Own a home and want to travel? Leverage your homeownership to give yourself the freedom to fund your next trip and learn how to become an Airbnb host today!
If you like to travel, chances are you have either stayed or considered a stay at an Airbnb property over the last few years.
Think of all of the reasons why an Airbnb property is a great choice when you travel. Airbnb properties:
- Tend to be conveniently located near places you want to explore
- Usually have a warm, welcoming atmosphere that makes you feel like you are at a ‘home away from home’
- Offer privacy and are nowhere near as crowded and noisy as hotels and other accommodations
- Are reasonably priced and often offer amenities and creature comforts you won’t necessarily find in hotels
- Typically have hosts that interact with you and provide you with the inside scoop on where and what to do that you may not have found any other way
Now flip this around and think about how you can use your home to provide these great benefits to other travellers while earning enough money to pay for your next travel adventure!
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The Other Side – Why Become an Airbnb Host
There’s all kinds of great reasons to become an Airbnb host.
It’s not just so you can give back to the community that has been developed over the years. Mainly it’s because you can make really good money renting out your house, to help fund fun things like travelling the world!
If you’re wondering whether or not you should be a host on Airbnb, let me share with you some great reasons why!
Benefits of Airbnb For The Traveller
Here’s some of the benefits of hosting on Airbnb as a traveller.
| Easy to create an account, list your home and monitor from the road | Set your own pricing schedule and listing availability for your home |
| Pay your home expenses AND earn money to support your travels | Peace of mind through insurance coverage and screening of guests |
| Earn extra money by listing a room while you are home | Communicate with guests to reduce potential issues and improve their stay |
| Keep most (95% – 97%) of what you earn from each booking | Change the pricing or availability as necessary or desired while you travel |
As you can see, there are lots of good reasons to become an Airbnb host, and a lot of it comes down to being financially secure, having the flexibility and it being safe!
Wanting to stay in Airbnbs on your travels instead? Sign up using this link to get USD$35 off your first trip!
The Benefits of Homeownership for those Who Love to Travel
Homeownership and travel have seemingly contradicted each other for far too long.
When you commit to homeownership you commit to stability, routine and regularity.
Typically you might consider yourself “locked-in” to your mortgage for 10, 20 or even 30+ years.
But if you consider travel, it is quite nearly the opposite!
You can go where you want, when you want and do pretty much what you want!
So how can a homeowner reconcile their love of travel with their commitment to their property?
In previous times it is likely that you would have to plan to leave your home vacant while you travel.
Thus you are essentially “double paying” for accommodations during this time.
- First, you’re paying for wherever you are staying while you travel.
- And second, you’re also paying your home expenses as it remains vacant while you’re gone.
It is often hard enough to budget for the various travel expenses you could expect to incur.
With homeownership, you also have to factor in the cost of leaving your home behind.
That’s why you should learn how to become an Airbnb host today!
READ MORE: Have a read of our best travel tips from more than a decade on the road!
But what if owning a home could actually help you pay not only for your home while you are away, but also for many of your travel expenses on the road?
It has never been more convenient or simple to fund your next travels by listing your home on Airbnb.
For many years the idea of leaving your home behind to travel – whether short-term or long term – was not really feasible.
It could be done, of course.
But you would need to save up in advance for the time period when your home would be vacant.
If you were gone for a few months maybe you could find someone through an advertisement or a friend.
But could you trust them with your home while you were away?
| What Airbnb Has To Offer | How This Benefits You As A Traveler |
| Start earning money now | List a single room or your whole home, and start earning cash for your travels |
| Low Fees (3-5%) | Earn (and keep) more money for travel. |
| You’re in control of decisions | Communicate with and monitor guests, adjust pricing and schedule and more while travelling |
| You set the price and availability for your home | List your home anytime you want and adjust to earn more during peak seasons |
| Insurance (Property & Liability) | Peace of mind while you are on the road. |
| Screen potential guests with advanced requirements for bookings | Confidence that people who respect your home will take care of it. |
| Set rules for your home listing. | Know that guests agree to respect your home (and community) while you’re away |
| Leave (and read) reviews OF guests | Adds additional confidence that your guest will treat your property well |
| Communication with guests | Build a relationship and communicate any concerns before they become issues |
Airbnb Offers You Exactly What You Need to Travel
Airbnb provides a pretty awesome solution to allow your home to work for you while you are out having a great time on your holiday!
Whether you are interested in travelling for several months or only plan to be gone for a long weekend or week away for work, listing your home on Airbnb is a great way to make the most of homeownership.
As a traveller, here is why you should consider listing your home on Airbnb:
- Free yourself to travel. Homeownership should not be a burden that ties you down. Instead, it should provide you with the means to be able to travel. See it as an opportunity to leverage your investment in your favour!
- You decide when to host. Whether during a weekend away, a long journey overseas or even while you are home – you determine when you want to list your home and earn extra cash!
- Earn extra money while you travel. This is obvious, but should not be overlooked! In most markets, a host can earn well above their monthly homeownership expenses. This means you can cover your mortgage and other expenses PLUS earn extra money to pay for your travel!
- Don’t “double-pay” for accommodations while you travel. Pay for the beautiful places you stay while you travel and let a guest pay for your home while you’re away!
- Allow someone else to enjoy your home as part of their travel experience. It’s likely that you chose to live in your home for many of the same reasons a guest would. Share your neighbourhood, community, and city with a guest to give them the best experience possible when visiting your area.
- Control all of the Airbnb decisions from the road. You likely won’t be far from the internet while you travel. So you can manage every aspect of who stays in your home, when and for how much all while you travel.
