Many people have considered Air BNB a great way to earn money. But is it really? In order to get the full picture, you need to know what kind of person you are - and where your priorities lie. This blog post will cover everything from the perspective of someone who wants to rent out their house for income on a more part-time basis. It will also detail what some other people's experience with Airbnb has been like so that you can see how others feel about it in general.

For full disclosure, I have already been a host on Airbnb for over 8 months. The experience has not been completely positive or negative, but it's worth noting that this is from the perspective of someone who does not plan to make this their main source of income. I will also be going into some other people's experiences with them, which have been mixed. At this point, I have made a little over $5,000 USD after my expenses.

If you are interested in the financial aspect of the side-business venture (how much money you can make), then check out Air BNB's website for exact figures on that topic: http://www.airbnb.com/welcome/partners. If you are interested in the non-financial aspect, then this post about what it's like to be a host will be more up your alley.

Here are the main things that I have taken away from my experience as a host on Airbnb: - Many people who stay with hosts on Air BNB are not great guests. - You need a significant amount of available time to be a good Air BNB host. - The financial aspect has pros and cons, which I will get into below.

First, let me describe some other people's experiences who have been hosts on Air BNB.

In this forum thread that was posted on the Air BNB sub-Reddit, some guests were complaining about not getting security deposits back from their hosts. Hosts are supposed to give the deposit in full if no damages have occurred, which is outlined clearly on the website. This doesn't seem completely fair since you can prevent damages with basic cleaning and upkeep of your place during a guest's stay (more on this later).

In another forum thread, guests and hosts complained about the fees that Air BNB charges. Guests are upset because they have to pay for cleaning if a host doesn't do it. Hosts are bothered by not getting their entire security deposits back (as previously described) while paying a 9% commission of their rental income to Air BNB. There is no way around this, and you are forced to be a part of the Air BNB community in order to make any money. I would recommend reading the FAQ section on their website about what commission they take if you want details on that topic: http://www.airbnb.com/help/article/90.

Air BNB also doesn't give guests and hosts any way to communicate with each other aside from an email address (which is hidden) that can be found on the website: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/687. This issue has been brought up many times on their forums, but they refuse to make a platform for guests and hosts to talk to each other. This makes it a lot harder to screen people before you accept them as a guest, which is essential if you want to be comfortable having strangers in your home. Many people don't realize this when they sign up for Airbnb, but it's known throughout the community that many of the people who book Air BNB rooms are not the most polite people.

Since Air BNB has a community system for guests and hosts to talk to each other, there is only one reason why they don't allow it: That would be bad for business.

This idea could also be attributed to another forum thread on their website with people complaining about being kicked off the site if they leave bad reviews for guests.

Airbnb has a disclaimer that states that its website is not an online marketplace, and they don't hold themselves to those kinds of standards: https://www.airbnb.com/policies#terms. They also do not guarantee any refunds from hosts or have any way to enforce this rule: https://www.airbnb.com/policies#guarantee. They also will not force you to give your guests a refund if they have a legitimate complaint, even if it is against the rules that Air BNB wants their hosts to follow: http://reviews.airbnb.com/help/cases.

I have also noticed that there are many hostile reviews, not just on Air BNB's site, but also on sites like Yelp. I have always read these types of reviews with a grain of salt since it is hard to tell who is being genuine and who is being vindictive. But in this case, you can't fully trust the reviews like you usually can with other companies or review sites.

To be fair, there are many good reviews for Air BNB as a company and platform. But just remember that when reading these kinds of reviews on their site: They are all posted by people who make money from using Airbnb. Most of them are hosts who are trying to convince you that the site is legitimate and good for business.

There are many stories of apartments being flooded, entire buildings being ruined, and other bad experiences on various forums all over the internet. These people were only able to get either no refund or partial refunds from Air BNB. None of these forum posts have been responded to by Air BNB, which is another red flag.

You really have to be careful when renting out your home for money on a short-term basis: People are crazy and careless with their belongings - especially when they are staying in someone else's place. That's why I would not recommend this avenue of earning money unless you have been doing it for a while and feel comfortable that your home is very secure. There are many horror stories of people having their homes trashed and being denied any kind of reimbursement from the company who facilitated it, so make sure you know what you're getting into.

