Would You AirBnb Your Home in Maine to Make Extra Cash?
AirBnb has disrupted the hospitality industry since their first booking in 2008. The service allows anyone to become verified hosts and list their space as a temporary rental. Travelers now have more options for lodging than ever before.
Maine has hundreds of AirBnb listings ranging from modest tent sites to massive mansions with more amenities than a swanky hotel. Hosts around the state are bringing in extra income by listing their spare room or entire home for rent on AirBnb. Even the most humble of listings can fetch $60-$80 a night, which is a welcome extra stack of cash for anyone. This rental in Portland starts at $168 per night while the tiny house (above) in Waterford fetches $100.
My boyfriend and I listed our entire Portland condo for rent on AirBnb and were overwhelmed with the response. We had over 30 inquiries in the first week of the listing, despite what we thought to be a very high listing price. We're lucky to have another place to stay close by, so renting our place and relocating for a few days is (kind of) easy.
We will host our first guests in a few weeks and I've been busy preparing for their arrival. To be honest, I've really enjoyed the process of cleaning, organizing, and weeding out unnecessary items in our condo that I'd have to move for guests anyway. I purchased new linens for the beds and started a visitor sheet with important information about our place, the neighborhood, and things to do in Portland.
Would you ever list a spare room or your entire place on AirBnb? Or does the idea totally weird you out? What if you could make enough money to cover half or all of your mortgage in just a few days?