How to Start an Airbnb Business: My Beginner to Profit Journey

Trying to make the most of start airbnb business beginner? You are in the right place. Below we break it down in plain English, with practical tips you can actually use.

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• Renting your house or room on Airbnb is a fantastic way to build wealth with the property you already own, and in some situations it can be...

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This content is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, advisory, or brokerage services. We may earn compensation from some links on this page. Learn more.

Renting your house or room on Airbnb is a fantastic way to build wealth with the property you already own, and in some situations it can be worth purchasing property specifically for the purpose of starting a short-term rental business.

That’s exactly what I did. And so far, the results have been better than I expected.

In this beginner’s guide on how to start an Airbnb business, I’ll cover everything you need to know about becoming an Airbnb host, and share some insights based on my experience so far.

In this article I’ll go over… 

• Why I decided to become an Airbnb host
• Questions to ask yourself before listing your space on Airbnb
• Keys steps for success as a new Airbnb host
• Pro tips for new Airbnb hosts
• The unexpected perks of running an Airbnb business
• My Airbnb hosting experience

My Story Of Getting Started As An Airbnb Host

The beginnings of my Airbnb business started when I worked the night shift at the local motel. The complaints about the place were numerous: the walls were paper thin, you couldn’t adjust the temperature of each room individually, they didn’t allow pets (even service animals), and so on. 

Yet the place stayed consistently full, and even had a waiting list at peak times of the year. (In our tiny town, this meant around the rodeo and hunting season.) This clued me in to an unmet short-term housing need in my area.

Why I Decided to Become an Airbnb Host

My husband and I thought long and hard about whether to purchase a property to rent out on Airbnb. His job comes with housing, so as renters, we couldn’t do anything with our primary residence. 

We live in a tiny town in rural Texas. And by “tiny,” I mean one stoplight and more cows than people.

The fact that we’re so far away from a major city made us nervous about the prospect of investing in a rental property. Was there really enough demand to justify an Airbnb? I had an inkling based on my motel experience, but I wasn’t sure.

So we used an Airbnb profit potential spreadsheet and ran the numbers. We plotted out how much it would cost to purchase the house and furnish it with everything a rental would need. Then we forecasted our monthly expenses to see how numerous bookings we would need to cover them. 

We figured out that if we could keep our Airbnb occupied for an average of four nights each month (charging what the local motel charged), we would break even. 

We were fairly confident we would be fully-booked during the fall for hunting season, so even if the place sat empty for much of the rest of the time, we would be safe. 

With this knowledge, we took the leap and bought the house.

My Property

My Airbnb property.

We bought our friend’s house when he moved. It’s not fancy, but the people in our market are mostly utility workers, hunters, cowboys and other working-class folks; they aren’t looking for the Ritz Carlton , just a clean place to crash. 

Our house has two bedrooms and one bathroom, as well as a fenced backyard for visitors’ dogs. We decided to make our place pet-friendly, as we knew we could capitalize on the people with animals that the local motel turned away.

Even if you don’t have a whole house to rent, there’s still plenty of opportunity with short-term rentals on Airbnb. One local woman in my town rents out her camper. Glamping sites , camp tents with a luxury cot or mattress , are becoming more and more popular. A friend of mine remodeled a backyard shed into an efficiency apartment, which now makes enough to cover his mortgage.

Questions to Ask Yourself Before Listing Your Space

Before listing your space as a short-term rental, it’s a good idea to do some soul-searching. Airbnb is an ongoing commitment, and you’ll want to know what you’re getting into before you start this kind of business.

Here are a few helpful things to ask yourself:

• What are your goals in becoming an Airbnb host? Do you want to meet new people from other places? Make a little extra cash? Start a short-term rental empire? Your goals will determine everything from your pricing to the amenities you offer your guests, so get clear on what you want from the experience. 
• How much time and money are you willing and able to invest? Like any business, an Airbnb rental requires upstart capital. Furnishing a place costs a surprising amount, and there will be ongoing costs your business will need to cover, such as property taxes and utilities. Moreover, you’ll have to clean the unit between each guest or hire someone else to do so. Make sure you have the time for this (or the time to manage it) before you commit.
• What are the local and state laws and regulations regarding short-term rentals? More and more cities are regulating or even prohibiting short-term rentals, so check your city ordinances and/or HOA to make sure your Airbnb won’t have to shut down before the first guest arrives. 
• What type and amount of insurance do you need? Airbnb offers some coverage for damage done by guests, but the general consensus among experienced hosts is to get homeowner’s insurance that is specifically designed for an Airbnb. (We use Proper Insurance.) Normal homeowner’s insurance may not cover you if you rent out your place. 
• Are you willing to share this space with strangers? Whether or not you live in the space you’re renting, some people are unsettled by the thought of having perfect strangers in their home , particularly if they have children. If the thought of someone else touching your stuff makes your skin crawl, you should probably look into a different type of business.
• Do you have enough financial cushion to weather a dry spell? Numerous Airbnb locations (beach houses, mountain cabins, glamp sites, etc.) are seasonal. Your financial position should allow you to stomach a couple of months with few or no bookings without going broke. 

Seven Keys to Success as a New Airbnb Host

If you want to know how to be the perfect Airbnb host, the key is to do a lot of research and prep work beforehand. Here are six items to take care of before your listing goes live to ensure you hit the ground running. 

1. Know Your Market

Whether you’re renting out a shed in your backyard or buying a home to rent in a distant city, it’s crucial to know a decent amount about the geographic location of your Airbnb, as well as the demographic that will be using it. 

My humble two-bedroom home is just what hunters and cowboys in rural Texas expect. It’s comfy and clean, but it’s sparsely decorated and has just the basics. But I’d get raked over the coals if I tried to offer the same caliber of experience in a luxury resort town. 

Our Airbnb property isn’t fancy, but it has everything people need when they visit our town for the rodeo or hunting season.

It’s also key to know about your market’s competition. How numerous other Airbnbs and hotels are in that region? Are they the same size and/or cost point as the one you’re offering? If the market has a lot of competition, that isn’t necessarily a red flag as long as you can offer something the others don’t. 

For instance, if every place in town is a $300-per-night bunkhouse that sleeps 12 people, you can fill a potential hole in the market by offering a simple one-bedroom efficiency for $70 per night.

It’s also key to know what’s drawing people to your area. Be aware of major attractions and events in the area, such as festivals, music competitions, state parks, car shows, theatrical performances, races, sporting events and so on. You can optimize your pricing and give your guests a more catered experience if you know why they’re coming to stay at your place. 

This information is also crucial in predicting the peaks and troughs in your bookings. 

2. Run the Numbers

You’ll need to forecast what you’ll spend to acquire your Airbnb space (unless you’re renting out a room you

Final Thoughts

Before you check out, double-check start airbnb business beginner against current offers and any coupons you can stack. Small habits like this add up to real savings over a year.

Originally published at thewaystowealth.com.