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My airbnb is basically 3 bedrooms, each one as a sep airbnb listing - my guests are almost 100% business people 2-3 day stays while in my area (we have a lot of finance and data companies in the area). I do not allow food /drink in the rooms, no tvs etc, and the kitchen does not have a working stove, so I mainly get a lot of clean freaks.
I do have currently a room which is set up as a ‘yoga studio’ which, while attractive, is very underused - as in once every 2 months or so. I have felt that while unused, it may attract people as part of the ‘vibe’.
I was thinking of setting it up as a ‘home office’ that could be used after 9am until 6 or so (that way nobody would be bothered early morning or evening) and setting up a 4th ‘room’ that included the use of this room - for a premium price. Just like folks who have 2 bedrooms and have 3 listings, this would be another option and possibly attract $$s.
Thoughts on this? Would single people want a work-from-home space and be willing to pay 50% more for the use of the room? Advantages / disadvantages for guest and for me? Are ‘digital nomads’ really a thing and has anyone see $$$s from hosting them?
I could see a niche for that - not exactly what you might be envisioning, but in my previous life, I was on the hunt for an office space that could be rented by the hour or several hours at a time to meet with a client. It was a side job and I wasn’t earning enough to commit to a lease. I didn’t love the idea of work meetings in a home office (clients coming to my house) and all the office spaces around here seemed more like a permanent rental situation.
Since you have a niche market of business people I think you’re on to something genius here that would most benefit your guest and provide an extra income stream for you.
Would you allow visitors for meetings?
You could offer the use of a printer and other office conveniences, and have a set cost per page for the printer (another small income stream that benefits the guest).
I was originally thinking that you could put in a divider and a couple of desks, but the more available it is the more guests may think that it should be included with the cost of the room. I like your original idea best.
Yes, definitely. I don’t know where you are located, so couldn’t say whether it would be a “thing” in your area, though.
The attraction of being a digital nomad is that they can do their online work from anywhere, so they tend to choose locations that are a vacation draw in some way- a beach location, some “unique” stay, someplace with a killer view, or a big interesting city.
I had a guest who was a digital nomad and told me there are organizations which set up group living situations and tours for digital nomads. She travelled with one for awhile, all over Europe, but didn’t like it because the users are stuck with the same group for the duration, and in her case, there was another woman in the group who she couldn’t stand. So she prefers travelling on her own and booking her own places.
They are definitely a thing but we are not hosting them. I turn away at least 7 or 8 digital nomad couples every month. It is not ideal for us because our apartment is in the same house as the apartments we rent. I like for everyone to be out at some point instead of holed-up in my building. And I don’t care for the extra utility use, the extra wear and tear or the extra noise. They make a lot more noise than you might expect.
However, that is for monthly stays. I don’t really mind it as much for a short stay, but our max stay is only 8 days for a short-term stay so it’s not so bad on occasion. It sounds like it’s just an add-on for a short stay for you and if I remember correctly, you don’t live in the same building so that’s a different situation.
I think it’s actually a really neat idea. I imagine it will be extra trouble in a few ways so you’ll have to figure out if it’s worth it for however much more you make. You could even have it as a separate listing. I’ve had people reach out that only want to rent the space during the day for working so that’s another option too.
It does not meet the ‘business criteria’ because it is a house with 3 shared separate rooms, no kitchen facilities besides microwave. I think that the ‘new’ listing would perhaps work for fol;ks looking for a place that is NOT so ‘business-y’? My location is a bit upscale (not my airbnb tho lol) and it might attract…
How sound-proof or separated from the rest of the rooms is the office? Somebody wanting that extra office space is probably going to be talking on the phone A LOT.
Also, as someone that used to do a lot of both domestic and international business travel, I wouldn’t pay extra for an office that’s only usable during local business hours because of needing to communicate with people in time zones that are anywhere from 1 to 10 hours off.
I am hoping that the limitations of time spent in that office would be one of the deciding factors of a guest, and I know that you’re right, I would not expect to have guests who are needing that room 24 seven. On the other hand you gave me a good idea which is perhaps make it a zoom room with great lighting in background etc.
Winter 2019/2020 & 2020/2021 I had several digital nomad monthly bookings.
One couple booking said they wanted my place specifically because i had a workspace in the bedroom so the person working could close the door & a second workspace in the living room. They could each work & not bother the other.
The evolution of work from home to be much more common than it was 5 years ago has stressed some family situations.
A fellow I worked with was working from home and the children became loud & rambunctious. He tells his wife, “you need to keep them quiet”. Her response “Maybe you need to work someplace else.” He rented a shared office space.
Are these guests in town for work? I work remotely, but when I do travel for work, I’m busy with meetings during the day - there’s no reason to travel for work just to work from your lodging, right? But perhaps data/finance people operate differently.**
I can’t speak about others but my WFH nomads, worked 8-5 & enjoyed the location evenings & weekends. I think they were brilliant. They rented their home in California & used the proceeds to pay their mortgage & for their travel rental.
They came to me (coastal SC) from Florida then were going to stay in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina with the goal of walking parts of the Appalachian Trail.
They were planning to work their way back to California over the following year.
In reverse order - digital nomads are a thing and growing exponentially. My office is down a short hall from the guest suite and I move to a desk in my bedroom when guests are here and WFH guests come. There is a desk in the bedroom (no food, and a 32" TV), with kitchen privileges.
I’ve thought of cleaning up my office of all work related items and offering it to a longer staying guest for an additional 50% - 60%. The printer is networked, it’s roomy and private. I’ve been told that would be attractive to the types of digital nomads and gig workers (construction inspectors and project managers).
That’s the rub. My recent digital nomads did all their meetings via Skype or Slack so I didn’t have to deal with that.
My most recent digital nomad decided to work on the lanai -right outside the door leading to my bedroom - at full blast on a Slack conference call while I was on calls. when she went to the kitchen I came in and said “Wow, that was some meeting, even my clients in California were concerned.” She was unapologetic for screaming during the call and that my clients were disturbed by her. But I think if I informed people that they had an office on the other side of the house from mine and could open a door to the lanai while working, that could eliminate further issues.
In my case they’d have the entire south side of the house - office, bath, bedroom closed off to the rest of the house by a pocket door. They could even use the office door as a private entrance by walking around the house.
Hmmmmmmmm
I could offer 24/7 office space as it’s at the other end of my house, so that’s a good selling point.
I would never advertise a WiFi speed. We’re a vacation destination in the Caribbean and our provider isn’t very reliable. No way am I going to take the risk of refunding a guest a large amount because my service provider screwed up or the electric company had a short outage for maintenance or a storm came through.
