The headline is a bit misleading- it’s actually a good reality check for those who think being an investor host is going to be easy money.
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As I have said before
The next time someone says to me….
You have a few Airbnbs? Such easy money, just change the bed and swish the bathroom!
I WILL bitch slap them!
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You should get someone to video you going about your hosting day “just changing beds and swishing the bathroom”. Make sure they get some footage of you pulling long clumps of soap-scum covered hair out of the drains, scrubbing make-up and bodily fluid stains out of linens and towels, fishing recyclables out of a bag of slimey garbage, and some shots of the messages filled with stupid questions you have to sit at your computer to answer, or you sending the third message prodding guests for their ETA.
Then send the video to those who think you make “easy money”.
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In two apartments both having a same day turnover!
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While reading 1000 Reddit posts from guests bitching about cleaning fees and asking for tips on how to get money refunded…
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Amen @muddy! I wouldn’t agree with Dave Ramsey that “they’ll destroy your house and anger your neighbours” - that certainly has not been my experience. BUT… it IS a a serious JOB. But you can control how much it rules your life in taking measures like automatically blocking off a day on either side of bookings - to avoid the stress of same day turnovers. Or whatever it takes so you can enjoy your life AND make the extra income.
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Yes, “destroy your house and anger neighbors” definitely isn’t part and parcel of having an str, but then again he was talking to a potential “investor host”, where that sort of thing happens more frequently than when a host is onsite, nearby, or actively engaged with their rental and their community.
I agree wholeheartedly about running one’s Airbnb in a manner that suits your available time, stress level, etc., rather than letting the Airbnb run you.
I’ve always left a night between bookings- I have another job, and having to drop everything to clean the guest space in a short window of time just wouldn’t work for me without being stressful.
I also let guests check out up to 4pm and will even let them stay a bit longer if they’d just have to find somewhere to hang out if they didn’t have to be at the airport until 6, as long as they are all packed up so I can start cleaning if there’s another guest arriving the next day. And I have a check in window that starts at 11am, even though few guests arrive that early. So I have never had to deal with early check-in or late check-out requests that I had to refuse or negotiate.
While I certainly enjoy the extra money my rental brings in, I’m not into doing it in a way that is going to stress me out (which affects our mental and physical health) just to gain some more money.
Yes, there are definitely differences between a STR that is only used for that purpose and renting out ones home. I sense that when guests arrive they immediately realize how much trust I’m putting in them. I’ve never had anyone abuse that.
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