So, you've got yourself an investment property.
But what's the best way to earn money from it?
Basically, you've got two options:.
rent it out to a long-term tenant
or use it for short-term rentals.
Airbnb or similar sites like VRBO are popular with property investors.
After all, running a short-term rental unit comes with serious earning potential.
That sounds great, right?
Remember, though, that higher earning potential comes with higher risk.
In this video, we've got five tips for every potential Airbnb host.
Finding guests, vetting them, insuring your suite.
There's a lot to keep in mind to be a successful host.
First things first, why do you even want to do this?
Are you trying to make a quick buck in the short term?
Are you hoping for a steady source of long-term income?
If you're planning to put your suite on the Airbnb market occasionally,
like during busy tourism season,
you might approach things differently than
if you want to build a long-term, consistent Airbnb income.
Some Airbnb hosts build a whole business renting out multiple units on the site.
Figure out your goals as a host first.
That will help you decide how much time and money to invest.
You won't make any money from your rental if you can't attract any guests.
Make sure you're putting your Airbnb suite's best foot forward.
Use only high-quality photos for the listing.
Airbnb renters are more likely to rent a property
when the listing has great photos. And lots of them.
Obviously, that means no grainy cell phone photos.
Find a decent camera and ideally someone who knows how to use it.
Make sure the home is nice and bright for the photos.
Maybe it goes without saying, but make sure it's clean too.
Take photos of every part of the suite
and always include any unique features like
a hot tub, a fancy shower, or a great view.
Airbnb itself actually offers a professional photographer service,
depending on where you live.
We dropped a link to their photography page in the description below.
If your rental suite is in a condo or townhouse complex,
you need to make sure that Airbnb rentals are even allowed.
Plenty of condo boards and property management companies prohibit short-term rentals.
The consequences for breaking such a rule can be harsh.
At the very least, you'd end up paying fines that wipe out your rental income.
It's not worth running an Airbnb property in a complex that forbids it.
When someone finally books a few nights in your rental suite,
make sure you do some basic screening before accepting their reservation.
Take a look at their Airbnb profile.
You can read reviews about them from hosts they've stayed with in the past.
If they don't have any past reviews,
you can always shoot them a message through the Airbnb platform to ask a few questions.
If you uncover any red flags, don't hesitate to reject their reservation
or at least ask some follow-up questions.
It might hurt to turn down that rental revenue,
but a problematic guest can cost a lot more money than you'd earn from them.
Insuring an Airbnb rental can be tricky.
Not every insurance provider is willing to offer a policy that covers short-term rentals.
After all, those strangers coming and going
increases the risk of someone causing damage or stealing something.
When you list your suite on Airbnb,
make sure you inform your home insurance provider first.
If you don't, they could potentially refuse to continue coverage.
You may have heard that Airbnb offers a type of insurance to hosts, and they do.
But make no mistake, Airbnb's coverage doesn't replace home insurance.
You still need home insurance to protect buildings from the usual perils,
like fire, hail, earthquakes and other natural disasters.
Perhaps even more importantly, home insurance policies include liability coverage.
That means you'll have protection if a guest injures themselves on your property
and decides to take it to court.
If you're looking for home insurance for your Airbnb rental,
you can get a free quote from Square One in less than 5 minutes,
by visiting squareone.ca.