Portable B&B: Taking Airbnb On The Road

I am the headmistress of a portable B&B! Like many of my fellow Airbnb hosts, I feel like the position fell into my lap. I love how every listing and rental situation has a different flavor, depending on the space and the host. This is my tale of taking it on the road with me, while I lived and traveled Asia.

A year ago, I was in the process of taking the humongous leap to becoming location independent with my partner, (aka. I had a one-way flight to Thailand and had given notice at my office job), when someone shared with me Get Paid For Your Pad, by Jasper Ribbers. This book unveiled something huge to me. It made me realize the house I rented — in any city in the world — was a huge asset, and one that I could (and should) use to my full advantage. I could list my apartment on Airbnb and make money from it.

This is how we found ourselves in sunny Thailand. Once we settled in a cute beach town that was known as a holiday attraction, we started to look at houses to rent. It was incredible how much further our US dollars went in Thailand. This was one thing that drew us to “The Land of Smiles” in the first place, and we certainly were not disappointed.

We rented a beautiful three-bedroom house that was already furnished with high-quality furniture and and a Western kitchen. Best of all, rent for this space was less than what we were paying back in the states. The house was located in a gated community, where many other expats lived. There was a shared pool and gym. We felt swanky, and certainly never pictured ourselves living in a gated community, but we were elated by the situation.

As soon as we could, we posted the space on Airbnb. Of course we also added great personal touches. We purchased colorful Thai silk throw pillows and knick knacks for the shelves. Although we hadn’t lived in the space long, we took efforts to make it feel homey and inviting. We had a great space that screamed “luxury,” so why wouldn’t someone pay us to stay there?!?!

Honestly, at first we were unsure of the whole Airbnb process; like many new hosts we were unsure of pricing and how to write the most enticing description. We traveled the learning curve roller coaster and kept playing with prices and titles to find what worked best in our Airbnb listing.

Christmas and New Years were the peak of the tourist season in our area. When we received our first booking for over New Years, we were elated! The payout from the few nights they spent in our space, covered our rent for the month. Wowzers! We knew this was when we were onto something.

Admittedly, New Years was the only time we were able to charge such a high nightly rate; after the holidays, the demand started to decrease so we needed to lower our prices as well. Actually, the decrease in interest was perfect for us, because we still wanted to spend time at home and not feel displaced, but continue to rent it out a couple times a month. It was important to create a balance.

Every time our whole house was rented, we would clean like hell, then leave for a mini holiday once our guests had checked in and received the keys. We never traveled far or stay someplace glamorous, but it did give us a chance to check out the region in a unique way. We stayed within a two hour scooter ride of the house, in case we needed to hurry back for an emergency.

Often we stayed in the same beach town, booking a room at a local budget hotel or bungalow. For one mini-holiday, we stayed at a gorgeous beach which was remote there there was only electricity in the evening when they ran the generator. By day, people were scarce, but in the evening people flocked to the lights and wifi like bugs.

We thought the change in atmosphere was wonderful; it was great to already be familiar with the area. We had our list of favorite restaurants and beach bars, and yet everything still felt fresh and new.

We stayed in that house for six months. After that time, we sold the few furnishing we had acquired, and then moved to a different country to start the process all over again! Hello Vietnam!

This may seem silly, but we love the process of decorating and creating a new lovely space! We love scoping our new fun cities with a low cost of living and high tourist interst. We find it interesting to research rentals in a new city and see how people live. The space we created became “home” for six months, while guests effectively paid us to travel.

Moving is actually fun when all you have is a suitcase of personal belongings and not a whole house of belongings. I’m a huge fan of closing up house at the end of the lease — it’s a guilty pleasure of mine. :-)

We have had great success and fun with this process, although I realize it’s not for everyone. I just wanted to share my story, as it may be inspiring to some… use it as food for thought. For us, this is a spectacular way to establish a home base and still travel.

Soon to come: location considerations! What do we look for in our next location, as well as the properties we rent. This is hugely important!

Ohhhhhh man, so much to share!

Check out our blog on Blissy Life!