AirBnB hosting experiences?

Goldenhawk

Goldenhawk

Well-Known Member
Does anyone have any practical experience hosting with AirBnB in Southern Maryland? I'm curious about collecting and/or paying any required taxes (especially in St Mary's), required licenses, and how frequently rooms actually get rented.
 
H

Hodr

Guest
It's good that you are looking to do things on the up and up, but I thought the whole point of AirBnB (and the reason they have a million lawsuits against them) was basically to skirt all of these rules and provide a place for people who don't want to bother with all of the legal niceties to setup pseudo hotels.
 
GWguy

GWguy

*
RoseRed said:
What is it?
Click to expand...

AirBnB gives people a way to rent out their apartment or house when they're not there. People like it because instead of staying in a hotel you actually stay in a "home".

My friends recently rented from someone near Crystal City and were very pleased with the apartment and rates. Homeowner isn't in town much, but went out of his way to make sure they were comfortable.
 
RoseRed

RoseRed

American Beauty
PREMO Member
GWguy said:
AirBnB gives people a way to rent out their apartment or house when they're not there. People like it because instead of staying in a hotel you actually stay in a "home".

My friends recently rented from someone near Crystal City and were very pleased with the apartment and rates. Homeowner isn't in town much, but went out of his way to make sure they were comfortable.
Click to expand...

Cool. I wouldn't rent my place out. I don't trust people.
 
Goldenhawk

Goldenhawk

Well-Known Member
I thought the whole point of AirBnB ... was basically to skirt all of these rules and provide a place for people who don't want to bother with all of the legal niceties to setup pseudo hotels.
Click to expand...

Not at all. They're designed to properly connect people who have and who need rooms. Yes, they are being challenged, but that's precisely because too many people are blatantly violating the law and/or their own lease restrictions. It's not because AirBnB is doing anything wrong. If anything, AirBnB slaps you in the face with the legal concerns at every opportunity.

More generally, AirBnB is simply a clearinghouse for anyone who wants to rent space on a short-term basis. They connect individuals, handle transferring funds, and provide insurance for the space owner. If you do research, they've got a really solid thing going with a lot of good protections for everyone involved, and the vast majority of the feedback is very positive.

In my case, it's not that I'm away. Rather, I have an apartment we built for a family member who's now in a nursing home. We'd easily be able to rent it as a fully-furnished apartment with all amenities. But other family members often come from out of town to visit the person in the nursing home. They stay in the apartment, which saves them $80 or more per night. It happens regularly enough that I can't rent it out in a normal sense. AirBnB is perfect for my situation, because I could rent it day-by-day, then not rent it for a weekend when family will be in town or when we're out of town.

Since I am NOT interested in getting in the nearly-guaranteed legal trouble if I just wing it, I'm quite willing to do the necessary steps with the county/state, to make potentially hundreds of dollars a month.

So I'm hoping someone out there in forum-land has actually leased space with AirBnB and can share tips and stories.
 
kwillia

kwillia

n/a
I am reeling. How could this happen? Why did this happen? Despite it not being in New York... I LOVED my apartment nonetheless. It was my own private retreat, my sunny, bright, cozy loft that I would melt into on those rare occasions when I wasn't traveling. The space was simply decorated, minimalist enough to reflect a home life that was all mine, a place that was peaceful, and safe.
Click to expand...

It happened because you opened your house to just anyone. YOU invited them in. Nobody else but YOU.



Why would anyone be trusting enough to let stranger after stranger after stranger in their house with they most personal and prized possessions? It's crazy.
 
Last edited:
Goldenhawk

Goldenhawk

Well-Known Member
GWguy said:
This guy was naive. No one in their right mind would leave behind such personal and irreplaceable items. Behind a locked closet door?? Those belong in a safe or safe deposit box if you're not there. He was stupid and overly trusting.
Click to expand...

I agree. I would never rent my house out while I was out of town. MAYBE a fully unoccupied rental property, but even then I'd be disinclined to rent it short term anyway, simply to reduce the uncertainty of multiple tenants.

In our case, it's a separate dwelling unit on our property, and we would only rent it when we were home too. In fact, AirBnB recommends personally delivering the keys to the tenant. That establishes some face time and accountability. In fact, I would probably insist on a photo of the individual and their ID for my records. If nothing else, I'll stand in front of my driveway security camera while I meet them. So nobody who enters the apartment would do so without knowing they were accountable. People who know they're accountable tend to behave better.

Overall, I think AirBnB has done a pretty decent job of responding to such rare horror stories to make the process as safe and efficient as it can be. For example, since 2013, to use their system you must create a profile with a formal govt-issued ID. You can't get started without it. So the whole blog thing of not finding the culprit is no longer even a risk. Also, I don't know about 2011 when this occurred, but AirBnB now covers property owners with a $1M insurance plan (that pays after your own personal insurance payout).

Finally, consider it's called "AirBnB", not "someone else manages your apartment for you". It's a BnB model, at least in the sense you're sharing some personal space with someone for money. Anyone who has no personal interaction with the tenant is asking for trouble, in my opinion. The VAST majority of testimonies are quite positive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top