Airbnb vs Lodger
Discussion
I wasn't sure if this would go in Business or Homes thread -
I am exploring the option of letting out a spare bedroom in the house for some extra cashflow.
Looking at spare room I could charge £750 a month to a lodger and Airbnb I could charge £60 a night + fees.
on the face of it Airbnb would mean less time that someone else is in my house for the same money as a full time lodger but is it that constant and the variable clientele risk.
Does anyone have any experience in ether that can advise?
I am exploring the option of letting out a spare bedroom in the house for some extra cashflow.
Looking at spare room I could charge £750 a month to a lodger and Airbnb I could charge £60 a night + fees.
on the face of it Airbnb would mean less time that someone else is in my house for the same money as a full time lodger but is it that constant and the variable clientele risk.
Does anyone have any experience in ether that can advise?
I think you need to check carefully if a stay is longer than 28 days, after which your tenant gains certain rights - e.g. cannot be thrown out. Also there are new rules from 1st October requiring you to have done a Fire Risk Assessment and implemented suitable measures (fire doors, windows, extinguisher, alarms, etc) - even if you only rent out one room for one day.
myvision said:
Where are you based?
Have you thought about people who work away I stay away Monday to Friday returning home Friday evening so the homeowner has their house to themselves on a weekend. Best of both worlds for the homeowner full rent and i'm not there on a weekend.
Based in the rural outskirts of a SE market town, 3 minute drive to train station with regualr direct links into London (50mins) and 10 minute drive from the town centre. Have you thought about people who work away I stay away Monday to Friday returning home Friday evening so the homeowner has their house to themselves on a weekend. Best of both worlds for the homeowner full rent and i'm not there on a weekend.
Airbnb would also appeal to the weekend away in the country clientele walks on doorstep, 17th century pub in the village & great location.
Penny Whistle said:
I think you need to check carefully if a stay is longer than 28 days, after which your tenant gains certain rights - e.g. cannot be thrown out.
That is not correct. So long as the lodger doesn't have exclusive possession of any part of the house (i.e. the lodger's room should not have a lock on it) he/she has very few rights at all. The owner is, however, responsible for checking the lodger's immigration status.
Useful guidance here from Citizens advice,
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-...
They are very different things.
Lodger has no rights as a tenant, but is there full time. You can earn just over £7000/yr tax free. They are responsible for their own room, cleaning, cooking etc.
AirBnB is obviously a lot more work. Between each guest the room needs cleaning, bedding changed etc. You will have to be at home, or leave a key for them when they arrive. All money is taxed.
Lodgers are friends, as well as tenants. They might help put the bins out, have full use of all the house, sit down and watch the football with you on a weekend. AirBnB are just very temporary guests, you're unlikely ever to know them.
If you can get £600/m tax free from a lodger, or £60/night AirBnB, you need at least 15 nights to make it worthwhile. That might be 1 person booking for 2 weeks, or that might be 8 different people staying for 2 nights, between each you'll have 2 hours work to get the room turned around and be in for them to collect the key.
Lodger has no rights as a tenant, but is there full time. You can earn just over £7000/yr tax free. They are responsible for their own room, cleaning, cooking etc.
AirBnB is obviously a lot more work. Between each guest the room needs cleaning, bedding changed etc. You will have to be at home, or leave a key for them when they arrive. All money is taxed.
Lodgers are friends, as well as tenants. They might help put the bins out, have full use of all the house, sit down and watch the football with you on a weekend. AirBnB are just very temporary guests, you're unlikely ever to know them.
If you can get £600/m tax free from a lodger, or £60/night AirBnB, you need at least 15 nights to make it worthwhile. That might be 1 person booking for 2 weeks, or that might be 8 different people staying for 2 nights, between each you'll have 2 hours work to get the room turned around and be in for them to collect the key.
Jimmy24 said:
I agree, I think lodging works out better than Air Bnb / holiday letting.
We use Air BnB and Booking, albeit ant scale, and are about to sack both. The former is better than the latter, but you’re essentially entrusting your revenue to someone in Singapore, for whom English is a fifth language, and who is being paid 20p per hour to work from their bedroom. Oh and who is programmed to make whatever decision most benefits their employer, usually favouring the guest, not you.
When a problem guest causes damage it’s a pain. Air BnB has paid out a couple of times, Booking never does. They approve the claim and say they have sent payment, but it never arrives.
We have a 1 bed apartment that we let out via Air BnB. The guests have been very good (touch wood).
The previous owner of the property used to use holiday cottages & struggled with filling it during the winter months so short term let it between October-April to cover costs.
We considered short term letting over the winter, but booking whilst not as prevalent as summer months is still ticking over.
(We aren't near a city, but on the coast, so that probably helps for weekend getaways etc.)
We're reluctant to short term let as going via the local social media pages there's a real genuine hatred for anybody who owns a property & lets it out & doesn't give it to somebody for free, especially short term lets & we really didn't want to take the risk as we've invested time & money to get the place up to a nice standard.
The previous owner of the property used to use holiday cottages & struggled with filling it during the winter months so short term let it between October-April to cover costs.
We considered short term letting over the winter, but booking whilst not as prevalent as summer months is still ticking over.
(We aren't near a city, but on the coast, so that probably helps for weekend getaways etc.)
We're reluctant to short term let as going via the local social media pages there's a real genuine hatred for anybody who owns a property & lets it out & doesn't give it to somebody for free, especially short term lets & we really didn't want to take the risk as we've invested time & money to get the place up to a nice standard.
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