Letting out a room is a great way to earn money, whilst meeting a whole range of people from different countries and backgrounds. However, you may have questions and perhaps some worries before renting out your room. Below are some points you may want to think about.
Would you feel comfortable sharing your home?
It might be difficult to know if you'd be comfortable sharing your home with guests until you start doing it. The length of stay could vary from a short, 1 night, stay to a longer term, or even a regular stay with someone coming a few times a month, or every week on weekdays.
You might want to start your hosting experience by limiting the number of nights guests can stay to see how comfortable you feel. You could also choose to open just one month on your booking calendar, to prevent further bookings until you are sure you'd like to continue.
How many rooms are you thinking of letting out? Again, you might want to start small and just let out one room to start with.
It’s your choice to which spaces you let your guests use. The basic requirements are a bedroom and a bathroom. Some hosts prefer to share all their communal spaces whereas others prefer some privacy and their own space. If you are happy to share your kitchen then you can make it available at all times, or just select times, or just for heating food and drinks (rather than using the oven).
Your safety and security is important, after all, you are letting strangers stay in your home. Consider whether you need to put locks on any doors and where you are going to put any valuables and items you don’t want damaged.
If you have children, you will need to consider how this may affect them, weigh up the positives and negatives of the experience on them.
If you are a female living on your own, will you feel comfortable sharing your home with guests? If you share any communal spaces, platforms such as Airbnb permit you to advertise your home as female only.
Websites such as Airbnb also show reviews for your guests from previous Airbnb hosts, giving you an indication of what your guest will be like.
It is your home so you make the house rules. It is best to write these in the description prior to booking if they are of particular importance to you, for example if you want to set a curfew. You will also need to tell people if you don't accept children or pets.
Will people want to stay in your home?
As long as your home is clean and safe, you'll find guests stay for a whole range of reasons. There could be an event on close to your home, people might be coming for work, visiting family nearby, for tourist reasons, close to transport, or like the location. It could even be something as simple as the bedroom being decorated in their favourite colour, you’ve shown a picture of your pet, which they’d like to meet, you might have children the same age as theirs, or you're offering the room at a competitive price.
What you offer will influence a booking, and this may change throughout your time hosting. You might be offering a ‘tech detox’ environment or a TV with subscription channels. Providing a kettle is a nice touch, but you may also want to provide items such as a toaster, microwave, air fryer, coffee maker, fridge freezer. Some people may wish to wash their clothes, so you will need to decide if the washing machine is available for their use. This could be offered for free or for a small charge. Decide on the amount of storage you are offering. Although people don’t always unpack their bags on short stays, most people appreciate somewhere to hang items up.
If your home is accessible, for example there are no steps, wide doorways for a wheelchair to get through, a downstairs bedroom and a wet room, then this is a great selling point.
Is your neighbourhood right?
You will need to consider your immediate neighbours, how they might affect your business and your business affect them. If you live in block of flats and have a communal entrance, is it safe to give strangers the access information? Are your neighbours noisy, for example, do they have a baby, regular parties, argue a lot, or play an instrument? If so, do you think guests would be complaining to you regularly?
Do you live in a safe neighbourhood? I have been asked this several times before people book.
Is it noisy? Does it lie in a heavy traffic area or in a flight path? Or are you located next to a pub?
Do you have local amenities and transport links? If you haven’t got a local shop nearby could you supply some basic items either for free, or charge. Perhaps you would be able to give them a lift, or suggest local taxi providers or food delivery apps.
Is it financially worthwhile?
There will be some initial costs such as purchasing new bedding, towels, perhaps a kettle and mugs etc for the room. You may also need to get some new furniture, decorations and accessories. You can add as much or little as you like as long as your promotional imagery shows an honest account of what is offered .
Things will also get damaged so be prepared to replace items in any of the rooms guests use.
You will need to provide a warm and comfortable home, so your heating costs may increase if you don’t normally have the heating on as much. You may also have more lights on, an extra TV, fridge, kettle, microwave, etc on and the shower/bath will be used more frequently, as will the oven if you allow guests to use it. If you are on a water meter then your costs will increase with guest usage and from using a washing machine more often to wash the bedding and towels. There are also factors such as wi-fi, if you don’t already have it. If this isn’t provided it needs to be stated in your description. I have recently added Netflix to my offer and so this has incurred an additional cost to me. If you are providing breakfast then you will need to decide what type of breakfast you are happy to provide. This could range from a cold buffet style breakfast to a made to order cooked breakfast. You may also choose to employ a cleaner.
You will also need to consider advertising costs. Whether this is a paid for advert, or if you go through a platform such as Airbnb who take a commission with every booking.
You will need to factor any of these costs into the price you charge for the room. Have a look at the prices others charge in your local area and try to make yours competitive, whilst trying to gain a profit you feel is acceptable. You can always change the price and you can set different prices for different days of the week or times of the year. If you want to encourage people to stay for long stays you can offer a discount.
Check your local tax laws in your country. In the UK you can earn £7,500 tax free on the Rent-a-Room Scheme (£3,750 if you're letting jointly).
Do you have time?
You will need to be able to have time to clean and get the room ready between guests. Do you have time in the day to do this? If you’re out in the day and this isn’t possible you could get a cleaner, or you could only permit late check-ins or don’t make check-ins available the same day as a check out.
You will also need to decide how you will approach check-ins and check-outs. Do you want to greet guests on arrival? Or are you happy for them to let themselves in if you provide a lockbox outside? Be prepared for guests to ask to check in earlier than your stated check in time.
Do you want to be around when they check-out or are you happy for them to leave of their own accord? Some guests may want to leave in the early hours of the morning, others may stay until the last minute.
You may also get requests from guests to drop their bags off before check in or come back for them later in the day after having checked out. You will need to decide if this is something you are able to offer.
You will need to be contactable for your guests prior to booking, once booked, during check in time and throughout their stay. Keep in mind that people will potentially be contacting you any time of the day and night, particularly from those in different time zones, so you may want to put an automatic reply on your emails, answer phone message on your phone and amend your Whatsapp profile to say when you are available.
The more flexible you are, the more likely you are to get bookings, although be prepared for some people to ask for flexibility after they have booked.
You will also need to maintain a clean home whilst your guest is staying. I don't enter the bedroom whilst a guest is staying, unless we have a prior agreement to change the bed sheets, but I clean and tidy the other communal areas, particularly the bathroom, daily.
Check your policies and contracts
You will need to check your current policies and contracts to see if they permit you to let out a room.
If you rent, are there sub-letting rules, or if you live in a flat does your building have rules regarding this form of activity?
Check your contents insurance policy to see if it accounts for hosting visitors in your home, you may need to upgrade your policy to allow for this.
If you own your own home, and have a mortgage, you will also need to check the terms of your mortgage policy.
If you are thinking of converting your attic into a bedroom, make sure you follow the building and fire regulations in your country.
You may also pay bills depending on the number of people in your household. For example, in the UK if you are a single occupant you are entitled to 25% discount on your council tax. Councils may have different rules but mine permits live-in hosts to have different guests for a maximum of three weeks at a time before charging for multiple occupancy.