Have you ever thought about renting out your spare room to travellers? I was looking for a housemate but wasn't all that impressed with the people who turned up. So I thought I could just try and rent the room out on a short term basis. I decided on a 3 weeks maximum stay. I put an advertisement in the paper and the next day my phone was already ringing. Three Swedish girls who were tired of Backpacker Hostels were in need of a peaceful place. I organised another mattress and they moved in the same day. Since then I have had a steady string of people coming and staying with me. My charges are reasonable, some have come back. Also I became great friends with some of them.
I thought about doing this when I lived in a two bedroom apartment in Seoul. Although I say it was a two bedroom apartment, it was more like a one bedroom with a tiny extra room. I think if I had had more living space, I probably would have researched about renting the room out for short periods of time to travellers. I did end up using the website couchsurfing, and inviting a traveller to stay at my house for free. It was great use of my extra room, and I got to make a new friend out of it. I recommend using the spare room in some way!
I never thought about renting to travellers. Short term seems like a waste of resources. They rent for only a short while and we won't know when the next person will come. If I were to rent a room, I'd prefer to rent it long term so that I know I'm getting a steady stream of rent money instead of feeling like a part-time job.
I am not sure that I an rent out my rooms to strangers. You can never know how people behave you might have the good intentions of helping them but they end up being a disappointment. The best I can do is refer then to a nearby hotel or motel so that they can spend a night there.
Thanks for your thoughts. I think everyone is a stranger. You go by your gut instinct and learn to trust it. It is your place and you decide if you want a person to stay with you or not. I have never had any bad experience at all, apart from one Irish guy who got a bit out of hand when he was drunk. But he apologised the next day and packed his bags by himself. I didn't kick him out. Long term housemates are fine if they make me feel like I am coming home to my family. Otherwise I can't be bothered with all the various personal issues.
I'm quite shy so I think I would have a pretty hard time renting a spare bedroom out to strangers. I imagine I'd also be a bit paranoid about getting a rude or messy lodger or even someone who was dangerous. I'm sure most people are perfectly nice, normal people though - I guess having lodgers just isn't for me. It's great if you are able to do it though. You meet new people from all different countries and you make some money!
Hosting families is a process that I really feel is exciting. Actually, we let 2 Japanese students stay at our home in the states and it was an incredible experience seeing them live life in a completely different culture. The two students found it their homestay very exciting, as did we, and we enjoyed each others company very much. We shared stories and we practically made them members of the family during their 1-2 month stay. It was fun and I really hope to accompany a foreigner again in our home's extra room.
I don't think I'd ever do this but I guess there are sites that specialize in this where I could do it much safer so I think I'd be a bit more open to it. That is, if I had the place and space. As of now I am feeling cramped enough in my living area as it is so the thought of someone else joining in even with the thought that I'd get paid is a bit rough. I would be open to it though if I ever moved to a bigger house.
I wouldn't. It doesn't sound safe to me. Sure, the majority of interested travelers are much likely legit and safe to have, however there will always be some that will act with mean intentions - because of those I would fear to have someone I don't know at home. Which is actually very unfortunate, because I would otherwise enjoy having travelers from other places at home, but I wouldn't take the risk.
Honestly, it just seems too risky for me to do this because I have a son around. I wouldn't want him living with complete strangers in the house. And there's still that small possibility of a stranger robbing you or gosh, something more scary happening. Of course, it can be to your own discretion maybe just rent out the room to girls that you have investigated well. But to me, the money is not worth risking my family's life.
My dad was in charge of managing the house that my uncle owned, and he got some pretty bad non-paying renters who stole electricity and left without a trace, so he had to pay their debt. So based from that experience, I think I would rather not rent a room to a stranger, it's too risky.
Our house have 3 bedrooms and a spare room. The master's bedroom is for us, the room in the ground floor is for the housemaids so we have 2 extra rooms that we are using for storage of things. A friend said that we can rent out even one room to travelers particularly those from the province who would attend a weekend seminar in the city. I would have agreed to that not really for the money but to help the transient. However, my husband pointed out that our bathroom downstairs is not decent enough. Yes, it needs to be retiled.
Although not quite for me, I think this is a fab idea for those who can hack it. I'm way too precious about my space and private time, I'd feel as if we were on top of each other all the time, and ultimately I wouldn't be a very good 'hostess'. I also like my stuff a certain way, and I wouldn't want the hassle if the 'guests' turned out to be messy. Plus I just wouldn't feel 100% safe.
Renting out an extra room can be a good source of extra income but I've had some bad experiences in the past. I'd only rent a room out if I don't have to interact with the lodgers. By the way I've heard that in some cities they are cracking down on "illegal hotels" so I suppose it's going to be harder for people to rent out spare rooms especially if doing so makes the government think you are running an "illegal hotel."
In my search for temporary digs when we move across the country, I've come to realize people are making REALLY good money doing this. And if you're a good host that is rated well, you will always have a steady string of travellers/renters. It's a fantastic idea. I personally wouldn't do it, because strangers in my home would make me uncomfy, but if I had property, I would rather rent it out as tempory housing/vacation housing than a regular rental.
Admittedly letting out a spare room can be a great way of earning extra money - so long as you know what you are getting into - meaning - not only being aware of the risks, problems and the extra costs likely to be encountered - but more importantly that its something that you would feel comfortable with - particularly as having strangers wandering around all areas of your home - at all hours of the day and night - is not ideally suited to everyone. As for me - after having experienced the aggravation and the problems associated with renting out property - that I wasn't actually living in at the time - I have to be honest and say that there is absolutely no way - however broke I was - that I would ever consider renting out one of my spare rooms to anyone - let alone strangers on holiday.
I don't think that this is going to be viable in my case mainly because our home is located on the less interesting part of the city where very few, or should I say no tourists/travelers visit. If we're located on a frequently traveled location then I don't see any reason not to do this since I'm very sociable, and I like to meet new people every time. Plus the additional income is always welcomed in our household.
That's a great idea. We currently have extra bedrooms in our old house. The thing is, our old place is a long way off from the city proper. They might have trouble finding it or maybe think it'll be such a hassle to travel from one tourist spot to another because of the distance. Perhaps our old house may appeal more to specific types of travellers who don't mind the gruelling travel as long as their sense of adventure is ignited.
I don't know if I would rent a room. I have tried in the past with a person I worked with and it did not work out the person was a dead beat. I does sound like a great way to meet new people and make a few extra dollars.
I have both hosted people for free from CouchSurfer and rented my spare room out to people using AirBNB. I think it's a nice way of generating some revenues, however, you d have to enjoy doing it because you're going to spend a bunch of your time cleaning after some people, which isn't exactly a pleasant activity.
