If you haven’t heard, we’ve started periodically renting out our family home for extra income. Listing your home as a short-term rental is not difficult, but we knew absolutely noting when we started. Hosting on Airbnb or VRBO is a commitment to managing a rental property. That’s a big deal! Therefore, I’m sharing how to start a short term rental with all of you in hopes to provide a little road map for potential hosts.
Honestly, I love hosting. Not just for short term visitors, I love hosting anyone at any time. Specifically, the hospitality side of it all, like fluffing pillows, filling the welcome basket, stocking the fridge, and keeping the house cozy. It’s incredible to see what my home could look like left untouched. Of course, with two littles our living space is never really clean. But since hosting began, we’ve seen the potential and we love sharing our home with others!
Why We Become Airbnb Hosts
So, let’s go back to how this all began. Our biggest catalyst to even begin thinking about becoming Airbnb hosts was the 2025 NFL Draft. Rumors began swirling around the city that hosts could make thousands of dollars a night per rental. That sounded intriguing, but it wasn’t something we actually planned on doing.
Then one day, I listened to a podcast about a family that decided to start traveling full-time. They began working remotely, sold everything they owned, and hit the road! For weeks I binged their podcast episodes, learning all about how on earth they made this dream happen. A family of four just like us. Always up for adventures just like us. Interested in work as content creators JUST LIKE US. I started to wonder if starting a short-term rental could be the answer to making extra money for our family.
I finally told Travis about my secret podcast obsession and asked him if he could imagine traveling around the country and becoming Airbnb hosts. He wasn’t so sure at first. But a week later, he too started to get excited about all the things I was dreaming up. Then BOOM, we decided to try and make it happen.
How We Completely Changed Our Lives
Our ideas of traveling and hosting began sometime around mid-August 2024. The Green Bay Packer football season was just beginning. No time like the present to start hosting through Airbnb, especially since we’re only a ten minute walk from Lambeau Field. But how on earth do you even start the short-term rental process?
Google became our best friend. We texted a neighbor who works for the city of Green Bay. I sent DMs to fellow hosts. We learned a LOT… and also spent a lot. In our area of Wisconsin, we needed both a city permit and a county permit. The permits alone cost over a thousand bucks. We completed inspections, purchased all the necessities for hosting, and found a trust-worthy cleaner through a friend on Facebook.
And let me just say, the right cleaner is worth every penny. Becky took care of our home like it was her own!
We also invested in a no-slip bath mat, sanitation strips, cleaning essentials, a couple sets of twin bedding, extra plates and cups, more towels, more wash clothes, and a LOT more cleaning supplies to ensure we had what we needed to host an Airbnb.
We knew we’d be forking out some cash upfront, but we were both sweating a bit when it started to exceed a thousand bucks. Thankfully, it only took about a month to make the money back and now we’re happily in the green.
Dealing With Airbnb Guests
So, what are the guests like? People were shocked to hear we’d share our home with others. Strangers walking through your hallway, drinking from your cups, sleeping in your bed?! Yup, and quite honestly, it doesn’t weird me out. If I’m willing to stay at friend’s houses or sleep in hotel rooms, what’s the difference? I don’t want to speak too soon, but thus far, guests have followed the rules and kept the house clean. They leave the house as they found it. Sometimes they even leave a tip! We’ve been pleasantly surprised.
There are little things to learn along the way like what to do when a guests leaves something behind or how to handle extra guests. Hosting is a continual learning curve.
Here’s a few homey touches I’ve added to our home:
- Welcoming porch decor.
- Plenty of pillows and blankets around to keep the space cozy.
- Welcome basket with pre-packaged snacks.
- Restaurant recommendations and physical menus.
- Bottled water and refreshments in the fridge.
- Simple house plants.
I won’t say hosting is for everyone. Maybe you don’t love cleaning or it would be difficult for you to continually flip your own home. I get that. Our biggest secret – LOCKING OUR BASEMENT. This allows a space for all our possessions and gives us space to keep our own things organized. Despite the stress of flipping and the need to be flexible, I think hosting is surely worth it! We’ve made thousands in just a matter of months and we’re beyond excited to see if where the draft can take our Airbnb!
Visiting Green Bay or know someone who is? Send us a message and we’ll share our link. We promise an enjoyable experience in our clean and comfortable home.
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