Over six million listings are added on Airbnb, and millions of people use it to find vacation rentals or earn passive income. Even though homeowners hosting guests with Airbnb and other peer-to-peer sites may need to pay extra taxes or consider the phenomenon of gentrification, the well-paid experience as a host sounds enticing. Since the number of hosts has increased significantly in recent years, people interested in making money in the sharing economy must invest more in their hospitality service businesses. Even if you’re like ‘but I want to rent out a room in my house not my entire place’.
As a matter of fact, some platforms specifically require homeowners to list their whole apartment/house and leave the property while the guests are there. Others make it mandatory for them to stay and interact with visitors. This is something you should think about when choosing a platform to advertise your home. Our general advice would be to learn about taxation, purchase or upgrade insurance that covers home rentals, and calculate with services fees when engaging in this flexible way of earning extra money. Scroll down and find the best rental site that suits your needs considering the location, the type, the size, the availability and the desired rental fee of your home.
12 platforms to check out to rent out your house
- Homestay
- HomeAway
- UnderTheDoormat
- VRBO
- FlipKey
- Onefinestay
- 9flats
- Vrumi
- HomeExchange
- Stayz
- Rent Like A Champion
- Handiscover
Fill in the blank: I want to rent out a house to… Maybe to families with kids?
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
1. Homestay
With Homestay, you have no choice but to spend time with travellers visiting your hometown. What’s more, you may prepare breakfast for them in the morning. No entire homes only rooms can be listed on the platform. You should choose this site if you’re in the home rental business for the experience and not for the money.
As a host, you’ll learn about other cultures among others during the encounters with people (over 18) from all over the world looking for a destination home. Long-term rental is possible with Homestay. This means you may call your guests tenants who arrive in the country to volunteer, enjoy a gap year or do an exchange semester. As you can see, you are more likely to receive booking requests from younger people. You’re expected to provide them with some local experience.
They will pay 15% (a maximum of 199 USD, EUR, GBP) of the price of the stay to confirm their booking. When setting up your profile, you should mention your preferred payment method (bank transfer, cash, PayPal, Stripe, etc.) In some countries, you may benefit from Homestay’s Deposit Payment option, for which the platform charges a service fee, which is three percent of the deposit or a minimum of one dollar, euro or pound.
It’s better safe than sorry, so check with your insurance provider what your plan covers if guests cause any damage to your property.
Find some advice on how to rent with Homestay here:
Tips on how to be a better host when renting out your place via Airbnb or Homestay
Earn money with Homestay in Oklahoma City, Albuquerque, Boston, Manchester, Memphis, Milwaukee, Seattle, London, Glasgow, Perth, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Sydney, Calgary, Toronto, Montréal, and other cities worldwide.
2. HomeAway
HomeAway was founded well before Airbnb. It has a huge portfolio including other home rental sites. According to some experienced travellers, this site is for the members of a slightly older generation. One of the reasons for this is perhaps that the rentals listed are of a higher standard but usually smaller apartments suitable for solo travellers and couples. You should join this platform, as either a homeowner or a property manager, if they are your target audience.
Keep in mind that you either pay an annual subscription fee or choose the pay-per-booking model. In the case of the latter, you’ll be charged a certain percentage during each booking. Read more about it here. As for payment method, Visa, MasterCard, American Express cards, and eChecks (for U.S. residents only) are available.
Taxes and regulations
In some states, HomeAway hosts need to pay lodging taxes and/or acquire a licence from the city (for example Santa Monica) to be able to earn money with short-term rentals.
Earn money with HomeAway in San Antonio, Austin, San Jose,Detroit, Fort Worth, Portland, Liverpool, Brighton, Cardiff, Melbourne, Brisbane, Edmonton, Ottawa, and other cities worldwide.
3. UnderTheDoormat
UnderTheDoormat works with homeowners in London and specializes in luxury rentals. Your home in zones 1 and 2 must be available at least eight weeks a year. The platform’s dedicated team takes care of everything, so you don’t have to deal with anything. Your account manager will manage the guests. The price includes the platform’s admin fees and such. You should create an account on this platform if you want someone to manage everything for you. Your home/property must meet certain criteria.
4. VRBO
VRBO, short for Vacation Rentals By Owner, is part of the HomeAway family. It has a lot in common with HomeAway, so you either pay an annual fee or you’ll be charged per booking. In certain jurisdictions, VRBO also collects lodging taxes.
A variety of rentals can be listed on the site, ranging from cabins to family houses. This also indicates that guests comprise larger groups or families, not solo travellers. You won’t be staying in your home while being rented. If you own a bigger property and don’t mind accommodating more people, VRBO could be your ideal option.
Earn money with VRBO in St. Paul, Pittsburgh, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, Washington D.C., New York City, London, Birmingham, Cardiff, Leeds, Brisbane, Melbourne, Toronto, Calgary, and other cities worldwide.
