What do you know about Airbnb? It started in 2008 when the company's founders Brian Chesky, Nathan Blecharczyk, and Joe Gebbia started renting out air mattresses (of all things) in their living room in San Francisco, creating an ‘Airbedandbreakfast.’ In time, their idea significantly disrupted the hotel, real estate, and tourism industries by offering more affordable and diverse lodging options. Today, Airbnb is often used as a generic term for short-term rentals hosted by individuals rather than rental corporations, going far beyond the air mattresses of the early days and offering much more than somewhere to kip down for a night. Now, millions of hosts and guests enjoy each other's unique view of the world. From cosy cottages to elegant penthouses, hosts are happy to share their places.

It goes further if you want - there are Airbnb Experiences - ranging from horse whispering to canyon hiking, with experienced hosts sharing their passion for cooking, art, music or more, or local guides taking small groups off the beaten trail into more unexplored territories with Airbnb Adventures for fully immersive expeditions.

Advantages of being a Host

When you host on Airbnb, you choose how and when you welcome guests. You can offer a shared or private space, whether you’re home or away. You can try hosting simply to coincide with a special event in your area or to keep your place occupied while you’re on vacation, and Airbnb lets you pick your own guests. It’s a chance to earn extra money or turn it into a business, but the obvious advantage is that Airbnb advertise worldwide, which opens up your base of likely customers, and you get to pick your customers and pick your own rates. But you are still at the mercy of the taxman, as tax can be tricky and it is important to ensure that you keep up to date with your tax obligations and remain tax compliant. The timely preparation, filing and payment of taxes are your responsibility.

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Being a guest

Airbnbs have an easily accessible booking process. It’s as simple as creating a profile, finding an Airbnb you like, and booking it for the dates you will be travelling. Some ID is required - even a selfie if you don’t have a legal document to hand - to verify your identity for your host. Don’t worry—this won’t show on your profile or to other users on Airbnb.

Another advantage is that Airbnb also doesn’t allow third-party sites to book their accommodations like hotels do, so you will always know what is available for your dates. And your locations aren’t limited to cities or popular spots, you can search for somewhere isolated if you might be looking for solitude, or to use it is a base for exploring a particular area.

I personally just wanted somewhere clean and warm

I had struggled to find a hotel in the area close to where I wanted to be, so looked at Airbnb. Booking it turned into a bit of a nightmare as the website that crashed before I had completed my booking, so I had several phone calls from what I can only assume to be a call centre in Mumbai.

It wasn’t until quite close to arrival that I could actually contact the host directly. Then came emails from Airbnb with reservation reminders, customer support feedback questionnaires – ‘Hi, pack your bags, its nearly time to go!’ and ‘Hi hope your check-in went smoothly’, to ‘Based on your most recent interaction with Customer Support, how likely are you to recommend Airbnb…’

Fees

I wondered how everybody makes some profit from these bookings. According to their website, Airbnb charges hosts a service fee for each booking. The percentage a variable figure, but it's typically around 3% for most hosts. However, Airbnb's commission can go up to 14% or more for hosts who have a Super Strict cancellation policy.

At the end of the day, the host got paid and I got myself a clean comfortable home where we could spread out, that turned out to be a better option than a hotel room.

Author

Marilyn writes regularly for The Portugal News, and has lived in the Algarve for some years. A dog-lover, she has lived in Ireland, UK, Bermuda and the Isle of Man. 

Marilyn Sheridan