The Staff of Entrepreneur Media - Travel Hosting Business: Step-By-Step Startup Guide

Entrepreneur Press, Publisher

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Production and Composition: Eliot House Productions

2017 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc.

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Travel Hosting Business: Entrepreneurs Step-by-Step Startup Guide, ISBN: 978-1-61308-368-0

Previously published as

Start Your Own Travel Hosting Business, ISBN: 978-1-61308-366-6, 2017 by Entrepreneur Media, Inc., All rights reserved.

Start Your Own Business, 6th Edition, ISBN: 978-1-61308-300-0, 2009 Entrepreneur Media, Inc., All rights reserved.

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Contents

Additional titles in Entrepreneurs Startup Series

Start Your Own

Arts and Crafts Business

Automobile Detailing Business

Bar and Club

Bed and Breakfast

Blogging Business

Business on eBay

Car Wash

Child-Care Service

Cleaning Service

Clothing Store and More

Coaching Business

Coin-Operated Laundry

College Planning Consultant Business

Construction and Contracting Business

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Day Spa and More

eBusiness

eLearning or Training Business

Event Planning Business

Executive Recruiting Business

Fashion Accessories Business

Florist Shop and Other Floral Businesses

Food Truck Business

Freelance Writing Business and More

Freight Brokerage Business

Gift Basket Business and More

Grant-Writing Business

Graphic Design Business

Green Business

Hair Salon and Day Spa

Home Inspection Service

Import/Export Business

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Pet Business and More

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Restaurant and More

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Self-Publishing Business

Seminar Production Business

Senior Services Business

Specialty Food Businesses

Staffing Service

Transportation Service

Travel Business and More

Tutoring and Test Prep Business

Vending Business

Wedding Consultant Business

Wholesale Distribution Business

Table of Contents

T hank you to Ronald Young and Jennifer Dorsey for once again inviting me to contribute to the Entrepreneur Press lineup of informative, small-business books. My gratitude also goes out to Karen Billipp and the team at Eliot House Productions for their work on this book. Id also like to thank all of the Airbnb hosts and short-term rental experts who agreed to be interviewed and featured within this book.

D o you have a home or apartment with one or more extra bedrooms, or an entire property that you could offer as a short-term rental in order to earn extra income? Listing your property on a short-term rental service such as Airbnb allows people like you to become a travel host. If this type of part-time, money-making business opportunity seems appealing, or you want to learn more about it, Start Your Own Travel Hosting Business is the compressive, independent, unbiased, and informative how-to resource you need to read!

An ever-growing number of travelers from around the world have begun looking for lower-cost and more convenient accommodation alternatives, as opposed to staying at a traditional hotel or motel during their vacation, leisure, and/or business trips. As a result, online-based services, like Airbnb, FlipKey, HomeAway, Roomorama, and VRBO (Vacation Rental by Owner), have become extremely popular in recent years.

These services allow travel hosts (people like you), from all walks of life, to list their extra bedroom(s), or their entire home, condo, or apartment, as a short-term rental option for travelers. The popular short-term rental services help to quickly, securely, and conveniently match up travelers with hosts and handle many of the related financial transactions and reservation management responsibilities.

Depending on your geographic location and local laws and ordinances, what type of property you have to offer, the level of commitment you want to make as a host, and a variety of other factors, there are a variety of things to consider prior to becoming a travel host and choosing which short-term rental services to utilize.

First and foremost, Start Your Own Travel Hosting Business will help you make intelligent decisions, take appropriate actions and precautions, and deal with realistic expectations, while protecting yourself, your property, and your personal belongings as much as possible, once you become a host. It will help you quickly acquire the core knowledge you need to become a successful travel host and help you maximize your revenue, while avoiding the most common pitfalls and mistakes that are often made by first-time hosts. Youll also discover a variety of optional tools and resources at your disposal that will make handling your responsibilities as a travel host easier and less time consuming, while helping you increase your revenue and dramatically improve your chances for success.