Rent Empty Rooms In Your Home For Cash

Do you have an extra bedroom in your home? If you answered YES you can create an extra stream of income renting that room to tourists on a short-term basis.

Let's face it, it's expensive to stay in a hotel. Many tourists and travelling business people want to save money and are willing to rent a room in your home to do so. This gives you the opportunity to not only meet interesting people from all over the world, but it gives you a chance to monetize that empty room.

While in Las Vegas recently I was looking for a room to stay. The hotels wanted $100 a night or more. I opted to rent a bedroom in a families house for $35 a night. While there, I asked the homeowner why they did this. The lady replied that she loved taking her children to Disneyland every month. The money she earned from renting her rooms, paid for the familie's monthly trips.

Whatever your dream is, you can create extra income as a hotelier and rent unused bedrooms in your home.

How To Get Started

What you will be doing is called "Short-Term Rentals". In some cities this is illegal. Please check with your city. For example, in Anaheim, the city where Disneyland is, there is a $250 application fee for a permit from the city before you can do this (or you can face hefty fines of $2,500 or more if caught).

I would also recommend you apply to a website like Airbnb. You can get a free account and post your rooms and prices on their website. They will send you customers in exchange for a percentage of the rental.

Your Duties

You need to keep a bedroom and bathroom clean for your guests. You also need to provide a way for them to get to their room in case you are not there or you are asleep. I would also recommend you stock the bedroom just like a hotel does. If you want to make extra income as a hotelier, then treat your rooms as a hotel. Provide a pamphlet or brochures of things they can do in your city. Make a little guest rules list and information when check-in and check-out times are. Information on how to escape in case of fire is also good. Have a sign explaining how to use the TV and the available channels. Provide soap, shampoo, iron, even a small refrigerator in the room woud be nice.

Other than the above. Just be yourself. Be charming and friendly. Offer good service by providing for their needs.

How Much Can You Make?

This is a big variable. I have an older home two blocks from Disneyland. Nothing fancy. I can rent one bedroom and a shared bathroom for $60 a night. For that you also get kitchen access, a beautiful private swimming pool and walking distance to Disnelyand. If I keep it full 30 days per month, that's $1,800. That will cover my mortgage and taxes, so essentially, my guests are paying for my home and I'm living free.

There are newer homes being built in my neighborhood for just this purpose. Instead of renting a room, the entire house is rented at $500 a night. At 30 days, that comes to $15,000 per month with a 0 vacancy rate. When you consider that a typical mortgage and taxes for a home in that price range could be $3,000 a month, thats a great profit. You could have an 80% vacancy rate and still break even.

If you would like a free home, think like a hotelier and create extra income from those extra bedrooms.