What you Need to Know Before Becoming an Airbnb Host

Whether you have an empty property or you’re going away for a couple months, Airbnb is a wonderful platform to share your beautiful home whilst making an income, if you’re thinking about listing your property, here’s what you should consider first.  

1. Do the research.
   Listing a property on Airbnb is unfortunately not always as simple as taking some photos of your home and creating an ad, many councils require you to obtain permits or approval before leasing out your property, so be sure to check the legal requirements of listing a property before you let anyone stay.
   
   
2. Time commitment.
   Be aware of the time commitment that goes into listing a home on Airbnb, depending on your own personal circumstances, having a listing could require a lot of your own time, whether its cleaning the property once guests leave, delivering the keys to guests or having to be on call in case something goes wrong. It is essential to make sure you have the time and flexibility to keep on top of your property.
   
   
3. Pricing. If you’ve decided that Airbnb is for you, the next step is to consider how much to list your property for. Before picking just any price, take into consideration anything else you may have to cover the costs of. You may wish to employee cleaners for once guests leave, security for your property, instillation of cameras and an overall cost to help cover any damage.

4. Risk and liability.
The final thing to consider is that you are welcoming strangers into your home and unfortunately it is unpredictable how  they might treat your property, for this reason it is important to insure your home, enlist in Airbnb liability insurance and always be sure to never leave any valuables or anything of importance to you in your rental.

More information on hosting a property through Airbnb.