Hello, I am considering becoming a host but I am undecided because I don.t know what to expect in terms of the number of requests I can expect. I work half of the time in another state and was thinking of hosting while I am away. The logistics of that alone is another story but how often can I reasonably expect to have guests? I am in the Detroit area near Ferndale and Royal Oak with a sf 3 be home. I thought this would be a reasonable question to ask before I go through the trouble of preparing my home for this venture.
You can always set up an account–with IB off of course-- with a few photos and a description to see if you get inquiries. You can always turn them down until you are more ready to host. That can help you gauge the demand.
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Easiest check the calendar of the competition near your area. You will have a good idea how it’s working
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Both of the previous answers are good ones. Check what your competition is. Don’t enter dates in the search. But you can click on their calendars and see if they are booked or not.
And, you can start out slow. I started with airbed and ‘junk’ furniture that I had - and kept my price low. I had bookings immediately, and stayed book. After 5 months later we started an extensive remodel project. Added a bathroom. When the airbed died we got a real bed (and oh my, the fellow hosts were so helpful on that day!!!). We are STILL improving to this day.
We visit Detroit at Christmas and need a place to stay - be sure to post your link. We are a family of 5.
Be sure to check out sales and occupancy taxes - in some places the hosts have to collect them.
Read read read on this site - you’ll learn so much.