Airbnb... Who's renting out their personal house?

Posted by Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 36 comments

I'm not looking to start a discourse on landlords and what is/isn't ethnically/morally right blah blah blah. I am curious about who these mad people are that are renting out personal homes. I keep hearing adverts about aribnb and the general concept seems to be that you go on holiday, and whilst you are away from your own home, you rent it out for someone else to stay in?!?! I personally can think of nothing worse. If i were to do this, I would be worrying the entire time about my home, who is in it, and what they are getting up to. Will I come back to find my underwear has been sniffed? My plants ripped from the roots and my furniture reorganised? If I were to go away, I wouldn't want to stay in a stranger's home. I would feel weird and out of place, like I am intruding. Family photos on the wall, someone's cluttered bedroom, weird family shenanigans. The entire concept to me is weird, Am I understanding this wrong? Or are people actually just renting out personal homes?

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36 Comments

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Cranky70something@reddit

That's the idea behind Homeexchange.com. I wouldn't feel particularly comfortable doing that unless I had a two bedroom home and I put a lock on my bedroom door. And then I wouldn't feel particularly comfortable about it.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

Not heard of this before. Even If i could lock things I wouldn't be interested. What if they lose some of my cutlery? Can't lock all that away.

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ItsDominare@reddit

> What if they lose some of my cutlery? Typically the guests pay a deposit and if stuff goes missing you can deduct the cost of it from that.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

Yea, but it's still just a pain.

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Huge-Brick-3495@reddit

We have one side of our home with it's own external door and bathroom so we Airbnb it as a self contained space. Nice bit of tax free income and guests get their own space.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

That's fine, I would do that doo if I was able. It's more the going away and letting strangers into your personal space.

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N4t3ski@reddit

It's always a personal judgement call.

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incertnom@reddit

I had a neighbour below me do it, they had people turning up with dogs and tradesmen turning up in vans and they were living in it at the time too. They were Airbnbing a property they were letting and didn't own so probably shouldn't have been doing it. Saw the property in the local rentals shortly before they disappeared and they'd progressed from Airbnbing it to listing the property as their own/owner/landlord, asking for a huge deposit and asking for rent above and beyond local rental rates. Shortly afterwards the laws changed anyway requiring a license to do stuff like Airbnb. It would be my worst nightmare too, a new set of people every other week, damages, checking if things had went missing, your privacy and space etc. There's been stories up here of people doing Airbnb and they've came back to their home to find it's been used by puppy breeders to sell out of and the walls, carpet, everything have been covered in their mess.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

Imagine coming home to that after a holiday. I used to work for a management company that rented out properties, it is not cheap to do and the people staying in them just did not respect them at all. you would constantly find broken furniture they would try to hide, football marks on the wall because they would kick a football down the corridor and they would always have weird, unreasonable requests. Having all that in my own home no matter what I did to try and minimise it just sounds miserable and doing it to fund my holiday just isn't worth it to me.

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togtogtog@reddit

Quite often the person is actually there and just lets out a room in their home.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

That's basically just lodging, i'm more talking about the adverts where it specifically states to rent your home out whilst you are away.

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togtogtog@reddit

No, for a holiday, not lodging. AirBnB have both options. We've done a few holidays like this - it's great as you get to meet someone local, and they often show you all sorts of interesting stuff.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

I meant as in, having someone to come stay in my spare room, for me that would be like having a lot of short term lodgers.

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Virtual-Advance6652@reddit

That's what AirBnB was originally for

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tulki123@reddit

Some of my friends do this, they’ve had to design their house for it. So all their personal stuff can fit into lockable spaces and they have their own dishes and towels etc in different lockable places. They both work fully from home so they love it, whenever there’s a major event on in town they go to Spain or something and it basically means a free holiday for them. They have been clear though it would be hell if they didn’t have their place set up for it, and they’re pretty minimalist so they don’t need to worry about things getting broken as there isn’t anything to break!

