Anyone here do Airbnb?

[JoeyBoy718]

Wanna get some people's opinions. I'm fairly new to the concept of hosting and being hosted via paid sites like Airbnb and free ones like Couch Surfing. My girlfriend and I have couch surfed a few times together in the past year and met some really nice people who we still keep in touch with. We did Airbnb once a few weeks ago and never even met the owner in the whole 10 days. We recently started hosting our own couch surfers and have met some nice people.

So we have a nice 1-room apartment in the middle of downtown Seattle and we're considering moving into a renovated, much bigger 2-room in the same building. It's $800 more than what we're paying now. We already enjoy Couch Surfing and host people at least once a month, so we were considering turning Airbnb into a full time gig and getting money out of it. All we want to do is make up the difference ($800) in what we pay now. That would require hosting people about 10 nights a month.

So I was wondering if anyone has experience not only hosting people on Airbnb/Couch Surfing but also on a fairly full-time basis. Would you say it's worth it? We don't mind company. We do Couch Surfing for free. And we figure we wouldn't feel guilty charging people if we give them their own room (we currently let them sleep in the living room on a sofa bed). And anyone who has experience with both Airbnb and Couch Surfing, would you say the "vibe" is a lot different when on Airbnb since you're actually charging money?

 

[Shunpike]

Sorry dude. Not judging or anything but allowing a foreigner sleep in my living room gives me all sorts of creeps.

 

[CashMan]

I thought about using the service as a customer, but hanging out in someones house with them, is just a little weird. But hey, it is for some people.

 

[JoeyBoy718]

My girlfriend doesn't mind. She's European and is used to backpacking and staying in hostels and stuff. I was a little weirded out by it when she first mentioned it. On Couch Surfing (the free one) I met really cool people and got to see a side of cities/towns I wouldn't have had I stayed at a traditional hotel. And in my limited experience with Airbnb (the paid one) it seems more like an unofficial hotel (like Uber is to taxis) and is much cheaper.

 

[RonSpringsdaman20]

My girlfriend doesn't mind. She's European and is used to backpacking and staying in hostels and stuff. I was a little weirded out by it when she first mentioned it. On Couch Surfing (the free one) I met really cool people and got to see a side of cities/towns I wouldn't have had I stayed at a traditional hotel. And in my limited experience with Airbnb (the paid one) it seems more like an unofficial hotel (like Uber is to taxis) and is much cheaper.

I had a friend who traveled to Panama (his family is from there)... He went Hiking and did Airbnb. He stayed in this extravagant home that a gentleman and his wife built from the ground up. They drank Scotch, & Belgium beer together, partied together, smoked cigars together.. while the older gentleman (host) also passed along great life lessons. It can be a positive. I've only done Airbnb 3 times, and the host was never on the premises... But I wouldn't be opposed to it. I've stayed in hostiles, bed and breakfast Inn's, & camped in many countries... I've made many friends that way. Here back home (in the 718 I have friends who owns brownstones and rents rooms through Airbnb... although they don't share a common area with the guest. I think its all about the energy that you have... you will receive the same.

Goodluck....

 

[JoeyBoy718]

I had a friend who traveled to Panama (his family is from there)... He went Hiking and did Airbnb. He stayed in this extravagant home that a gentleman and his wife built from the ground up. They drank Scotch, & Belgium beer together, partied together, smoked cigars together.. while the older gentleman (host) also passed along great life lessons. It can be a positive. I've only did Airbnb 3 times, and the host was never on the premises... But I wouldn't be opposed to it. I've stayed in hostiles, bed and breakfast Inn's, & camped in many countries... I've made many friends that way. Here back home (in the 718 I have friends who owns brownstones and rents rooms through Airbnb... although they don't share a common area with the guest. I think its all about the energy that you have... you will receive the same.

Goodluck....

Yeah, I just Airbnb'd in BedStuy a month ago and it was definitely more of a hotel experience than anything. That's the only time I ever did Airbnb. I like Couch Surfing though. You definitely get to experience things that you wouldn't in a hotel. I made friends with an older couple who own lots of land on this big hill. We've been to their place 3 times in the past year. We helped them pick cherries and grow marijuana in their farms and they took us 4-wheeling around the hill. Definitely fun experiences.

 

[csirl]

If you do it dont forget to pay income tax on the money received. A load of people in my hometown were done for not paying tax. Taxman regards it as income so has to be included on tax returns.