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I rent out my basement as a 1 bedroom and just lock the other 2 bedrooms off. Been doing it that way since I started short term rentals 10 months ago.
Seemed to work out as most I got were either single and looking to quarantine for 2 weeks (I’m in Canada ) now a lot of the restrictions are being lifted and I’m thinking that maybe it would be good to put it up as a 3 bedroom option, but I’m wondering would that invite party groups of people? and if I put it on as a 3 bedroom for more money will I get less of the singles or couples and just get less bookings overall and potentially more party people.
I wondered if anyone has any experiences to share of renting a 3 bedroom space while they live in another floor of the house etc…
It all depends on where you are & the nature of your rentals.
For example I have a 2br 2ba condo 1 mile from beach, sleeps 6
Families with children would book. Lots of children. Lots of damage. Kids will be kids but some parents don’t try to keep children from tearing things up. (Personal opinion 10-13 year old boys are the worst. It’s illegal to ban them )
When listed as 2BR/2Ba I had few singles & couples book.
Every year was a constant maintenance battle with many dollars spent.
Starting 2020, I locked off one BR&BA, Max 2 guests. Next to no repair/maintenance due to guest damage. While my nightly revenue is less, I earn more. Also I am able to spend $ on improvements instead of repair.
If you are a family destination, try it, decide if it is worth it. You can always go back to 1BR. You never know until you try.
As long as guests realize you are upstairs, your listing will not be appealing to partiers
I have a 3 bedroom 2 bath that I lock two doors and rent it as 1x1
I have the calendars linked so no overbooking, I have a 3 day minimum on the 3 bedroom and a 2 day on the 1 bedroom because I am just tired of the larger groups even though my max is just 6. I prefer couples, they eat out for the most part and make less mess.
Such a good idea compared to a per extra person charge! I may copy this for my snowbird rentals (usually senior citizens -my age) I open the 2nd BR/Ba for off season bookings. The children are in school.
Make it quite clear and prominent in your listing description that this is an owner-occupied house. That the guest quarters are private, and that you live in the upstairs. Partiers don’t want to book owner-occupied homes.
You can also create 4 listings- one each for each individual bedroom, and one for all three bedrooms. You have to link the calendars so if an individual room gets booked, the 3 bedroom option becomes unavailable, and vice versa.
So you could then get 3 unrelated couples in each bedroom, or a group that needed 3 bedrooms could book the entire unit. But there are problems associated with renting rooms to 3 different bookings, as shared spaces like kitchens and bathrooms can get dirty and the other guests suffer and will leave bad reviews.
It sounds like might be a bit of a headache to rent it out as a 3 bedroom rental.
My house is quite big with 8 beds and 3 baths on 3 levels.
I live on middle floor and 3 international students on top floor.
I used to have 3 more international students in the 3 bed suite downstairs, but when covid came along they went home. That’s when I tried A bnb and it worked out for the people having to do 2 weeks quarantine as is/ was the rule in Canada.
And what I found is that as 1 bed bnb I made a bit less that 3 students, but it’s also a lot less work and hassle + my place doesn’t get worn out like it did with students.
Making it 3 beds again sounds like it might be back to the wear and tear/hassle as before.
I don’t think I can do that where I live. I have to add a number from my city business listing to the bnb listing and I think I can only do that on one listing.
That would be an interesting thing to check out. If you wanted to do something like that, the thing is, it’s essentially one listing- it’s all the same place, but with options for how many bedrooms someone would want. It’s not like it’s two separate units.
You could offer all those options on one listing if you had a direct booking site, there’s just no way to do it on Airbnb, nor I suspect on any other platform booking sites.
Yes, there is — you just have multiple listings linked, so that if one is rented the others are automagically blocked by Air. One listing for one BR, one for 2 BR, one for 3 BR.
As long as the OP says prominently in the listing that they live on premises they’re not likely to have partiers, but as others day, you’re likely to attract families instead.
I just reopened my 3 rooms as a 3BR apt, and will be doing another listing as a 2 BR tonight, as an experiment.
I got a splash of bookings for July and Aug last weekend to start, but now nothing for 4 days in an area with an extreme hotel room shortage this summer, and every other Air with 3 BRs is almost fully booked through mid Sept. Still trying to figure out pricing, too, but in this small market I can easily see what’s available on any date, and my listing is top of page.
Don’t limit yourself to one or the other. I do both. I list my 3BR/2BA as a 2BR/1BA for up to 9 people and 2 separate 1BR/1BA (1 is max 2 guests and the other is max 5 guests). The rates are for only one person and then it is $20/night/additional person.
I usually get singles, couples and small families. However a few times a year I will get a night or two booked by 9 people when they are participating in a nearby sporting event.
The past 3 years I almost never get bookings for any of the single room options anymore as I indicate that the 2BR is an upgrade, and I generally only charge $20/ night less for the single rooms than fir the 2.
Do the multiple listings get to combine reviews and the metrics for Superhost status? I’ve thought of doing this but didn’t because I thought it would “dilute” the performance of each listing.
I think so, too. I usually recommend they schedule out their showers to ensure everyone has a hot one. I believe that there are usually only 5-8 hours max where all guests have actually been present at the same time and they all seem to be happy (as long as it’s not a group that also breaks the house rules).
I did this years ago and it’s still working except I’ve snoozed the listing because 1 is a LTR until 12/22.
When I did the link I had a 1 Br condo in the same development as a 2br condo. Each had its own/separate/independent Airbnb listing.
I did a 3rd listing if someone wanted to rent both, for example GMa & Gpa in the one BR & adult child & spouse with kids in the other. It worked well.
If the 1br was booked 6/1-6/7 it’s calendar showed booked/unavailable
The combined condo calendar showed unavailable
The 2 Br calendar remained open since separate listing
Canadians always manage to fit the word “Canada” in every post they make. It’s so interesting!
OK, my opinion would be to absolutely market the home as a 3BR listing. And just keep one listing, otherwise it might be hard to manage (at least at first).
By doing this, you’ll be the most visible to the largest market demand (in your area) and everything about that general concept will be great for your listing.
Then, keep the entry price super low (or as low as would make you happy assuming you’d be hosting just 1-person). Next, charge something large (at least $25, up to $50) per person beyond a 1-person booking. You will get a lot of singles/doubles most of the time. And since you’re making it obvious in your listing description that you reside on site, nobody would dare pump more people in there without paying/disclosing them. They know you’d catch them! And then when you get the occasional 4-6 person group, you’ll make on the order of double you would for smaller groups. You’ll have to turn all the bedrooms after these larger stays which won’t be great, but you’ll be using the asset to its fullest. At the end of the year, you’ll make a LOT more money.
All the other comments folks have made around being owner occupied will keep all the partiers, idiots at bay.
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