 3 people
If selecting under 4 people, I confirm they understand they will be sharing the condo
What do you guys think? I’ve had good success so far (August 100% booked - exclusively the entire condo; September 50% booked - exclusively shared; October 10% booked - exclusively the entire condo). In reality I only want to airbnb the place in the future for 4-7 days a month. So…
This is setting you up for problems, since a large percentage of guests simply do not read, you list as an “entire apartment”, but they could end up with you in the apartment. To me this looks like a case where it would be better to make two listings. Or entire apartment and master suite OR master suite and smaller bedroom. One with IB, and one without to avoid getting double reservations.
I am not sure what the best solution would be, but this sooner or later will get you into trouble.
I agree. We have only ever rented out 1 bedroom in our home, and have never represented it as anything else, but we had 3 quests who came expecting a whole house (for $79 in Sonoma!).
I have been renting out an entire house with two master suites and I have a basement apartment with a separate entrance and I make it clear I live on site (keeps the party folks away). But lately I really miss being in the main part of my house because I have been booked straight through for the last 4 months.
I decided to set up a new listing with a master suite in a shared household. This allows me to use my entire house yet still bring in some cash flow and if there are any gaps, I can fill those in using the shared house listing.
I agree with others that setting up a separate listing is the best way to go! Good luck!
As I understand, even this risk can be avoided by linking the two calendars explicitly set to avoid double-booking. This feature now exists as we discussed elsewhere.
I am not technologically advanced yet to know how to link calendars . And I didn’t know AirBnB was, until your post. Could you guide me to the topic where this was discussed and maybe explained? I might need it in the near future.
Mostly, unless things have changed, syncing is not instant. I’m not sure how often they push data between the two calendars. If I’m at my computer I hit the refresh button to push over the information.
I also list my house as whole house, and as a house share (private bedroom/private bathroom), 2 different listings.
I only rent the whole house when I am going to be out of town.
Split into two listings. Surprisingly, it looks like I was leaving money on the table. After splitting the whole unit and private room, and switching to automated pricing on wheelhouse, my average night went from 220-270$ to 350-530$. In the first line of the listing I offered people who were comfortable sharing the room (and receiving a commensurate lesser rate) to look at my private room listing (which I linked to). I’ve received ~4000$ in booking since switching, but all for the whole unit.
In any case, it seems like splitting the listing, removing the confusing booking process, and moving to wheelhouse (and consequently raising my rates based on more granular market demand) has really helped.
. And I didn’t know AirBnB was, until your post. Could you guide me to the topic where this was discussed and maybe explained? 
I might need it in the near future.
.