AIBU - garage conversion for Airbnb income?

[lovetoomuchfood]

We were going to convert our garage into living space for us but I suddenly thought... what about making income from airbnb!?

We're 20 mins on public transport from 3 cities with loads to do, plus there is a National Park 10 minutes drive away, the beach 20 minutes drive away so good location I think? We also have spare parking.

It will be a very mini airbnb but the photo is to scale (the bed bit is on a mezzanine). There wont be any garden space.

Just being greedy or a good money earner? Anyone any advice/wisdom!

OP, I am thinking of doing the same!!! Thank god I found this thread. Wanted to share what I have researched so far :)

Basically my garage is a single garage next to my house. I have got a quote for converting it to a room with ensuite bathroom - around £10k (in south wales). All follow building regs - no need for planning permission. One door in the front and one inside to the house. Guests can go from front entrance.

1. I am not planning to have a kitchenette (sp?) in there as some ppl suggested it will incur extra council tax and makes the room really cramped.

2. I only want ppl to rent it as an ensuite room - they can buy takeaways! There will be microwave/kettle/fridge but no cooking facilities! I do not want them to use our kitchen.

3. I am thinking if airbnb is too much of a hassle then we can get a lodger. Both options will go under rent a room relief? So no tax unless you earn over £7500? Correct me if I am wrong?

4. My location is not ideal but 5’ drive from a train station, 1hr drive to Brecon Beacons and 30’ to Cardiff city centre. 5’ drive from a university too. So I reckon we can get £40/night.

Anyone has done something similar can you give me some advice what else I need to think about?

Thanks

I’ve stayed in lots of places like you’ve described which I’ve found on Air BnB.

I generally choose them as they are close to where I want to go and I prefer fresh air to air conditioning. I always try to find somewhere with a small outdoor area so that might be worth considering (paved area with a tiny table and chair is fine). I rely on local recommendations for pubs etc. so I can live like a local.

As the shower and loo are so integral make sure they are well ventilated and leak proof and everything drains properly. Make sure everything is easy to clean and don’t just use your second hand things to furnish with. Most people want to eat breakfast in the room so you’ll need a toaster, kettle etc. and a place to wash the cups and plates (make the basin in the bathroom suitable for this if necessary).

Consider sound proofing, so you can’t hear TV and conversation in your home.

I am usually in a van and need easy parking and don’t want to drive through large unfamiliar cities so make sure you make that a feature in advertising. Lots of the places we stay have regular customers like antique dealers traveling to fairs and auctions and other work travellers.

Lots of air BNB owners use Instagram to attract customers so this is worth considering.

instagram.com/theoldfarmhouse_glenaplin?igshid=jpcjhq84kchn

I think it sounds a bit grim tbh. Tiny spaces only really have appeal if they're really charming and/or in a beautiful place - like a cabin, shepherd's hut, yurt etc. A holiday in someone's garage where you then have to drive or get public transport to be anywhere interesting doesn't sound like much of a holiday. I'd stick with using it for yourselves.

@sunnydaisy123 you want lodgers who will eat takeaway every night?

I’ve had lodgers and been a lodger and I can not see this working - you need to carefully plan kit jen facilities to give some sort of options and to fit with planning.

You mention 20 minutes on public transport to nearest touristy cities. How convenient this public transport actually is? How frequently does it run? Are guests likely to be left standing around for half an hour at a time while they wait for the bus? How is the weekend/evening service like?

Also, huge difference between being 20 minutes away from central London and 20 minutes away from, say, Brighton. I'd keep up the market research for now: £75/night seems overestimated for what you have, unless the location is truly spectacular.

Put your postcode into Airbnb and see what comes up locally and what availability they have in A few months time. We stayed in a converted garage airbnb, it had been extended, we weren’t sure about the front glass doors putting us on show, but it wasn’t too bad.

sunnydaisy123

Think about your competition.
Think about your market.

Is it a desirable area? Do people actually want to have a holiday where you live.? Why would guests choose a converted garage to sleep in when they could get a decent room in a Travelodge smack in the centre of Cardiff or Bristol for £29?

An airb&b has to have a competitive edge.

@Toomanyparsnips oh sorry I wasn’t clear - if airbn doesn’t work then lodger but lodger can have full access to the house kitchen living room etc.

@speakout yes I can see it working as I can see lots of student accommodations around here are being used for airbnb - I guess because it is convenient near the M4, near to the famous national park and near to Cardiff. For some reasons, people don’t stay in Cardiff to travel to Brecon Beacons maybe parking etc. Also I guess some single professionals just wanted a room to stay for one night for work related with the university.

There is a B&B right near me and they charge £75/night.

I’m sorry but 18m2 is tiny, most hotel rooms are larger and don’t have a kitchen. If you were to do it I’d scrap the kitchen for a start, I doubt most people would use it.

I had a friend who did just this. It cost her £25,000- £30,000 to covert her detached garage, it is part of an old coaching inn and is beautiful. She aimed at couples with dogs wanting mini breaks from London. She's by he coast with good transport links.

The second year she almost sold out, every single weekend was booked. She said it was her income from her investment and it became her job. Good little earner.

