Back to: Essential Beginners Guide To Airbnb
Homesharing may have been around for some time now, but its popularity skyrocketed since Airbnb came into the scene. It’s become a serious moneymaker for many people looking for an alternative to the typical nine-to-five. It’s also become a way for property owners to create a solid side hustle. Many people get attracted to the idea of homesharing for profit. However, it actually has plenty of other benefits that many don’t take into consideration off the bat. We’ll discuss some of the main benefits of homesharing, so you can decide for yourself if this is a venture that fits you and your goals.
Financial Benefits
For many, money is the most obvious reason for getting into the business. Homesharing has tremendous income potential, and many experts juggle two or more homeshare properties for even more income flow. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you can make money just by having a space to rent out. You’d have to treat it like any other business. It takes time, effort, dedication, creativity, and good work in order to thrive. You can treat homesharing as your primary income source or simply a way to make some extra money a month; the amount of money you make will essentially be up to you.
Having homesharing as an income source has another financial benefit—savings. Once you make enough through homesharing to cover your overhead, it won’t be long until you can make more to set aside for savings. Homesharing is a great way to fill up your piggy bank for the future. It will allow you the chance to be able to set aside money each month to go towards retirement, vacation, another income property, or any other big expense.
In addition to money, many homeshare owners also benefit from value swapping. Renters are often willing to share their personal or business services for a good stay. For example, you might find yourself with free Wi-Fi diagnostics from a customer specializing in the field in exchange for free breakfast. You might even find yourself with free legal advice from a customer who happens to be a lawyer. The list is virtually endless.
Social Benefits
As a homeshare owner, you’ll never come short of having opportunities to meet new people. Some of your customers may be easier to deal with; others may not. But just having the platform to meet people from all over the world is a pretty exciting prospect. Many homesharers take advantage of this and use input from people of all cultures to improve upon their business. Besides that business aspect, it’s just good to be able to have connections globally—maybe even make new friends and acquaintances. You may not always want to connect with your customers, but at least the opportunity is there.
Having a homeshare business will also force you to get out of your comfort zone and get to know your local area really well. The best homeshare owners are the ones who can really make a stay for an outsider feel welcoming and truly engaging. You’re going to want to make your customers feel like home. This means that you’ll need to have a personal take on all other businesses around you and be able to recommend places based on personal experiences and anecdotes. To become the most successful homeshare business owner, you’ll need to network with all other businesses in your area and establish professional connections.
Networking and connecting with other people will give you the benefit of better social skills in the end. The more you work on dealing with people on a daily basis, the better you’ll be at being a homeshare manager. It’s basically Social Skills 101 for free. As long as you take what you learn from every encounter you make and turn it into a lesson in hospitality, you should be the next best customer service guru in the industry.
Personal Benefits
There are also personal benefits to the business of homesharing. The fact that your business is yours to run however you see fit can have a large impact on your lifestyle. Being a business owner is tough, but it also means that you can have as much flexibility as you’d like. You can work as much as needed or less if you prefer. Having that control over your own schedule is something that many people could only dream of.
The flexibility and skills you’ll develop as a homesharer will all lead you to experience an entirely new kind of life. It’s the gateway to a host of new adventures and opportunities. Homesharing will definitely give you a new lifestyle—mostly for the better as long as you play your cards right. When you’re in the homesharing industry, the way you run your business is up to you. You can finally have the extra the funds to do things you’ve been wanting to do; better yet, you might finally have the time.
