We have done this for seven years. We rent one room with a separate entrance but those guests share our first floor bathroom. They usually have it pretty much to themselves. Upstairs we rent one and sometimes two rooms that share a bathroom. My husband and I use whatever is least busy and usually time our showers for when guests are out. We have met people from over three dozen countries and over 40 states. It is rare that we don’t meet and have at least a brief chat with out guests. Many come to our area for a one time event. That said we still have about 20% who book repeatedly. In all that time there is only one couple that I wouldn’t rent to again since they left such a mess. Since we don’t offer private bathrooms, we offset that a little by being one of the few in the area allowing a one night stay. I miss it when we don’t meet our guests.
Renting out a room can be a great way to make extra money. It’s good you’re keen to meet new people, as inviting strangers into your home can be a little daunting.
Does the private room have it’s own bathroom facilities? You will also need to consider how you feel about shared spaces, how do you feel about sharing your lounge, kitchen, garden etc? Some guests = will be happy to interact, but others may be less forward and prefer not to mingle too much!
If you are inviting guests into a shared home it would be a good idea to screen them first - try to get to know a little bit about them. You might also want to consider drawing up a few house-rules. These don’t have to be overly strict, but outline anything important e.g. please don’t smoke in our home, please don’t invite guests into our home etc. Security should be your top priority!
That said, you seem to be entering the hosting business with a great attitude - looking forward to meeting and greeting guests will set you in good stead.
We wish you luck in your venture!