Lodger or Airbnb?

[reallifeboogie]

I live on my own in a 4 bedroom house.
For the past 3 years I've had 2 or 3 lodgers at a time. I've currently got one and she's moving out at the end of the summer.

I was wondering whether to do Airbnb rooms instead of lodgers.
Of the 3 rooms I don't use, one is a double with ensuite and the other two are a double and a single with a shared bathroom. I have an ensuite.

Having looked at similar rooms in the area, I could charge £50 a night for the ensuite, £40 for the double and £30 for the single. So potentially £120 a night.
My lodgers paid £599 pcm for the ensuite, £549 for the double and £495 for the single. All bills included.

Looking on Airbnb, there are loads of places in my area and they are fully booked most of the time.

It's more of a stop off location rather than a holiday location so I would anticipate people would stay 1-2 nights.

What are your thoughts please?

When my DS was working away he used airbandb and he had mostly really good experiences. He was in them for four nights and they were very affordable. Your rooms sounds great especially with an en suite.

But I don't know how reliable getting guests are. I assume with lodgers they are there longer?

Might you be interested in Monday to Friday lodgers? One of my friends did this and it worked really well.

With Airbnb you can obviously make more money but will be committing to a lot of time spent turning rooms round, especially if you only anticipate people staying a night or two. I would look at how much you need to make per month from the rooms, then see how many nights of Airbnb that would take - then block out your calendar accordingly, otherwise your life is going to be dominated by cleaning and doing laundry.

I have done both. I preferred Airbnb as although it's more work (cleaning, administration) they don't stay long and you get nights where you have nobody in and you have the house to yourself, also they rarely use the kitchen and never spend time in communal areas. 3 bedrooms would be a lot of work though, you would need to be at home and have time to clean very frequently.

I guess the thing to do would be try it, Air BnB on the face of it looks more profitable but bear in mind you might not get close to full occupancy - also if you do and it's all one night stays that's lots of cleaning/changing of bed sheets to be done, lots of extra laundry etc whereas presumably with your lodgers they do all that themselves? Plus I am not sure if AirBnB/letting rooms by the night qualifies you for the tax exemption you get for lodgers so that's something to look into. You'd want to check out the insurance implications too (assume no rent/mortgage to take into account). And of course you may find every so often you get a 'bad' AirBnB guest, not necessarily meaning horror stories of stealing or murdering you all in your beds, but someone that's very messy/noisy, breaks something or ruins linens etc?

This is true but it's not a good idea to block nights in advance (unless you won't be there to clean/check in etc) better way round is to leave the calendar open and when you have enough bookings for the month you can choose whether to block the remaining days or not.

Airbnb does fall under the same tax exemption but if OP is letting 3 rooms above £500 a month she's already taking way above the tax free threshold anyway

We did Airbnb for a while and I did this at first but then started blocking, as otherwise my life had to be organised around bookings, whereas I realised I needed bookings (and the related cleaning) to fit in around my life and existing commitments. I suppose it depends how much free time you have and whether you're able to shift your schedule to accommodate bookings on different days of the week.

Thanks. You've given me things to think of.

On the laundry front, I did wonder about getting say 3 of bedding for each room then if someone stays just one night, I just need to put fresh bedding on but don't need to wash straight away.

Just wondered if anybody else had any thoughts?

I think if you want stability and the reassurance of the same people, lodging would be the way forward.
if it’s the money and you’re willing to put in the work then have a go at air b and b for a few months or a year, see how it pans out. You could always change your mind and go back to getting lodgers in if it doesn’t suit?

Do you have to be all or nothing? Could you try keeping lodges for 2 rooms and doing air b and b for the en suite to kind of test the water as to how much work it would be? Might be nice to know you have lodgers for 2 rooms and can manage the other

Do you meet the required fire regulations? They are quite onerous now and anyone letting rooms on a commercial basis is required to comply.

Id rather have a lodger. Every time a new person came you have to clean the room, and then worry if they'll be loud, annoying, break anything etc.
Maybe a lodger couple, who'd rent out two of the rooms and use one as a sitting room?
If you got along well it would be much less hassle than air b&b, and they could be friendly and helpful.

