So, you’re hosting a couple of Airbnb properties and it’s bringing you some good, steady side income. You wish you could manage more properties, but aren’t sure you could handle it since you still have a day job. But you’re also thinking, “How can I grow my short-term rental if I’m tied up? Should I quit my job to become a full-time Airbnb host?”
If your side hustle has grown faster and earned more than you expected, and is just WAITING to scale further, this post is for you. We’ll help you decide whether it’s time to leave the 9-to-5 grind and go all-in on Airbnb.
Long before the pandemic, the gig economy was already gaining ground. Corporate workers were doing side hustles on top of their regular day jobs. They were driving for Uber, giving rides on Lyft, or hosting on Airbnb and Turo to make extra cash in their free time.
Then Covid-19 hit and most Americans worked from home or from a remote location. Many lost jobs and started their own businesses.
But when the economy reopened, a lot of employees didn’t return to work. This came to be known as The Great Resignation, where millions of corporate Americans started handing in their resignations in the Spring of 2021.
The reasons they cited for quitting, according to a Forbes.com study, were:
Digital.com likewise did a survey and found that 32% of workers wanted to start their own businesses. Asked why, 62% of them said they wanted to be their own boss.
Apparently, folks who found themselves taking orders at work, on duties they didn’t care much about, would much rather leave the rat race. Not even fixed hours or a mediocre pay could keep them there.
If you feel the same way, and think the full-time commitment to short-term renting would bring you better returns, you may be right. Here are the advantages that many Airbnb hosts like us have seen when we decided to go all-out on short-term renting.
When you’re tied to a full-time job, it’s hard for your business to reach its full potential. A hustle will always be just that — a side hustle. If it’s just second or third place on your priority list, you won’t give it your full commitment and undivided attention. You’re always going to be just sneaking it in your spare time.
Running a short-term rental can be very demanding. Keeping your property in tip-top shape, responding to frequent queries, and resolving issues can be time-consuming. Especially if you want to achieve Super Host status.
And, once you do reach that level, the more demanding it’ll get. Because you’ll be hard-pressed to maintain it. Replying to guests quickly enough, keeping your place hotel-quality, and keeping all your guests satisfied takes a lot of effort!
It may not be too difficult with just a couple of properties. But if you have a growing portfolio, rising competition, and an influx of guests during peak season, it gets hectic!
When you go full-time on Airbnb, you can take control of your workday. You get to decide when and how much to devote to certain tasks. You can choose which particular days to accommodate guests.
And once you get a good system going, you’ll be able to have more time for yourself. You can automate many of your operations and manage your properties remotely, so you can finally get the work-life balance you’ve always longed for.
Or, you may opt to get a co-host who can assume much of the day-to-day grind, so you can devote more time to building the business instead.
Finally, you get to call the shots. You can decide how to brand your business, what rules to impose, and what extra services to offer. When you build an Airbnb team, you’ll have people working for you. You’ll share the company’s goals and vision and steer them in the direction you want it to go.
When you’re locked into a fixed monthly income, it’s hard to attain financial freedom. And even if you had one or two side gigs going, the chance for you to make more money than what you’re currently earning won’t be as good.
But if you go all-in on Airbnb, and you’re savvy enough to play all your cards right, there’s a good chance you’ll make 6 figures. Especially if you use the master lease or Airbnb arbitrage model, where you rent a number of properties and sub-let them for profit.
You’ll also be able to build real wealth as you expand your portfolio. Real estate is an appreciating asset, so whether you choose to hold your properties or resell them after a couple of years, you’ll have good, solid assets in your hands that are rising in value over time.
One last benefit: you’ll have a selection of vacation homes to use whenever you want. Or, you could choose just one to hold on to for the long-term – the best property you’ve got – then keep that as your retirement home in the future.
By now, you’ve probably mastered how to host an Airbnb. And you’re likely asking yourself if your should go full-time already.
While the most important and logical question to ask is whether hosting can replace your current income, there are other questions that you’ll need to ask yourself.
Go back to the 5 reasons why people want to become full-time Airbnb hosts above. Then ask yourself if now is the time for you to try and meet those goals.
Most hosts consider leaving the rat race when their Airbnb business starts growing very quickly. That could be at 8 properties, 6, or even just 4.
It all depends on how fast the business is growing and whether or not you can still keep up with it. Here are some clues to know when it’s a good time to go all-in on Airbnb:
In short, if you find that the business is taking a life of its own, then it’s time to quit the day job! Keeping up with a fast-growing Airbnb business will start to become very challenging, to the point that you can’t treat it as a side hustle anymore.
As you may already know, some of the factors that determine the success and speed at which your Airbnb business can grow are:
Take a serious look at each of these factors and see how you can best use them to maximize your revenues. Because you won’t know your true earning potential until you’ve optimized each one.
What you can also do is find your personal stress points. Which areas demand most of your attention? Which tasks do you find the hardest and longest to accomplish?
Then, ask yourself: “What am I doing that can be done by others? Which tasks can be completed using a system or a tool? Because if you delegate those functions, it will free up countless hours that you could otherwise use to grow your business.
Automate guest communications so you won’t have to personally answer repetitive questions. Get a co-host to manage the turnovers and maintenance. Employ contractors to do laundry service, airport runs or guided tours.
Listen to the podcast: How this Guy Quit His Job in 8 Months through Rental Arbitrage
Ready to learn how we built & operate a $2M/year short term rental business, operate properties throughout the USA remotely, and acquired 70+ properties without owning any in just 2 years? Attend our free online master class to learn how you can do the same. Click here.