Air BNB, in my opinion, is a tool for out-of-towners to find cheap places to stay, rather than a place to earn extra money as a host. This is why they offer such great deals - because it's not convenient for the host to make more money per night. But if you are lucky enough to be in an area that has plenty of guests looking for places nearby who want to pay more than Air BNB will allow, then you can make good money as a host.

Air BNB's security should be the main thing that hosts are concerned about, because most people use guest reviews on their site to determine who they will rent their space to. Their system is designed for a place where that is ideal - but if you're renting out your home in an area that is not so safe, then you can and should be more selective with who you let into your home.

In the early days of AirB BNB there were many 'ghost' reviews being posted by both guests and hosts alike which could easily be seen as fabricated or biased. The company quickly came up with a system to weed out these types of reviews, and it has done a pretty good job so far. But there are still many people who ignore the rules and do not get caught so easily.

There is also the matter of legality to consider when renting out your home on Airbnb. Your state may have specific laws that could prevent you from doing this - or these laws could be changed at any time. You never know when a local politician or community activist may decide that renting out your home is not something they want in their area, so you must always have and use common sense when choosing to rent on this platform.

So do people really make good money with Airbnb? The answer is - it depends on where you live. In places where it is very busy and touristy, Air BNB can be a great way to make money as a host. But what I see most often are hosts who rent out their homes occasionally - rather than renting them full-time for income.

Air BNB makes it easy to set up your account, choose your price range, and set your home up to be rented by others. This is how they make their money - charging a small fee for every booking that is made. There are many reviews of people who have had terrible experiences with Airbnb, but I believe it depends on where you live and the type of host you are (just like anything else).

As in real estate, "location, location, location" is something that Air BNB will not tell you - and it's very important to know. If your home is close to popular destinations like beaches or ski slopes or tourist towns, then renting out your space could be a great extra income stream for you. But if you live in an area like where I live, which is a popular place to go for people in the summer but nearly empty during off-seasons - then it's better for you to stick with what you know and not mess around with something that could be very risky.

Some other considerations when renting your home on Air BNB :

What kind of person are you? If you want to rent out your space on Airbnb, make sure that your personality matches up with the kind of person who would be renting it. You don't want to spend a lot of time cleaning and making repairs if no one is going to appreciate it - only to get bad reviews or not enough guests. So think about how well you get along with others.

If you do not like the idea of making small talk or meeting strangers, this might not be for you - but there are many people who would love to earn income in this way and have a good time while they're at it. Do you like being around other people? If so, then perhaps Air BNB is the way to go for you - maybe not as a full-time job but as an extra income stream. If you prefer to be around family or friends, then this might not be your thing.

What kind of house are you renting out? You need to make sure that it's in good condition before thinking about renting it out. This can be a big job that requires some work, or it could just take a lot of cleaning. It's important to first get your place into good shape before you start advertising it and accepting bookings - and it shows the guests that you respect them enough to give them something nice to stay in while they're there.

Just like any other investment, you need to take the time to decide if renting your home on Air BNB is right for you. You could spend a lot of time making repairs and renovations in order to get it prepared - only to find that no one wants to stay with you because of negative reviews or the busy season where you live. I believe it's worth the extra time to figure out if this is right for you.

If renting your home on Airbnb is not the right choice for you - there are some other things you can do to earn income from your house that don't require as much maintenance and upkeep. If possible, try to keep it in good shape while you're thinking about renting it. Just like real estate, having a bad house - even if you don't live in it full-time - can be an issue with renters. If you're planning on renting your home out on Airbnb, make sure that everything is in good shape first!

Air BNB works well for some people but not so much for others. It's a good idea to do your research before you spend any money, and make sure that it will be worthwhile for you. If you plan on renting out your space and are thinking about improving it beforehand - remember that some things don't change no matter how hard you try. For example, if the neighborhood is not so great and no one wants to stay there anyway - then you might just be throwing your time and money away.

If you are unsure about using Airbnb, keep in mind that there are other options available for renting out your space while still keeping it as a rental property. Sometimes people don't want to do business online, so this is one less thing they have to worry about. Just keep in mind that this takes time and effort too - although it might not take you as long to get your house into great shape as Air BNB might.

Overall, making money from Air BNB can be a worthwhile endeavor for some people but others probably shouldn't even consider it. If you are one of the people this blog post is written for, it could be a great opportunity.

If you are not the right kind of person for Airbnb, there are still other options available to make some income from your home.