Should you rent out your Surfers Paradise property on Airbnb?

Surfers Paradise is a dream year round, but it’s during the approaching summer months that the suburb really lives up to its name.

As sun seekers flock to the beach, rental prices climb, and those lucky enough to own property in Surfers can likely understand the temptation to put their little slice of Paradise up on a short term rental site like Airbnb.

Deciding whether you should post your home or unit on Airbnb isn’t something that should be taken lightly, however – there are a number of factors to consider first.

Do you really want to play innkeeper?

When people use peer-to-peer accommodation websites, they don’t expect a five star resort. Still, however, there is a lot of legwork homeowners need to do to prepare their property for vacation goers.

You’ll need to:

• Organise cleaning services between guests
• Provide things like bath towels and sheets
• Be on call to answer questions (or hire someone else to be)
• Make the home safe for anyone – including small children
• Prepare any necessary information for your visitors – things like the WiFi password, who to call if things go wrong and the location of nearby shops and restaurants

According to Airbnb, responsible hosting also means “considering whether you should notify your neighbours about your plans to host, along with your plan for how to make sure your guests are not disruptive.”

If you live in a community or own a unit in a building that has shared resources – such as a gym or swimming pool – you should also check with your building manager to see if your guests would be allowed to use these common areas.

How will you screen guests and protect your property?

We’ve all heard the horror stories – you rent out your vacation home to a group of guys on their stag weekend and next thing you know you’ve got hundreds of dollars in damages to address.

When you allow strangers to stay in your home, you’re taking a risk. Airbnb offers Host Protection Insurance and a one million dollar Host Guarantee. Still, however, you want to be sure you purchase private home insurance as well in case of serious damages or disruptions.

In order to eliminate some risk from the start, manage expectations in your advertisement. Write a clear description of what you expect from your guests, how and when you want the property vacated, and a list of general rules.

Is it worth the money?

Crunch the numbers first. There’s no point renting out your home to a stranger if it won’t be profitable for you. So make sure you’re asking enough.

Check out the competition, and see how your accommodation compares. Don’t be afraid to start out by pricing high – you can always lower your rate later if you’re not getting the expected level of interest.

If you live in Surfers Paradise, you can already boast about your prime location, but there are also a range of other ways you can add value to your rental. If you want to pull in competitive prices, consider offering little add-ons for your renters such as:

• Beach chairs
• Snorkels
• Bikes
• Parking passes
• A fridge stocked with cold, bottled water

These little bonuses won’t cost you much, but they’ll definitely make your property stand out to those browsing through the site.

Property investors know how valuable Surfers Paradise real estate is, whether you’re looking to rent to short term holidayers or long term tenants. To find out more about purchasing and managing a home or unit here, reach out to the team at Ray White Surfers Paradise.