Thinking of having a long hol, may as well Airb my own home out whilst I’m away. Obviously hide my valuables, and stash the wine somewhere. Any other pitfalls?
We did it in August 2017 - made enough to cover our three RT airfares to London.
Let your neighbors know beforehand. Mine were mostly okay with it, though a few thought I was nuts for letting “strangers” into my home (and neighborhood).
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Obvs have a local co-host and cleaner on hand.
You probably want CCTV and Hive or similar to control heating/lighting.
Wine and valuables you can leave with me @Barns
Have fun.
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No, I’m looking after his wine, you can do the valuables.
He can DHL it to me, and I’ll DHL back what’s left 
Honest!
JF
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I had a couple once staying in a room while their condo was rented. They told me they do it on regular basis. They arrived all equippes with blender and even juicer and change of clothes for weekend
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I’m thinking about doing it next July for the 2020 Open at Royal St George’s, Sandwich. It’s regular do for residents in the town, and almost all accommodation in both Sandwich and Deal is already booked.
I’ve been told by a Deal hotelier to triple my rates!
Sorry Squittens; the local cattery is recommended.
How do you manage to have a stash of Vinho? We’re always running out.
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I’ve joined a wine club, and must’ve ticked a crazy amount of boxes. Currently looking at 24, and have a horrendous feeling another 12 are imminent…
And then I’ll notice Cabernet Sauvignon is £4 off…
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I’ve done it twice - once for the Obama inauguration when I was living in DC, and once when I was just gone for Christmas. I found it pretty stressful, getting the house clean enough for renters, making space in closets, trying to make sure everything was OK when I was on vacation, etc. But both times worked out just fine - the families who stayed were lovely and left the houses spotless. I would definitely have a friend on-call for if any problems arise, but I didn’t have cameras or any of the things I have now for the security of the apartment behind my house that I rent out, and didn’t encounter any problems.
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I have a hard enough time going on vacation without trying to rent my house too. However if I lived in a town that ever had any major events with high prices and high demand then I could consider it. If I were going to be gone for 3-6 months and could make major money on a short term lease, I’d consider it.
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Hate to rub it in 
but we don’t even pay £4 (€4.5 ish) for semi decent bottles of red. I get all flustered and come out in hives if I have to pay more than about €3 for every day stuff.
JF
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I’m on my way, put the wine on
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you guys can’t handle all his wine stash. i volunteer for some help.
now, back on topic, i’ve done it too. i had a couple of bookings and a co-host cleaned in-between. i locked up my jewelry and drank all the wine before I left though.
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Somehow, I don’t know how, but we still run out. Wine Club , Naked Angels, £4 off Sauvignon/Petite Chablis and we run out.
“Just going to Morrisons” is a frequent refrain.
From what we are hearing on the grapevine (pun not really intended), it’s quite rough going over to Calais at the moment. Not the sea, but what greets you. Apparently it’s worse/more sad than before the Jungle was dismantled and dispersed. I think at the moment, if I went. I would stay to help in some small way.
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Mercadona’s Rueda at $2.35 is excellent (I’m not a red wine drinker)
She says, pouring herself another glass …
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I wish we could but our house is in such disarray most days it could never work. I use all my extra time and cleaning energy on the downstairs unit. The cobbler’s children have no shoes and all that. Maybe someday, if we ever retire.
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Check your insurance. I let my insurance company know and got the ok from them in writing.
Lock your filing cabinet.
I do it sometimes for events.
I lock the hallway door which leads to the bedrooms and put a bed in the living area so it’s a studio apartment. That way I only get 2 guests staying and I don’t have to tidy the bedrooms.
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Have a backup plan for some responsible designee who knows how to get to the electric panel, WiFi router, etc.
The ONE time I was still in transit when a guest checked in, I got a text message, “There’s no WiFi.” Not much I could do immediately from the Chesapeake House rest stop on Route 95 between Philly and DC.
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Yes, my OH buys that as she’s a Mercadona shopper. I’m more a Lidl kinda guy 
the Visigodo rueda from Lidl is a similar price; we’ve been working our way through a few cases of that over the summer.
JF
Be sure to include your identity information in your list of valuables to lock up. Tax records, checkbooks, passwords, etc. - and password-protect your accounts they might have access to (Amazon Prime, Netflix, etc).
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I used to be a much more active host than I am now. When I first started Airbnb, it was whole house stays (I would stay with friends). The next year, I listed my home both as a whole unit and a house share (guests have all of the upstairs so they have their own bathroom).
My area is heavily dependent on summer/fall tourism.
I got burned out on hosting so I didn’t do any ABB this past summer, but I did get paying guests for a few days when I went out of town (not through the ABB site).
I try to rent out the whole house any time I go on vacation or out of town, it’s very sporadic and infrequent.
Edited to add: Due to the way my house is set up, it’s not much extra cleaning to rent the whole house vs the house share.
I limit the guest stay to three days even if I’m going to be gone longer than that.
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