“Should I Airbnb my spare room?” This question is guaranteed to have popped into your head at one point or another. Chances are that if you’re reading this post, you have either stayed in an Airbnb before and are now thinking about hosting, or have at least heard the name “Airbnb” before.

Here’s the short answer: Just because you have a spare room does not mean you should become a host. Being an Airbnb host requires both a specific skill set and large amount of responsibility. Listing a space to stay requires time, attention to detail, and amazing customer service. You have to be on top of you game at all times to ensure a great track record for potential future clients.

Here’s a list of questions that you may want to ask yourself before becoming an airbnb host.

If you answer yes to all of these, you might be headed in the right direction.

1. Are you reliable?

Being a host means being on top of your communication game. Unless of course you choose to hire us (wink wink) you are going to have to be available to answer any questions and concerns 24/7 to ensure that your guests have a smooth and pleasant stay. You are going to need to follow through on the expectations you set on the listing page and constantly find ways to ensure the safety and happiness of your guests.

2. Are you open-minded?

Hosting your spare room means they you will be coming into contact with people from all over the country and perhaps even the world. This means that you are 100% likely host people who have different habits, customs, beliefs, etc. than you. So, if you are the type of person who becomes easily annoyed at cultural or personality differences (which, let’s admit, we all have at one point or another), you may want to rethink your choice to become a host.

3. Are you ready to clean?

Don’t think you can get away from all the not-so-fun parts or running an Airbnb like cleaning dirty towels, washing sheets, making the bed, vacuuming, dusting, etc. Unless of course, you use our services (one again—cough cough), you’ll be stuck with trying to manage a quick turnaround time to get your room looking ship shape before the next guest arrives.

4. Do you live in a good location?

You may have to rethink your choice of listing your spare room based off location. If you live in a big city or near an airport, chances are you are good to go. However, if you live in the middle of the woods or in a small, one-light town, it may be more work than it’s worth. A good way to see how your area would fare is to go on Airbnb and do your own bit of research. Search your area and see how many Airbnbs are listed, check the price per night, and view the listing calendar to see how many bookings there are. This will give you an idea about the success that your own listing might be able to acquire!

5. Do you actually have the time?

A lot of people think, “I just sign up and I’m pretty much set, right?” Wrong. In fact, you could easily be spending 30-40 total hours a month managing your Airbnb unit. Especially in the beginning, you are going to need to sacrifice a large amount of time to get your listing up and running properly. This includes initial research, signing up on Airbnb, creating a listing page, taking and uploading photos, advertising, maintenance and design, etc. Fortunately, ConciAirs has services that can help automate all of the above. Check out our services page here or email us directly at taylor@conciairs.com to see if your listing qualifies.

We hope this post gave you a pinch of insight before you jump on board at becoming an Airbnb host. As rewarding as the job might be, it also requires a lot more than simply saying “yes.”