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?

You can choose a lodger.

Think of the last 100 people you noticed out and about, how many would you like being in your house?

Yes i said fire doors, i know it will cost thousands. People dont realise they cant just have multiple lodgers, you would also need special insurance

If you have any social conscience you'll stick with lodgers, they really need options as rent is so dreadful

I'm talking about Airbnb guests - not lodgers.

Rules are different again for them!

@Bringbackspring 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

this is nonsense. People renting out entire houses on Airbnb rather than letting to people who want to live there is making the housing situation worse. People renting their spare rooms on Airbnb are making zero negative impact on the housing crisis. Are people who have spare rooms and NOT renting them to anyone making the societal problem of lack of housing worse? Of course not. You can't claim that people are withholding a housing option from society by not renting their spare room to someone to live in!

Try air bnb, see how it goes. You can always stop and go back to lodgers if it’s too much

I use AirBnb's quite a bit - for work and for holidays. I tend to just use them as somewhere to get a shower and sleep but rarely use the kitchen or other areas. I like to have a kettle and small fridge available, if possible. If not, I make up a flask at work that lasts me overnight.

My budget is £50 a night and I stay in the southern Lake District area.

I have thought about being an Airbnb host myself but I'd have to change jobs or leave. Not an option right now but I have 3 bedrooms stood empty. It may be something I will consider when I get a bit older and can take part of my pension.

I don't think I could do it all the time though as you'd have no life. Constant washing etc.

It's a lot of work. My parents used to airbnb an annexe in their house that was very busy. It was basically a part time job for my mum running the admin and doing all the cleaning and laundry. Theirs was a full sized apartment though, cleaning a room is less work, but you do need to keep on top of cleaning in all areas the airbnb guests will see. That is the hardest bit!

There’s the laundry but the main thing that annoyed me is the check in. You need to be there to meet your guests and show them the room. Check in can be from 4pm onwards. We had guests that got lost and turned up at 11pm. It ties you to your house and you will not get everyone checking in on the same day. You become a bit of a prisoner in your own home.

From experience, doing Airbnb properly is a lot of work. You need to keep up high standards of cleanliness and comfort for good reviews and people can pick on the smallest things to complain about. You will also have many strangers constantly through your home (presumably you would have to allow access to the kitchen too?) and you will have to manage constant checking in and out. If it's your job and you are happy to do the work you could make a good income compared to having lodgers if occupancy is high throughout the year but it's very different running Airbnb within your home as compared with a separate holiday let. Yes, a good idea to have 3 sets of linens per room but IMHO one night stays aren't worthwhile, would advise 2 or 3 nights minimum. Good luck with your decision.

My brother and SIL did Airbnb for a while pre-DC. They had some odd characters (lots of lovely people, too) including someone who went out and left the front door open all day.

I have a lodger. On my second now. I can't make ends meet without the additional income, but I like just having to find one person. She cleans her own space and I think the arrangement is quite a good deal for both of us. I have DC so wouldn't want lots of different people in the house, or the extra work of all the cleaning and laundry. My mum had people in on a B&B basis when I was growing up and there weren't loads of regulations. She got fed up of all the laundry and cleaning after just a night or two.

But as everyone is saying, you could try Airbnb and see how it goes. You can always go back to having a lodger.

I was about to suggest Mon-Fri lodgers too