5. FlipKey
FlipKey is TripAdvisor’s one and only rental site. The advantage of advertising your home on this site is that it will appear across TripAdvisor, resulting in huge exposure. You either rent out a private room or an entire property, meaning you may spend time with your guests of all ages and with different backgrounds.
Thanks to the advanced search engine on the website, you even set that your home comes with a mountain view or is pet-friendly. Choose FlipKey if you don’t have any preference regarding guests and would happily meet backpackers as well. Every time someone rents your place, the platform keeps three percent as a service fee.
Earn money with FlipKey in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Louisville, Sacramento, Atlanta, Charlotte, Oxford, Manchester, Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh, Sydney, Perth, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Melbourne, Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and other cities worldwide.
6. Onefinestay
Onefinestay share a lot of similarities with UnderTheDoormat, so only upscale accommodation options are listed on their website. The team manages bookings and guests. If your home in London, Los Angeles, New York, Paris and Rome meets their criteria, you can enjoy all the benefits of working with them. Homeowners never stay in their home while the guests are there. Onefinestay is recommended to those who travel quite a lot for work or leisure. You can read about the charges you may pay here.
Earn money with Onefinestay in Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, San Francisco, and London.
7. 9flats
The most important thing to know about 9flats is that your home will be listed on one of their partner’s website. It depends on where you live. However, your home will appear on their page too. Hosts pay 12%-15% service fee. You should sign up for 9flats if you want to rent out your house and promote it on various sites but without managing booking requests on two different sites.
Earn money with 9flats in Nashville, San Diego, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Belfast, Newcastle, Glasgow, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Toronto, and other cities worldwide.
8. Vrumi
Vrumi, available in the UK, is not like any other platform listed so far. It connects homeowners and creatives, students and businesses looking for a place to have a meeting or work a few hours. Vrumi wants to offer an alternative to coffee shops and co-working offices. On Vrumi, you can list sitting rooms, kitchen tables, work sheds, houseboats and many more. No overnight stay is allowed.
As long as you provide enough privacy for your renters, you’ll welcome to stay at home. You should opt for Vrumi hosting people during the night sounds too much of a hassle but you still want to make some money monthly. You can also look at Vrumi as a networking opportunity, especially if you study or work freelance as well. You may have to upgrade your own insurance coverage to make sure that you’re fully covered during rentals. The service fee is 5.5% of the headline rent.
Earn money with Vrumi in London, Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Dublin, and Glasgow.
9. HomeExchange
As its name (HomeExchange) suggests, this platform adds a twist to home rentals. You’ll earn GuestPoints as a host, but you have to choose from two plans: $15 per night (as a guest) and $150 per year (no additional cost). This is the site for you if you love travelling and want to pay as little as possible for your stay.
Additional information
If you had a NightSwapping account before, you must create a new account on HomeExchange. NightSwapping has joined the HomeExchange group. Unfortunately, your data cannot be transferred to the new site.
Earn money with HomeExchange in London, Porto, Lisbon, Berlin, Amsterdam, Bologna, Oslo, Helsinki, and other cities.
10. Stayz
If you live in Melbourne or Sydney, you can sign up for Stayz, which belongs to HomeAway’s family. Therefore, it works similarly to HomeAway and VRBO (see them above). Nearly all kinds of rentals could be listed on the platform, not only luxurious places for example. You will pay taxes and service fees, and those will be deducted by Stayz. You will see the details on your payment reports.
11. Rent Like A Champion
You are a sports fan and aware of how passionately someone could behave when it comes to rooting for a team. Rent out your home with Rent Like a Champion and e-meet people coming to your city to attend a football match, a racing event or a golf tournament. You are not allowed to stay in your home during the rental period.
You’ll get paid via direct deposit, so you must add your bank details on the platform. Payments are processed 48 hours after check-out, but a 17.9% service fee (15% fee + a 2.9% credit card processing fee) will be assessed. If you live in the South Bend area, you should know that in case the 15% is less than $250, you’ll pay a minimum of $250 apart from the 2.9% credit card processing fee. If you don’t host people for more than 14 days, you don’t need to pay federal income taxes on the income made with Rent Like a Champion.
Earn money with Rent Like a Champion in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City Washington D.C. Miami, Chicago, San Antonio, Los Angeles.
12. Handiscover
Handiscover is on a mission to make disabled people’s stays hassle-free. The platform will help you grade your home to indicate how accessible it is. More about this here. You’ll pay the maximum of 3% service fee, depending on the size of your rental fee. 50% of the rent will be paid to you 24 hours after check-in, and the rest after 30 days.
Earn money with Handiscover in Manchester, Leeds, London, Liverpool, and other cities.
Need to know anything else?
If we have skipped your city, find yours on Appjobs.com. Hopefully, it’s there. In case you have issues or concerns you want to talk about, visit forums online. Look for people who can share their experiences with you. You can always start your discussion with ‘I want to rent out a house and I need help with…’
Good luck with your home rental, and let the world come to you!
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