You say you want to charge £75 - is that including or excluding the Airbnb service fee and (optional) cleaning fee? Because if it includes those extra costs, you might only get £50/night. If it excludes those costs, then the actual rate charged might end up being closer to £100/night, is that still competitive?

Also, it sounds like your converted garage will mostly attract people who are looking for a very short stay, i can't imagine booking it for a week. Are you happy to do all the work involved in changeovers every couple of days?

Aside from the building regs etc I'd do more research into the kinds of people who are staying at other Airbnbs in your area. To me it sounds like you're in a convenient location for people who want to stay somewhere for a week, and have multiple nearby places to explore, but I'm not convinced your garage will be attractive to those looking for a week-long getaway. So who are the people visiting your town? Why are they staying? How long are they staying? Is it seasonal or year round? Etc.

Do you have neighbours close by ? I'd hate a constant flow of people going to our neighbours garage . It's not what you sign up for when you buy a house .

Personally I wouldn’t do it, not would I stay there. It sounds like a lot of hassle for very little reward. It’s a big initial outlay which you might not even recoup, let alone make a profit on.

A PP made a good point about it being more likely to have single night bookings than weekly bookings - can you be bothered to clean it and change the sheets every day? Is the potential income great enough that you wouldn’t start resenting having to do the cleaning after each booking. What about if you have a busy life, would you always have time to to the cleaning? You’d have to make time as you couldn’t let it out without cleaning it and changing the sheets.

To sum up - too much effort!

@huuuuunnnndderrricks

Do you have neighbours close by ? I'd hate a constant flow of people going to our neighbours garage . It's not what you sign up for when you buy a house .

That would annoy me too if I was a neighbour. Especially if taking out a garage (one less place to park) and the need for the guest to park a car affected parking in the road - you effectively would be needing two extra parking spaces.

My friend charges £75 a night with a two night minimum booking. Last year almost every weekend was booked as well as a great many full weeks.

It just proved really popular, especially as it was completely dog friendly. It opens onto fields for walking. This seems to have been the ideal target market.

The initial outlay made me gasp, but it's superb quality and gets repeat bookings. She has a kitchenette with small cooking facilities and a wet room.

Many people on this thread are saying it worked brilliantly for their friends, but there are too many variables to consider. In my opinion you are too far away from the coast for that to be a selling point: and if I were planning on visiting one of the three cities you mention, I think I would rather go to a Premier Inn in the city. Your space is far too small for any more than a couple, and to be honest if I were going away for a weekend with my DH, I would want something a little more spacious. Posters have mentioned dog friendly places: I think your place would be too small to add a dog into the mix. Your place may appeal to a single person, but then you have to ask yourself: how many nights are you going to have a single person wanting to be 20 minutes from the coast, within public transport reach of three cities, and have such a small space?

OP, my SIL converted their garage into a small double bedroom with a shower room for her (now late) DM few years ago. After my MIL died, they turned the room into an Air B&B rental and quickly came very busy with the bookings. She really enjoyed it all and it was great extra income. I actually don't know how the Covid has impacted this though as it hasn't come up in conversation for a while.

They live in a tiny village but only about 15mins away from a nearest big city. They also never advertised it as a bijoux cottage and charged a very reasonable cheap fee. Most of their customers were people who were visiting family or work and just needed a place to sleep and leave their belongings.

@FelicityBob

Isn’t there a rule about meeting two doors in between a kitchen and bathroom in a rental property?

No, that rule was removed about 15 years ago, due to disability access laws.

My house was built in 2008 and the bathroom is one door from the kitchen. It is now a rental property with no extra doors needed.

Just being greedy

How?! Being greedy would be undercutting someone or taking more than required. The op looking into a business model to benefit her family at no risk to anyone else is not greed. Good god does that mean all airbnb owners are greedy? What about hotel owners, standard bnb owners? Hosteliers? All greedy.

Thanks again for your advice and comments!

The only hotel in the town is minimum of £200 per night, I guess that's why rooms in houses on airbnb go for £50.

I think the conversion costs are going to be high (£20K) if we did go for airbnb and alongside the other costs (plus the niche market) I don't think we'd make a return realistically... I'll keep pondering anyway!

Thanks again!

I don't think you are being greedy at all.
By the time you have paid the planning people, building control, architects, builders, plumbers, electricians et al, you will have massively contributed to the local economy, and then you'll be paying tax on the income from revenue.We need people like you who are prepared to take a risk. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't but don't let that stop you, I genuinely hope it goes well for you.

I'm sitting in my 2.5m x 5m garage conversion living room and I'd say definitely not enough room for everything on your plan I'm afraid. You'd need to insulate it which takes off about 20cm both sides.

If you were at a seaside town or something then I’d say yes, but the location you describe doesn’t sound ideal.

Maybe it’s because I once cleaned hotel rooms when I was a uni student, but I’d hate to have people staying in my home. God the things people will do to a hotel room. I’ve also got a family member who used to rent out a villa and had to deal with endless broken items, ridiculous complaints etc. It sounds exhausting to deal with.

If it's an independent dwelling it will require planning permission and as others have said could then be treated as a separate property for council tax purposes etc. Building regs will also be more onerous if you include a kitchen.

If you do go ahead I'd stick to a fridge and kettle rather than a full kitchen.