Turning Empty Space into Extra Income: The Airbnb

When you’re planning on starting a family, a large home with lots of extra rooms is almost a no-brainer. But once the kids grow up and move out on their own, many couples find that they have more space than they need. One solution is to downsize and move into a smaller place, but it can be hard to leave that house that you’ve grown to love. Another solution is to turn those empty rooms into a bit of extra cash, by renting them out on Airbnb.

Airbnb is a modern take on the classic bed and breakfast. Instead of slowly building a business over a number of years, Airbnb allows anyone to start hosting guests immediately. You set the price, you set the rules and Airbnb does all of the advertising for you. Travellers who need a place to stay in St. Albert simply look for available accommodations online, and if you’ve registered your property, your house will appear as one of the available options.

It may sound unsafe to rent out a room or a basement to strangers, but Airbnb allows you to view a user’s history and read comments and scores that previous hosts have left. If a potential guest has a low score or negative reviews, you can simply decline their application. And if the guest damages your property, Airbnb offers to cover the costs, though be sure to read the fine print before opening your doors to just anyone.

There are over a dozen Airbnb hosts in St. Albert right now, and more are cropping up every day. So whether you want to make a profit by renting some extra space or you need someone to live in your house while you travel south for the winter, renting your property as an Airbnb might just be the solution you were looking for.

You can learn about setting up your own account or check up on which of your neighbours are already hosts by visiting www.airbnb.ca.