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Hi, I have a duplex unit I’m thinking of converting to Airbnb. I’m thinking I’ll make more money - but it will be a lot more work, dealing with people, etc., not to mention cost of furnishing it. Also when I read people’s many comments about difficult guests it certainly lowers my enthusiasm. I’m worried I’ll furnish the place, get into it and hate it and then be stuck with a bunch of furniture I need to unload. How much time will it take to manage this? What percent of guests are good/rotten? Do you end up making enough money to make it worthwhile? It looks like where I am, I could charge about $80-$90 a night.
As a side note, I’m in Minneapolis, which is hosting the Super Bowl next winter, which I assume would be a windfall. Correct me if I’m wrong.
Please remember that when you read about unpleasant guests here, you are reading about a small minority of the total guests.
How much time you spend on Airbnb depends on several factors:
What will be the minimum number of days you will allow guests to stay. Turnovers are time consuming, so if you set a minimum of three or four days you will cut down on the time you spend cleaning.
Will you provide self check-in? If you are able to let guests check themselves in this will save lots of time as you won’t have to wait for them to arrive.
Will you be able to respond to emergencies quickly? If your day job won’t permit you to leave if there’s an emergency at your unit you will have to find a cohost which will cut into your profit.
Get some sturdy second hand furniture at the Goodwill and go for it. After a few guests you’ll know if you want to stick with it. And if you don’t, you can always rent it long term.
Hosting a stand-alone separate unit is going to be a lot of work. A month ago I listed my downstairs studio and found out just how much more work it is compared with my shared space upstairs where the housework is pretty much my usual routine, just more frequent.
The Super Bowl doesn’t last long but you’ll get a bump in your income from a temporary rate hike, but you shouldn’t let that event be what’s motivating you.
The best way to know whether it will be profitable to you is to put a budget together with your start up costs and ongoing costs based on the average number of bookings you think you will get a month - will you get lots of 1 or 2 nighters or longer stays?
Then compare costs and income for long term rentals against BNB.
We can’t tell you whether you will make money - you need to crunch the figures
I’ll comment on SuperBowl. I would not start Airbnb and assume you will make tons of money for SuperBowl. You could easily make bank, or you could easily be left with nothing.
Since anyone can list on Air for free, markets have become saturated. So each year, more and more people leave their homes to rent them out for major events. You also need to read up on Air’s cancellation policies…esp. one called extenuating circumstances. I would not feel comfortable having a booking for something like SuperBowl being made through Airbnb. I will be having a major event in my area in 2018. And I won’t book it through Air. There is no way I am going to be left high and dry due to their lenient cancellation policies.
As you plan on hosting a whole house so you won’t be on site; if I were you I would put cameras outside the listing. In particular for the Superbowl, I would make a rule that nobody who is not on the reservation may be on the property. Also, I would go by and check the property. If you don’t take these measures your guests might have a party which will irritate your neighbors and destroy your possessions.
You can furnish a small apartment very cheaply without it looking cheap. I do not recommend second hand stuff unless you have a period property, but that’s just me. Go to Ikea or TK Maxx, The Ikea memory foam mattresses are amazing I get constant praise for them and they are around £125. Good quality pillows are a very good investment also. I don’t know the size of your flat, but you should be able to furnish and make comfortable a 1 bed for less than 2 grand. You should make it back in a couple of months. When I set up my house as a entire rental I Googled “supplies for holiday let” and found some useful lists of essentials, kitchen stuff etc. Also some ridiculous lists.
