Six months on Airbnb - thoughts and reflections

Let's go back to the very beginning.

After three years living in Canberra, I moved back to my beloved Melbourne in 2015, ready to purchase my first apartment (principal place of residence), settle down, and live a fabulous life.

To my dismay, the housing boom in Melbourne had gotten so out of hand that I - a reasonably well-paid Gen Y - was completely unable to afford an apartment in a location close to work, and of a decent size and quality.

What does a gal have to do? Splurge above my budget and struggle under the weight of a mortgage too large for my income? Buy a sub-standard inner city high rise apartment? Or move to the outer suburbs and deal with the hourly commute to work every day?

In the end, I 'splurged', and got creative. I bought my two bedroom apartment in a small art deco block, and put the smaller bedroom up on Airbnb to help pay off the mortgage.

And thus began my journey in home-sharing.


It's a strange concept - Airbnb. One that causes a few crinkled noses among friends.

But you're a girl! 
You're inviting strangers into your home! 
What if they damage or steal your things? 
What if they're just criminals preying on young women!

To be completely honest, in six months, I have hosted a total of 20 people, had 1 negative experience, 2 so-so guest, and 17 rad strangers coming from all different backgrounds and fields staying with me.

I have met backpackers and gap year adventurers, carpenters, students, start up founders, actors and musicians from all over the world. They've respected my home, and shared their stories with me, and made this whole experience incredibly rewarding as a result, and I hope to share some of my thoughts on Airbnb and the sharing economy with you in the future.

Looking to the next six months, I have a few goals of my own:

• Bring up the average nightly price slightly: I know, I'd like to keep travel cheap and convenient for all in the spirit of home sharing, but my overheads are high and so are my ratings. Hopefully I can arrive at a fair and reasonable price. 
• Attract more bookings between 4-6 nights: a good mix of income and work involved in turning over a room. 
• Change the bed in the room: great mattress, creaky bed.  
• Find a space in my calendar for a kitchen renovation: this is going to be the tough one, as I will be a newbie renovator aiming to 1) spend as little as possible but achieve optimal results; 2) plan a break in my calendar without too much disruption. 

Here's to new guests!

xx doots