One of the absolute best ways to offset your travel costs is to rent your home while you’re away. We first turned our house into a short term rental in 2022 and never looked back.
Read more: 10 Ways to Travel More without Earning More
For us, using our home as a short term rental was a no-brainer: we were traveling a lot (and wanted to travel more) and were looking for ways to reduce the cost of spending time away from home.
But finding all the information we needed to get started wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. Over time, we’ve learned a lot through trial and error, and now I want to make the process easier for you. If you’re considering renting out your home, here are some pointers to get you started!
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Check Local Regulations
First things first: make sure short term rentals are allowed in your city (or building, or neighborhood)! Airbnbs have become controversial in some cities, as they’ve reduced the inventory in the long term rental market, increasing the cost of living for locals.
TIP: You may still be able to rent your home short term if you’re renter. It doesn’t hurt to check!
Some cities have responded by banning them altogether. While others, like Austin, TX, have stopped permitting investment properties used exclusively as short term rentals.
In Austin you can now rent out your home part-time, so long as it’s your primary residence, you register with the city, and pay taxes. Currently, a short term rental application in Austin costs $729 the first year, and $437 to renew. There is also an 11% tax, which Airbnb does not collect for you. So you will need to set that portion of your payouts aside to pay quarterly taxes.
Create Your Listing
Once you’ve made sure you can legally rent out your property, it’s time to create your listing! We’ve listed on both Airbnb and Vrbo. You’ll need a descriptive title, an accurate and enticing description, and great pictures.
Check out popular listings in your area for ideas, but make sure your listing is reflective of your space!
Your pictures should also have great lighting, and showcase everything your home has to offer. Hiring a professional would definitely help with this, but it also adds to your start up costs. We took pictures ourselves and used free photo editing tools.
TIP: Don’t forget to list all the amenities and items your space has for guest use! Guests will filter by the items they’re looking for (i.e. WiFi or a hot tub), and your home won’t be included unless you tick the boxes.
Set Up Your Calendar and Pricing
Now you need to block out the days your property will not be available, and set a rate for the days that it will be ready for booking. As you start out, set rates competitively. Check out what Airbnbs in your area are listed for, then consider making yours slightly cheaper.
If you plan on being away more than a few days, it is probably a good idea to offer a discount for longer stays. Longer bookings means less turnover, fewer cleanings, and less coordination overall.
Don’t forget to set up cleaning and pet fees as well!
A note on instant book: our preference is to turn this setting off. We have used it both ways, but the cancellation fee is too hefty to risk someone booking when the property is not available.
Add Check-in and Check-out Instructions
One of the best ways to ensure your guests have a seamless and stress-free experience is by providing clear, detailed check-in and check-out instructions on your short-term rental platform. Thoughtful communication sets the tone for a positive stay and minimizes the chances of confusion or complaints.
Include photos or a short video to help guests identify your home, such as the front door, mailbox, or lockbox location. This is especially helpful for properties in apartment complexes or neighborhoods with similar-looking houses.
Don’t forget to include important information like parking. Specify whether parking is free, requires a permit, or has designated spaces..
Create Message Templates
To make messaging easier, we have drafted message templates that we use under the following circumstances:
- New reservation
- One day before check-in
- One day after check-in
- Day of check-out
These messages ensure your guests feel welcome and know you are available to them for anything they may need. It’s better to be proactive and share as much as you can up-front so they don’t have to wonder about any of the specifics of their stay.
Some guests never respond to these messages, but that’s ok! At the very least you know they’ve received the necessary info.
TIP: When you first list your place, you may get messages from questionable accounts. They often do not have any reviews, and have accounts that were created that same month. In the beginning, I also had a template message to politely turn these requests away.
Stock Up on Essentials
It can be tempting to go all out on decorating and outfitting your home for short stays, but try to resist the urge! Keep it to the essentials while you are getting started:
- Separate sheets and towels for guests: you may a few sets already, but we find the separation helpful
- Makeup towels: these will prolong the life of your bath towels
- Waterproof mattress covers: because, well, you know.
- Basic bathroom products: hand soap, shampoo, conditioner
- A coffee maker of some sort: it’s also nice if you can provide some coffee grounds or beans, but many rentals don’t do this.
- Welcome basket: this could include a welcome book, the WiFi password, and even some local snacks.
- Lock box or keyless entry: We started with a lock box, and that worked great. But once we decided to switch to the keyless entry, we can’t imagine going back.
Prep Your Space for Guests
One of the questions we get most often is: What do you do with your stuff? We are always refining this system, but basics of it are:
- We have plastic tubs where we keep Airbnb sheets, towels and pillows.
- When preparing to host a group, we move most of our clothes in the now empty plastic tubs, which we put in the attic. We move our hanging clothes items front of the main closet, into the spare room closet.
- We lockout valuables (laptops, some jewelry, and financial documents) in the filing cabinet in the office. We also sometimes include small items of sentimental value, which could easily be lost.
And that’s it! We don’t have anything extremely valuable, which makes this process easier. Also remember that Airbnb does offer insurance for anything that is missing or damaged during a guest’s stay.
Next up is cleaning. I’m not going to lie, this isn’t ordinary cleaning, it’s DEEP cleaning -cleaning like I’d never known before. We’re talking everything from the floors, to the doorknobs, to the baseboards.
While getting the place ready for renting is a big effort, we like that it pushes us to deep clean regularly!
Manage Bookings While Traveling
Once you’ve got your first booking (yay!) you need to figure out how you will manage them.
Guest communication: will you be responding to inquiries or will you get help from a property manager? We do this ourselves, since our earnings aren’t high enough to justify the expense, but it’s entirely up to you.
Cleanings: If you plan on being away, you will need help cleaning your home between bookings. Find someone you trust and agree on a rate that makes sense for your property and the area you’re in.
Mail, Lawn Care, Repairs: If you plan on being away for an extended period of time, consider identifying people who can help with maintenance and repair needs while you’re away.
Track Expenses and Income
Renting out your home while traveling is a great way to offset costs, but tracking your income and expenses is essential to ensure it’s financially worthwhile.
Record all earnings from platforms like Airbnb or Vrbo, along with extra fees for cleaning or pets. Don’t forget to log expenses such as cleaning services, maintenance, utilities, and supplies, as well as property insurance and local taxes. Keeping detailed records will help you prepare for tax season.
I use a simple Google spreadsheet to help with tracking. I also upload any relevant receipts to a shared drive to try to stay as organized as possible!
Final Thoughts
The more bookings you get, the better you’ll get at renting out your home! Don’t be afraid to continuously refine your processes. Overall, the decision to turn our home into a short term rental has been a positive one: 10/10 would recommend.
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