This. Here is the link to the new regs which are in force now.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64257cff2fa8480013ec0fec/Aguideetomakinggyoursmalllpaying-guest-accommodationsafeefrom_fire.pdf

A lot of airbnb ( esp. houses ) have had to stop in my area ( a popular visitor destination) as they don't comply.

Smoke alarms (wired in) are required in every room now for starters.

Check whether your home insurance will
allow air bnb visitors

I air bnb my converted garage. I would say it is quite all encompassing, you have to make sure it's clean and spotless, with clean bedding, clean towels, clear house rules about shared areas, directions to your home, wifi codes available, instructions for any and all appliances. You'll be asked ten thousand times about parking, access and WiFi despite clearly communicating these things several times. You'll then get a review from every guest and if you drop below 4.5 as an average then air bnb will flag you as someone who shouldn't be on the platform and seek to cancel your listing.

I'm not saying don't do it, I'm just saying it's a pain. I'd suggest joining a few Airbnb host Facebook groups, they'll show you the kind of challenges that crop up regularly (ruined sheets, nasty guests, broken things, bad reviews). It is very profitable and can be great (most guests are a delight and low maintenance) but it's definitely not the easy money it's portrayed as! If you have a busy job, or any other responsibilities then I'd be wary, especially if you're aiming to rent 3 rooms at a time (ours is only a 1 bed so normally couples stay and that plus a part time job and kids is enough!)

My landlady a few years ago rented out a room and en-suite. I remember one woman who often came and clearly used it for sex with young men. It was quite horrifying. The rest of the people were a mix of very nice and people with complaints! Also consider parking as people would always park on her drive.

I do Airbnb but only one room. I specify a minimum of two nights as I find cleaning rooms and washing linen for one night stay a bit of a chore. If I have plans to be away I can block off those days in advance. We have discussed finding a permanent guest but I prefer to have the house to myself sometimes.
My guests stay in my annex and have their own entrance so I don’t see them much. The guests have been lovely (just one exception) and I love meeting new people. There are times when I am very busy but this spring was tough with hardly any bookings despite my largely 5 star reviews. £500 per month all in sounds on the low side but at least it’s regular.

From an ethical standpoint, I’d say continue with lodgers.

I know numerous people at the moment who are desperate to find somewhere to live and can’t find any because there’s such a shortage. Some are living in their cars or coach surfing.

3 rooms for lodgers is potentially saving 3 people from homelessness .

You’ll have a lot of cleaning and a lot of laundry if you do Airbnb!

Likes:
minimum effort
known quantities

Dislikes:
Excess laundry
Fussy people with awkward requests
Having to stay up until 11pm to let strangers into my house

💯 teamlodger

If you are in the uk you can not have more than 2 lodgers without having to register as a hmo. That leads to a whole new level of laws and rules, like fire doors , so you need to not have more that 2. Caught you will be prosecuted

She may need fire doors for an Airbnb. There has to be a protected exit from the bedrooms with doors that can hold back a fire for 30 minutes. Final exit has to be keyless too. There must be hardwired smoke alarms in every habitable room. It can cost thousands now to comply with the fire regs. Homestay Airbnbs are not exempt.

The requirements have really been tightened up.

I’m personally scared of getting bedbugs so wouldn’t want lots of short stay guests in my house. Also check implications for capital gains tax as this has changed recently.

We have a lodgers. I like the stability and knowing what money is coming in every month. I also like that I get to vet them first, get references, etc. We tend to choose people who have reason to be away a lot (travel for work, long distance relationship, family based in different city), so we still often have the house to ourselves. The lodgers are also responsible for their own cleaning & laundry. With Air BnB, you really don't know who you'll be getting, which is fine if they are in an annex or similar and can't enter your part of the house, but that isn't the case with us. I also WFH so can't have strangers constantly coming and going all day, it would be too disruptive. I am also not sufficiently a people person to be bothered welcoming new people every few days and put up with all their enquiries. I need a short term let licence where I am as well and that comes at a cost.

I agree with a PP that lodgers are the more ethical option as you are giving people the option of a home. More people renting their spare rooms via Air BnB means less places available for people to actually live. While other people's homelessness is not your problem, if you are happy sharing your space then it's nice to do it in a way that isn't making a wider societal problem (i.e. lack of housing) worse.