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

If the house is set up that way, then yea, I can see how it would work and be easier. But again, I wouldn't want to come back from a holiday and then have to go around unlocking and getting my personal things out. I would just want to relax. I also have a lot of personal things in my home because it is my home and my space. But I like to relax and spend my time at home, so I can so how that is a choice of living.

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N4t3ski@reddit

How is that different from unpacking upon your return?

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

Throwing some clothes in the wash and getting my toiletries out isn't too bad. unlocking a room/cupboards and placing all my belongings back in the house is a bit more?

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N4t3ski@reddit

Perhaps you have more possessions than I do.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

Possibly, but at the end of the day it is my house and my personal space. A free holiday just wouldn't be enough to justify the hassle and stress.

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SomeHSomeE@reddit

Well I suppose to them the extra hassle is worth the extra money/ free holidays

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Tim-Sanchez@reddit

Unpacking one suitcase is very different from going and swapping out all your belongings (towels, plates, cutlery, valuables, etc).

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SomeHSomeE@reddit

I couldn't handle doing it for my own home. I don't even have ghat much valuable stuff that could get nicked or broken or whatever. But all it would take is one dickhead who lies about their '1 week business trip' and actually rents it as a party house, trashing the place and pissing off all your neighbours etc. I think a lot of air bnbs these days (not all) are people who have more than one property and rent that one out as the return will be higher than a normal rental.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

A purpose brought property for renting out is fine, it's just the act of renting out your own home I find a bit odd. I may not have loads of items of high value lying around and I could what other comments mentioned about locking away possessions, but all it takes is one person to mess with something and now I cant lock my back door or a kid presses a button on the boiler and now I need a plumber out. Strange random examples, but people do strange things and kids find a way to mysteriously break stuff.

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macyyxx@reddit

Nope, you're not crazy people actually do rent out their real homes while they're gone. Some are like, hey easy money, others are just really laid back (or clueless) about strangers in their home. But yeah, for the rest of us who'd freak out if someone touched our things or slept in our bed? It's a no go. You're not weird just not Airbnb-essential.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

I can understand money being a motivator to do it, I'm not a fan of the current climate where everyone tries to monitise every little thing, but that's not the point. I just find the entire concept of allowing strangers access to your house so bizarre.

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wordsfromlee@reddit

That was basically what AirBnB was meant to be until it got popular and people started buying 2nd/3rd home with the express interest to rent them out on it.

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Demiboy94@reddit

I use airbnb. My profile has been reviewed by the house buyers- so if I rent somewhere the owners know I'm genuinely nice. I like to think it's only a minority of people who are assholes and don't respect the place. I try to leave everything clean and tidy when I leave. Same if I was staying in a hotel.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

I think even if I could see the profile of whoever is staying, I just wouldn't be comfortable having a stranger in my house whilst I am away.

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Itallachesnow@reddit

I have friends who do this while having a long summer break , 2-3 months or so . They have a room where all personal and valuable stuff is locked away but it does take a long time to get the house ready. Trusted neighbour is key holder and point of contact for renters. Only major problem is when there are breakdowns in equipment , plumbing etc involving significant costs then they have to be contactable to authorise. As well as paying neighbour and for pre and post stay cleaning , they make a significant income from this arrangement.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

I think this actually makes the most sense. Going away for a short holiday seems a nightmare. This does allow for a much longer trip away, as you said your friends do. I think this is the one thing I could consider actually doing this for

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joereadsstuff@reddit

I only rent my spare rooms out when I'm there. I can provide a better service being there, and I'm also willing to bet that people would generally behave better if they know that the owner is around.

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Scottish_squirrel@reddit

I'd need an OCD clean freak to rent mine to make it worth while

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811545b2-4ff7-4041@reddit

I know someone who rent's their (London) flat out when they go abroad. All their stuff gets locked away in a spare room. It covers the mortgage while they're airBnB'ing another property abroad.

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Lanky-Razzmatazz-339@reddit (OP)

I see why people do it, for he money income to fund their holiday, but the act of moving everything around just seems a massive pain.

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