How to make extra cash with Airbnb

To say that Airbnb has had a significant impact on the way the world thinks about accommodation when travelling, would be quite the understatement.

With over 2,000,000 listings across 34,000 cities in 191 countries, Airbnb gives travellers a unique opportunity to feel like a local while visiting a place they've never been.

Airbnb also gives locals and opportunity to make money while meeting interesting people from all around the world! Here’s how you can make some extra cash as an Airbnb host.

Setting up your profile

It’s easy to set up a profile on Airbnb, doesn’t cost any money and provides a valuable tool for hosts and potential guests to learn more about each other before they actually end up sharing a space. Airbnb profiles don’t display full names or contact details, so you can be sure your info is safe.

Listing your space

Now that you’ve signed up with Airbnb it’s time to become a host. It’s free and easy to list your space with Airbnb, and to get started all you need is the following:

• A description of the space, which could include the sort of room you're offering, what sort of amenities you’re making available and its proximity to certain points of interest.
• Photographs of the space that you’re listing. You can upload up to 24 photos of your space and Airbnb will even send a professional photographer to perfectly capture your space.
• Your price and availability. Airbnb allows you to set the price and determine when it’s available to rent you’re you can fit it around your schedule. You also have the opportunity to set custom prices for individual nights, weekends, special events and monthly stays.

Getting into contact with guests

Once your space is set up and ready to go, Airbnb allows you to connect with travellers from all around the world. How you want to manage this process is up to you and whatever you’re comfortable with. Airbnb allows you to set a reservation request requirement, but also has a handy Instant Book system if you’re fairly confident with the process you have in place. Guests will approach you and use Airbnb’s elegant messaging system to get into contact with you which is a handy failsafe and makes sure the only people staying are those you’re comfortable with.

Welcome your guests

Once you’ve confirmed reservations it’s time to get your space ready for your guests. Airbnb suggest that as a host you should provide guests with everything they’ll need for a comfortable stay, from an extra set of towels to a map to find their way out and even instructions on how to use the wifi.

Airbnb’s messaging system makes it easy to coordinate arrivals and departures and it’s important to let guests know if you’ll actually be greeting them in person or just leaving the key in a safe spot. It’s also recommended that you be available during your guests' stay to be able to help remedy any issue that may arise. If you do happen to be going to be out of the area during this time, it’s a generally considered best practice to provide your guests with a reliable contact.

Conclusion

So as you can see, while it may seem a little intimidating at first, preparing your space as a Airbnb listing is actually safe, easy and a lot of fun. And once you’ve had a few guests we think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the amount of money coming in. If this all sounds like music to your ears you can sign up to Airbnb and set your space up as an Airbnb listing by following this link.

If this sounds like music to your ears and you would like to make money by renting your place, head over to Airbnb now and have a look around.

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