Senior Airbnb Hosts: All You Need to Know

Airbnb hosting amongst seniors has become very popular in recent years. In fact, people over 60 years old are the fastest-growing age group joining to host on Airbnb. The increasing cost of living amongst retirees and other social problems have caused many seniors to join the Airbnb community as a solution.
In this article, you can find out why hosting on Airbnb is beneficial and safe for you as a senior, why you are the perfect host, and how you should prepare for it.

Why Should A Senior Consider Hosting on Airbnb?

You Don’t Have to Continue Working!

If you strive to leave your daily 9 to 5 job and enjoy your retirement in peace, Airbnb income can be that extra money you need. Unfortunately, many seniors who should have been retired in their age refuse to retire due to the high cost of living and force themselves to continue working to secure their financial state. However, as a senior Airbnb host and a retiree, you can be more assured about your financial status with two sources of income.

You Can Say Goodbye to Loneliness!

Many seniors may feel alone because they might have lost their partner, and their children have their own lives. Hosting on Airbnb is an excellent way to interact with different people from all around the world. This communication can happen when you want to welcome the guests to your home or during their stay.
Since you have much more time and know your neighborhood better than many people, you can even host some Airbnb experiences. These Airbnb experiences can help you have more interaction and, of course, have more income.

You Can Stay in Your Long-term Family Home!

For many seniors, it becomes challenging to stay in their family house after retirement due to the high maintenance prices. As a senior Airbnb host, you can earn enough money to keep your home in its perfect shape. More importantly, you won’t have to move to another town or village with a smaller house.

You Can Stay in Your Beloved Neighborhood!

Moreover, it is not only your home that you become attached to. With the extra income from Airbnb hosting, you can continue to live in the beloved neighborhood that you are so familiar with. Also, your knowledge about your area can become very handy in Airbnb hosting. You can transfer this knowledge to your guests, and they will surely appreciate you for that in their reviews.

You Can Keep Yourself Busy!

Many seniors escape from retiring because they have been busy for too long, and now it feels weird to sit at home and watch TV, and they prefer being engaged with a project. Becoming an Airbnb host allows you to be busy dealing with your guests and preparing your property before their arrival. This way you always have works to do.
However, the good news is that the kind of activities you need to do as a host requires way less time and physical effort. Moreover, you have much more control over this job, and you can rest whenever you want.

You Can Have The Money to Have Fun in Your Retirement Days!

After retiring, now you have all the time in the world to do your favorite activities like traveling or doing your favorite sports and hobbies. However, it may not be easy to do some of your favorite hobbies only relying on your retirement payment.
Renting your property on Airbnb can make up for the money you want to spend for traveling to different places in the world or any other hobby you are interested in.

Why Are Seniors The Perfect Airbnb Hosts?

When we look at the reviews received by the guests, we can see that most senior Airbnb hosts usually receive excellent reviews. Here are some of the reasons why seniors can be such amazing hosts:

More Free Time!

Most young or middle-aged hosts have other jobs or ambitions. Therefore, they are not always there to welcome their guests or respond to possible problems. However, as a retiree senior who doesn’t have other jobs, you can be a much more attentive host, and your guests will surely appreciate this.

However, it does not mean that you cannot host a property if you are not physically available or busy doing something else. You can co-host with someone else or use other services that can do parts of the job for you. Nonetheless, being free and physically present can be an advantage to you as a host.

More Attention to The Details!

Younger hosts generally see Airbnb hosting as a passive source of income. Therefore, they might not care as much as you about details such as cleanness or checking your guests from time to time. But, again, this will be to your benefit as a senior Airbnb host.

More Friendly Welcome!

With more free time, not only can you welcome guests personally, but you can bake a cake or pick some flowers for them as a welcome gesture. Also, seniors tend to be generally more friendly and more communicative, resulting in better reviews.
It’s good to know that based on a report from Airbnb in 2017, 85% of reviews received by senior hosts were five-star reviews!

Is It safe to Host on Airbnb?

The thought of inviting strangers to your property might be scary, especially if you are a senior who lives alone or just with your spouse. However, you need to know that Airbnb didn’t become Airbnb before taking precautions first. Airbnb works with some cyber-security experts, and all guests need to be fully verified and checked to make sure they are who they say they are.
Now you might think that there are always some safety risks, and you’re not wrong. However, you can prevent these exceptions by applying some safeguards yourself, such as these:

• Thanks to the both-sided rating system from Airbnb, you can choose guests who have received good reviews from the hosts constantly.
• And secondly, you can use security cameras, upgrade your lock system, and use the new smart key-less locks that can be controlled with just a smartphone. You can also change the pass-code when your guests leave your property with these smart key-less locks.

How to Be Prepared for Renting on Airbnb?

We have already mentioned why you can be the perfect candidate for hosting on Airbnb. Here is a list of things to do to prepare for receiving guests from Airbnb:

Before their arrival:

• Provide an attractive but also truthful listing of your property.
• Do your best to avoid canceling reservations with good planning.
• Be responsive to requests, emails, and questions.

Upon their arrival and during their stay:

• Give them a warm welcome.
• Provide your guests with needed amenities such as toilet paper, towels, soap, shampoo, etc.
• Be attentive to possible problems and questions.

After their departure:

• Clean the property (this can be done either by you or other professional services who can do it for you)

For a more detailed guide for renting on Airbnb, you can click here.

The Final Words

If you are a senior or a retiree who happens to have an unoccupied space, it is a good idea to rent it on Airbnb. Hosting on Airbnb helps you earn some extra money to assure you can stay in your long-term family home and not have to move to smaller towns or villages due to the high cost of living.

Moreover, if you need some company, hosting on Airbnb creates an excellent opportunity for you to interact with all sorts of people and feel less lonely than ever. Therefore, if you are a senior with a lot of free time and need some extra money, Airbnb hosting can be the perfect opportunity for you!