What do I need to know about running an Airbnb?

[Hellokittymania]

Hi everyone, I have a few questions about running an Airbnb, including, how do you decorate, or what do you leave and what don’t you leave, in terms of furniture, and nice things you may have that you don’t want taken, destroyed, broken?

what advice would you give for a first time experience as an Airbnb host? If you are not in the same town, what would you recommend in terms of management for your Airbnb? I am looking at perhaps, renting it to digital nomads in the area who need to stay somewhere for a few months.

is there a certain type of insurance that I should have? Or I own a property in Greece, don’t know if that information is helpful.

Do not do this. Sell the property to someone who wants to live in it. Air BnB destroys communities.

@TenOhSeven this is not true of every air b and b. Mine is attached to my house. If I didn’t rent it, it simply would sit empty as I’m not selling my own house. It’s literally part of the house like a granny annexe. We live in it also as one big house when it’s not let

Go and do some research for yourself on one of the many airbnb fb groups.

I think it's a different thing renting by the night for Airbnb and renting 'for a few months'. I know there were some deals about housing essential personnel during the pandemics, but don't know how they worked.
I ran a holiday let. The tourist star rating system pretty much dictated what I had to provide. In your case I'd see what Airbnb itself says about the rules and regulations and what is expected.

Is the property you want to put on Airbnb actually in Greece? You will need your building permit number and you will be paying a flat rate of (I believe) 30% tax, and facing stiff competition and possibly resentment from local airbnbs/locals depending on where you are.

You will possibly have to register as a business and do tax returns, depending on how many days a month you rent it out (UK or Greece).

Whether in the UK or Greece, never underestimate the things that can go wrong that you have to fix IMMEDIATELY. If your own fridge stops working you can take a couple of days to look on Ebay, or have a crack at fixing it with a part off Amazon etc., shop around, borrow one for a bit. If a fridge in an Airbnb stops working you have to buy a replacement immediately and have it delivered/installed next day, even if you suspect that your guests just broke it or did something weird.

Guests will not look after your stuff. They will steal your sheets and towels. One group will be amazing and shower you with compliments and even gifts. The next will leave a one line review "The house was not as clean as expected." even though you know it was professionally cleaned and was spotless and they never said a word when they were there.

Guests will plug in their non-UK-voltage appliances in your house, trip the electricity and then be AMAZED that they have to go to the switch box and put it back on. What could possibly have been the problem?

Guests will tell you that they love plants, then send you a photo of a drooping, dehydrated plant in your house and ask what could have happened? Is it dead? And be stunned when you suggest maybe watering it.

You will ask them to take out the bin before they leave. They will tell you that they are not "comfortable" with that.

Have a look on the Airbnb Hosts subreddit.

It is honestly not worth it unless you absolutely have to. It is better, easier and more profitable (if profitable is the word) to just rent it out normally, I think.

I think you have to be tough as nails, know what you are doing and have the personality for it.

Yes if you not in country, with the costs of paying company to look after it, clean, etc your better off renting it normally. You just need to see local rent rules as some have minimum short term rents of 3 years

Hi everyone, OK, thank you for this. This is why I was asking, yes, the last person, the minimum rent here is three years since I do live here a lot of the time, it wouldn’t be the best idea either.
I don’t live in a touristy area, and there is very little in terms of Airbnb around this area in general, not really a place where people from the UK tend to visit, and from experience, when you do need to find some thing short term to rent, it’s tough. But with all the hassles, everyone mentioned, might be just worth not doing it. I had thought of letting it to people who need to use the hospital or something locally, I know there is one organization in Greece that finds homes where people can stay when they need to use the hospital, but I don’t know if my insurance would cover this.

As someone who lives next to an airbnb, I would say keep the neighbours happy. Talk to them. Keep open communication.

You are subjecting them to a constant stream of random people and it us unnerving not knowing who is going to disrupt you this week. Who is going to keep taking photos of your house on the regular basis. It is maddening.

Bins/recycling is a major issue. People just dump rubbish outside, not keep the outside tidy, don't put the recycling out on collection so it just stays there. The owners need to take more responsibility.

As you can see, I am not a fan and wish it was just rented normally.