120 Nights Later: Confessions Of An Airbnb Host

Eight weeks into launching our startup Whttl, my cofounder and I are in the final stretch of product development before we raise our seed round and can take a salary. To reduce my cash burn rate in the interim, personal expenses have been cut. This includes gym membership, shopping excursions, and ‘of-the-month clubs. Of course, the biggest expense for my wife and I is rent.

Instead of treating our place as a liability, though, Sara and I decided to treat it as an income generating asset. We rent our gorgeous apartment on Airbnb as often as we can, and spend the time with family in northern California when we do so.

We have racked up 120 nights so far, including complete apartment rentals, spare bedroom stays, and even a few nights renting out the couch. At the moment, our only other income is my weekend Lyft driving. When I wrote a post called “1,000 Rides Later: Confessions of a Lyft Driver,” nearly 20,000 people read it in just 2 days. It only seemed natural to do a similar expose for our experience as an Airbnb host. Here we go.

Is it ever weird having a stranger in your home when you are there?

Not really. When we were in San Francisco, we rented out our living room couch. At times, it was a little strange of a dynamic, but certainly manageable. Now in San Diego, we have a bigger place and rent our guest bedroom. Suffice it to say, the extra bedroom is definitely a better setup. Most guests are in town for something specific, such as an event, conference, or serious beach time, so they spend little time at our place anyways. They are there to shower and sleep.

Do you ever meet your guests before they arrive?

Very rarely. It’s funny…we almost prefer not meeting our guests, because then it is only up to our imagination on who is staying in our place. Only once have we had a couple come and check the place out before they decided to book. It was a little bit strange knowing that they would be living in our home in a few weeks, but it was reassuring that they appeared to be polite, respectful, and hygienic!

How much do we make?

The shorter the stay, the more lucrative it is. Single nights will earn us $200 — $300, depending on demand, local events, and the season. Weeks are a bit cheaper at around $200 per night, and a whole month stay will yield about $100 — $120 per night. Our most lucrative period was in late July/early August, we made nearly $5,200 renting our place for a total of 19 days. Here’s a more in depth post about our income.

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Have guests ever left your place messy?

For the most part, guests leave our apartment impressively clean. The trash is taken out and the dishes are at least placed in the dishwasher. One recent long term guest even hired a professional cleaner before they checked out. The same guest even redecorated a bit (a few plants and accent pieces were moved around), and as it turned out, my wife actually really liked it!

Has anything ever been damaged or gone missing?

Never, not once. Often times, we’ve returned with our place just as clean, if not cleaner, than we left it. Our plants had been watered and trimmed, and our supplies like toilet paper, hand soap, and paper towels had even been restocked.

Where have your guests come from?

All over the world! A quick scan of our guest list shows Vancouver, Nevada, Washington, Singapore, Germany, Malaysia, New Zealand, Brazil, Illinois, New York, & Spain.

Who are your most memorable guests?

Two girls from Canada stayed with us for a couple of nights. At the time, my wife was pregnant, and they brought a little book for our unborn daughter. I read that book to Audra at least once per week, and every time I do, I think of our generous and thoughtful guests!

What’s the funniest story?

We once had a guest rent out our couch who was extremely tall. We all gathered around the couch and spent the better part of 10 minutes formulating a strategy to make it work. A combination of the ottoman and removal of a cushion or two worked, and he told us he got a great night’s sleep thanks to our innovative tactics.

What are the ages of your guests?

Although there seems to be a general consistency of guests in their late twenties and early thirties, we’ve hosted people from eighteen years old to early fifties.

What are the reasons people have stayed?

Business trips, going to a concert, general vacation. One creative guy even used our place to cook a romantic dinner for his girlfriend, and returned the place to us that same night.

Have we ever felt uneasy about the guest staying in our house?

In the week leading up to a month long stay, we hadn’t had any confirming communication that the guest would still be arriving. With a day left before the booking began, they finally reached out and we were able to relax that the original plan was still on. Turns out, they had been traveling, and lost contact with the outside world for a few days. Just to be safe, we still always hide our most valuable and private items, or bring them with us.

Have any guests become friends of yours?

Many of our guests, if not most, are from abroad. As such, it makes it a little challenging to keep the conversation going. With that said, whenever we travel to a city that one of our guests are from, you can bet we’ll reach out and try to connect!

My wife and I truly enjoy being Airbnb hosts. We’ve met great people and earned enough cash to cover rent. We’ve been such evangelists of Airbnb that we’ve even convinced a couple friends and family members to give it a try. Many of them are now active hosts.

After we raise our seed round at Whttl, Sara and I will probably close our proverbial doors. Until that time comes, I hope that we get the chance to host you.

If this post convinced you that using Airbnb would be super rad, here is $25 towards your first trip.

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Greg Muender is the founder of Whttl, described as the “Kayak.com for startups.” Use it to compare dozens of different providers and marketplaces at once, including RelayRides, DogVacay, and HomeJoy. Drop Greg a line via greg<at>whttl/dot/com. For further reading, check out the Official Whttl Blog.