From Empty Spare Room To Money Making Airbnb Hustle: Rent Your Room With These Easy Steps

You will have no doubt already heard about Airbnb. If not, where exactly have you been all these years? This fantastic website gives travelers the chance to book a room in someone’s home. It works out a lot cheaper for them, and gives them the chance to stay with locals who can give them great insider tips on the area. It is not just advantageous for the guest, though. There are many benefits for the hosts who choose to list their spare room on the website! Firstly, you can make a nice sum of money from renting out any spare accommodation that you may have. Not only that, though, but you will get the chance to meet some really interesting and unique travelers. However, how exactly do you get your room noticed on the website? Here are the steps you need to take.

Get To Know the Laws

One of the first things that you need to do is to get to know the laws of your local area that apply to holiday and residential rentals. You need to make sure that you are complying with the local law when you list your spare room on Airbnb. Otherwise, you may end up facing a fine. For instance, many New Yorker residents have been charged thousands of dollars for using websites such as Airbnb. This is because they did not license their home as a holiday accommodation. To make sure you do not face any nasty surprises, do your homework!

Spruce Up Your Room

Your spare room will need to be well decorated and very comfortable if you want your guests to be happy with their accommodation. If you have not used the room for a while, make sure you clear out all the storage that has built up in it. It is also a good idea to add some basic furniture such as a bedside table and closet. To really impress your guests, you could consider investing in some hotel bed linen and super soft towels. Some wall art can also brighten the place up and will attract guest’s eyes when they are browsing all the different rooms available in your area.

Take High-Quality Pictures

You will get the chance to add some photos to your room’s advert on Airbnb. Ideally, these should be of a very high quality. Taking some pictures on your camera phone simply will not cut it! It is a good idea to use a top-quality DSLR camera to take professional-style pictures. If you do not have this type of camera, you could always ask your friends and family if someone has one you could borrow. Do not forget to edit the photos before you upload them. This can help improve them, especially if you took them in low light.

Remember To Pay Your Taxes

If you earn a considerable amount from your regular bookings on Airbnb, you will have to start to consider yourself as a business and start to declare the earnings as part of your income. They will then be taxed accordingly. Airbnb may send you a tax form to fill out once they start to notice exactly how much you are making. However, even if they do not send you any paperwork, and you find out you are earning enough to pay tax, you should sort all this out yourself. If you do not the tax man could end up surprising you by paying you a visit!

Think About Ongoing Expenses

Many hosts only consider the initial costs that they incur when they set up their spare room as an Airbnb rental. However, it is also important that you think about the ongoing costs. You will have various things that you will regularly need to buy for guests in your room, such as new toiletries. There will also be a cost for replacing all your cleaning supplies. It is important that you do not forget about these costs and factor them into your asking price so that they are covered by the rent.

Be Respectful

You will certainly want all your guests to be neat, tidy, and very respectful. Well, it is also important that you are just as neat and respectful as they are. Do not invade their privacy by going into the room once someone is staying in there. It is also important that you keep any shared living quarters tidy, as a messy home could reflect badly on yourself. If you are friendly, respectful, and tidy, you will surely get a positive review left on your Airbnb profile!