How to Airbnb Host in Your Home or On Your Property
You want to Airbnb host but, wait a sec, you don’t have a trendy urban loft or mountaintop A-frame to list on Airbnb? No penthouse overlooking the beach? Damn.
Well, guess what? Neither do most Airbnb hosts! Neither do I!
Airbnb hosts all over the world welcome guests into their own homes or on their property, not a second home or vacation home.
In fact, the majority of Airbnb hosts have ONE listing, not twenty.
Do you have a room you’re not using that could be a guest room?
Do you travel and want to list your own home when you’re out of town?
You can start Airbnb hosting in your own space. But you might be wondering: how can I share my home with guests and still have privacy? Will I have to talk to my guests all the time or make them breakfast?
My kitchen, where we host Airbnb guests in our own whole house when we travel.
Today I’m answering your questions and fears about how to share your own daily living space with your guests.
I’ve done it. In fact, I’ve been doing it for many years and I’ve hosted in a variety of ways:
Sharing my 2-bedroom apartment in San Francisco with our guests, including sharing the bathroom and kitchen with them. It was a small space but guests loved it because it was clean and cheerful. This was back in the early days of Airbnb.
Renting our guest room inside our current small house in Oakland, sharing the kitchen, living room, and dining room with our guests. They had their own bathroom. This was before we had kids.
Renting our whole house out when we travel (we still do this). Many Airbnb hosts do this to make money while they travel and rent their space while they’re away.
Currently: renting out our backyard casita guesthouse and sharing our backyard space with our guests.
In all of those scenarios, how have we created privacy, protected our valuable belongings, and created an excellent, private, safe experience for our guests?
Below, I’m giving you a recipe for sharing your own daily living space with your guests.
Clear the clutter
If you’re hosting in your own daily home, whether you’re away traveling or sharing the house with your guests, try to eliminate clutter in any space where guests will stay or spend time. Guests should not have to move your belongings aside in order to set their own stuff down. Rooms should be as clutter-free as possible.
It’s okay to have personal things inside of a closet or dresser, so long as you communicate clearly in your listing description that this is your daily home and not a blank space. Create spaces for guests to unpack: space in a dresser, closet, or a luggage rack. Make sure there is no clutter on kitchen or bathroom countertops. Seriously, the less personal stuff around, the better. This applies to EVERYWHERE: under the sinks, in the pantry, in the cleaning closet. The more organized, clean, and uncluttered every space is, the better reviews you’ll get.
2. create security & “the owner’s closet”
Some vacation rental owners create a locked, owner’s closet. Our closets don’t have locks, so we create private closets instead. When we host guests in our house, we label two of our closets with a little tag “Private Messy Closet” so that guests know that they’ll see a mess if they open it.
Put any valuables (checkbooks, important documents, cash) deep into a closet or a place that you know guests won’t enter. Put any messes (kids toys, knick-knacks, clutter) into a bin in the closet. Don’t leave valuables in accessible places. We scan all private documents and shred them - we don’t keep any secure paper documents in our home.
3. Label appliances & give instructions
The more instructions and house tips that you can communicate in a welcome book or check-in instructions, the fewer questions you’ll get from guests. Even though this is your own daily home, take the time to label any appliances that require figuring out. Coffee makers, washing machines, heaters, etc. We label our recycling, trash, and compost. We leave a little card telling guests how to make a french press coffee. Tell guests where to find extra toilet paper, towels, pillows or blankets.
If you’re sharing your space with your guests (either part of your home or part of your property) WHILE you are staying there, too, then keep reading:
4. Create guest-only spaces
If you’re sharing any of your property with your guests while you’re there: create guest-only spaces where you’re able to. Beyond the room where they’ll sleep, is there a private patio or lounge chair or private bathroom? Let guests know which spaces are just for them. If you’re sharing a kitchen - is half the fridge for them or are there empty cabinets where they can unload groceries? We added a bench outside our casita so that guests have a little outdoor landing spot, while we have a couch for us just outside our kitchen. Create spaces, if you can, that are just for guests to use, and let them know which spaces are shared, which are private to them, and which spaces are private to you.
5. Create privacy for guests
At the minimum guests should be able to lock the door where they sleep for their own safety and peace of mind. Please respect their privacy and do not enter the spaces (their room, a guest-only bathroom, a guest house) which are just for them during their entire stay, even while they’re out. If you need to enter their space to get something, get their permission first.
6. Be clear about expectations
What are house rules? are there quiet hours or times when you’ll be working from your home office? are there neighbors who would prefer no outdoor parties or loud hanging out after 10pm?
How much will you interact with guests? Clarify this in your listing.
What spaces do guests have access to? What spaces are shared? Communicate this in a few places: your listing, your check-in instructions and welcome book.
7. Be extra thoughtful about your own noise, parties, cooking, tv!
If you’re sharing your space WITH your guests, be thoughtful about your own noise levels impacting their stay. For us, this means keeping our kids from going in the backyard at 6:30am and not planning our own backyard dinner parties while we are Airbnb hosting, unless we’ve discussed it ahead of time with guests. When we had guests staying inside our house with us, we wouldn’t blast the TV late at night or cook super loud meals with pots and pans early in the morning while guests were sleeping.
8. Protect your children
We have two small kids who love greeting our guests. We love modeling for them that we welcome strangers into our homes, but we are super careful about not letting our kids hang out with guests without us nearby. Of course, we have a handful of repeat guests who are lovely, kind grandparents who we now know and trust. They love chatting with our kids and we don’t have to worry. But we go with our gut and usually stay within earshot when our kids are chatting up guests in the backyard. Also, we don’t want our kids annoying guests with long conversations about legos, so we keep an eye on things in order to give guests’ their space, too.
9. Be welcoming: offer a beer, a coffee, and take time to chat
I know, I know, post-Covid its easier to be an introvert! But, if you’re sharing your space with guests: don’t forget the essence of hosting: making strangers feel welcome and getting to know people from all over the world.
If you have a few minutes, offer a cup of tea or coffee and ask them about their trip, their lives, and enjoy meeting someone new.
Want more hosting wisdom? If you loved this blog and tips like this, enter your email below so that I can pop into your inbox (not too often) with more!
& If you’re looking to elevate the rental space you already have and delight your guests, check out my Essential Amenities workbook.
The Essential Amenities Workbook helps you see your space from your guests’ perspective and create a truly luxurious space.