Why Become an Airbnb Host?
From a practical standpoint, Airbnb is the best solution for earning money from your homeownership while you travel.
Consider the following reasons why you should become an Airbnb host today:
- Earn extra money now. If you have a spare room in your home and are open to hosting guests while you are still preparing to travel, you can begin to earn money right away! List a room or two now. Then list your entire home while you travel!
- Low fees. So how much does Airbnb charge hosts? Airbnb only takes out minimal fees (3-5%) and guests pay credit card processing fees so you keep more of the money you earn from listing your home.
- Brand recognition. Airbnb is an industry leader in connecting travelers with a welcoming, convenient place to stay. You are not placing your home on online community lists for strangers. But rather on the world’s most reputable site for connecting travelers with unique accommodations.
- Insurance. Airbnb is a safe way to list your home for guests. With $1 million in coverage to protect you from both property damage and personal liability, you can be confident that your home will remain in the same shape you left it.
- Truth in numbers. Join millions of other homeowners listing their properties on Airbnb. Chances are, in your neighborhood there are a handful of other homeowners listing their properties on Airbnb. Join them and thousands of others because Airbnb works.
- Set the price and schedule. You can determine how much you want to charge for your home and when it is available. This is great as a traveller because you can list your home for a 2-month summer holiday OR for a long weekend getaway.
- Reviews OF Guests. Instead of just having guests review their Airbnb hosts, as a host, you can also review your guests. This means you can check out what other hosts have said about your guests before they arrive.
- Communicate with guests. You can directly message guests through Airbnb to develop a relationship with them prior to their arrival. Let them know of any particulars or address any of their potential concerns before they become issues.
- Set your own rules. Even though you aren’t there, your home is still your home. You can set expectations for your guests to which they must agree if they choose your property. You can cancel the reservation if any of these rules are broken by the guest.
- Screen potential guests. Establish the standards for potential guests by requiring additional information including a verified phone number, government ID, message from the guest, agreement to your house rules and even a positive review from another host.
Hosting Your Home with Airbnb Works!
We know people who have listed their homes on Airbnb in a number of circumstances that have allowed them to pursue their dreams of travelling.
There is certainly no shortage of reasons or circumstances for you to list your home today.
Here are a few ideas from a few friends of ours.
Maybe you’ll fit into a scenario like them!
- List to fund travel in inexpensive places like Central and South America and Southeast Asia. If you live in a high-rent city like New York or Sydney, the extra money you could earn from a few nights rental could last you many times longer when travelling to less expensive places. Dave listed his 4-bedroom beachfront home in San Francisco and earned over $4,000 per month. He chose to drive from California to Argentina and spent less than USD$2,000 per month during his journey, actually saving money while travelling!
- List while travelling by RV (or to a second home) for part of the year. Kim is from a higher-end part of Connecticut but dreamed of moving someplace warmer during the colder winter months. By listing her home on Airbnb she was able to make enough money to take her RV across the US and avoid the winter cold!
- List while transitioning to a simpler, more travel-friendly lifestyle. Steve and Jackie own a nice home in central Colorado. But they felt it was a little too much for them for the time being. They decided they wanted to downsize so they could travel more and worry less. So they listed their home on Airbnb and earned enough to pay for a smaller rental for themselves that also allowed them to save enough for weekend trips anytime they wanted.
- List now, travel later. Sam purchased his house several years ago with the idea that he would slowly and steadily pay it off. But his plans changed and he realized that he had a room he could rent out while he figured out the next steps in life. As he planned his big backpacking journey across Europe he earned extra money and met lots of interesting people from all over the world!
5 Things You Can Do to Prepare Your Home For Airbnb Hosting
1) Prepare your home to list. This should be obvious, but tidy up the place, make any necessary repairs and generally ensure that the home is comfortable and safe for any guest.
If you plan to be there while your guests are, be ready to communicate your schedule and any other details that will make them feel more like home.
2) Look at other listings. Get an idea for what other listings are available in your area and those similar to yours.
Not only will this help you price your home to book regularly, but it will also help you find ways to make your home stand out from the rest.
3) Create a fantastic listing. First, create an Airbnb Account. Then describe your property in the simple-to-follow steps.
Write a compelling description that leaves nothing out. Use high-quality images. And show as many spaces in your home as you can.
The more thorough you are the more reasons potential guests will have to book your home.
4) Make your listing unique. What amenities do you offer? What special things are there to do in the area? Do you have any relationships with businesses in the area that can add value to a guest’s stay?
Anything that makes your home stand out from the rest will add more money to your pocket.
5) Share on social media. Many times your friends and family in town will have guests who will want to come and stay near them and your home might be the perfect fit!
If you let your people know your home is available they’ll likely help you book it too.
The Takeaway of Hosting Your Home on Airbnb
Your home is, well, yours. You’ve worked hard to make payments on it and you’ve spent plenty of time and money decorating and outfitting it the way you like.
But you also have that desire inside of you to see the world. Maybe you’ve dreamed of quitting your job and travelling for long periods of time.
Or perhaps you just want the freedom to be able to take off for a long weekend whenever you want.
Hosting your home on Airbnb gives you the flexibility and financial freedom to be able to leverage your home to pursue your travel aspirations.
Whether you take on a few guests in a spare bedroom while you prepare for your trip, or list your entire property while you are on the road, Airbnb creates a way for you to earn extra money for travel.
Take the first steps and get started hosting now and become closer to your next travel adventure.
