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Im recently divorced and now have a 5 bedroom house.
Ive been thinking of renting the entire house in a traditional rental program and finding a 1 bedroom apartment for myself, but someone mentioned Airbnb.
I currently live in the master bedroom on the second floor. Additionally on the second floor there is a seperate “wing” of 3 bedrooms and a full bath. Downstairs is a 5th bedroom with adjacent full bath.
What are the rental options for this set up? Meaning, can i rent 4 bedrooms? or maybe the downstairs and 1-3 upstairs to seperate guests?
Sorry for my lack of knowledge on how this works but any help is appreciated.
You can remain living in your home and list on Airbnb the space you are not occupying. You can list the unused space to one group or list each bedroom individually as separate listings.
If the idea of living in your home and sharing it with strangers is not appealing, then move out and rent a small place for yourself and list your home to one party or each bedroom to different parties.
You can have different listings; one listing will offer the entire home or the space you are not occupying to one party, and the other listing will list bedrooms to separate parties.
If you are open to sharing your home, perhaps you can give it a try for 90 days to see if the experience is enjoyable, and if you hate it, then you can move out and continue hosting.
This forum has all kinds of useful advice - put topics in the search bar and learn as much as you can before starting…
First step is to check with your local city government about what the rules are for short term rentals or possibly renting semi ong term to treveling professionals. Ask - do you need a license, are there parking restrictions, do you need a business license to start with.
Good luck - I would love to have a house that size! We only rent one room.
Do you have a finished basement? If so, live in the basement and do a whole rental. Since you have 5 bedrooms, your home could sleep 10. You do have lots of options, try them all and see which one works best for you.
Mike, you have lots of options regarding your property and some good advice above.
But let’s talk about you for a minute. Are you right for hosting? Is it right for you? To be a great (rather than mediocre) host and thus successful it’s really ideal if you have a hospitality mentality.
In other words, do you want the people who stay with you to truly have a good time? Are you okay with all the organising that has to be done? Are you prepared to deal with Airbnb’s niggly rules and regulations? Will you be fine if a guest hammers on your door at 2 am because the toilet is stopped up? (And a million other things).
It’s perfectly fine if you’re not - some people simply get to a stage in their life where they are comfortable and prefer not to deal with the (sometimes) daily dramas that being a host can bring.
Read as much as you can here to get a picture of hosting life.
I would consider moving down to the first floor and making the second floor the guests floor… A little separation may be nice. Or another idea is to start out with just one listing, the downstairs bedroom with private bath. Start smaller and decide do I want people upstairs with me? Lots of options for you, start with one room and work up from there.
I agree with @RiverRock that you should start small and move up from there. I also agree with @Terryathome that you need to know your local regs. Many places are moving to restrict STR (short term rentals), especially homes that the owner has vacated. If you are living there and can rent out part of your home you are likely to be legal. Permits, locals taxes etc vary.
If I had your set up and didn’t want to deal with strangers in my home, using my kitchen or being in my home when I’m not there I’d see if I could convert the downstairs to a self contained place with separate entrance. You can rent all the bedrooms to separate groups and lots of hosts do that but I wouldn’t suggest that for beginners. Keeping the rooms and bathrooms clean enough to get all good reviews would be a full time job if you rented out 4 bedrooms and 2 baths. Some homes have a layout that lends itself to Airbnb better than others.
A lot depends on your market. You need to figure out what you want and what brings people to your area. Could you rent the 3 bedroom wing to traveling families because you live in Orlando. Are you by the airport and can rent to Airline employees or near a hospital? Will you take one night travelers because you are near a major interstate? Can you do back to back bookings or do you work away from home and need to take time in between? Also, is your market saturated with what you offer? How will you stand out? How will you climb up the search ranks after your new host benefit ends?
You can make a lot more money with less wear and tear than with LTR but you will have to do a lot more work.
Also be aware that you will need additional insurance as your homeowners policy won’t cover you if you do Airbnb. Some companies have riders you can buy, some companies will cancel your policy. So do your research for your state (I assume you are in US) online first.
If you decide to go forward you need to know all the Airbnb rules and hazards and there are certain basics we recommend for everyone. You should read here extensively. I agree with @jaquo that not everyone is suited to it but I think you need to dive in and try it as the barrier to entry is low and it’s a fairly low risk endeavor in your situation.
a couple general replies to things posted for further info.
Local municipalities are closed today in observation of MLK Day. I will try again tomorrow.
I like the idea of starting small and seeing how it all works. It makes the most sense before getting to deep.
Info on the lay out is: When you walk upstairs, if you go left you get to 3 bedrooms and a hallway full bath. The only thing to the right is the master bedroom. There is great separation from the two and part of why we bought the house. No adjoining walls (except a closet) and separated by the foyer. Worked great as an adult side and kid side. Id say i would be ok with people renting the other half of the upstairs and/or the 1st floor bedroom.
I do have a basement. It currently near completion. I’ve thought about turning it into an apartment for myself and renting the actual house to a long term renter, but the billing situation its reverse of the typical situation. Usually you rent the basement all included. That’s for another topic.
I currently use USAA for home owners insurance. Does anyone have experience with them and airbnb? They have been great on any issues ive had with car and home.
I see things like SuperHost. Is that someone I can hire or just an experienced home owner? Do people act as a host for multiple properties they do not own?
Once I proceed with the legalities and insurance aspect of this, are there other local hosts who can advise on room setup, required amenities, functionality, etc.
I’ve read that they now offer home sharing policies.
Superhost is a designation assigned by Airbnb to hosts who meet certain criteria. You need to read all about Airbnb on their website before beginning on Airbnb. When you join Airbnb you are going to agree to their TOS and are bound by them. Pleading ignorance with their policies will get you nowhere with them (and with us and we aren’t affiliated with them).
What you need is an experienced co-host. There may be someone locally who would be interested in a gig like that. You can check Facebook for local Airbnb hosts and inquire there.
