Hosting on Airbnb or Booking.com can be a great way to earn extra income, helping to cover expenses like rent, car insurance, and utility bills. These platforms also make sure customers pay fully when they book – so you are guaranteed your money after checkout, and after Airbnb has deducted their standard 15% fee.
But as someone who spent three years as a live-in host, I can tell you that while hosting can be incredibly rewarding, it can also be stressful if you’re not properly prepared.
If you’re thinking about opening your home to guests, here are some of the most important things you should consider before getting started.
1. Are You Comfortable Sharing Your Space?
Before listing your spare room, ask yourself:
- Am I okay with strangers in my home?
- Am I welcoming but firm when needed?
- Am I willing to clean up after guests? *Couples👀*
- Do I have the patience to handle different personalities?
If you’re not naturally easygoing, hosting might not be for you. Guests can sense when a host doesn’t really want them there, which can lead to awkward stays and bad reviews.
If you decide to host, make sure you’re ready to greet guests warmly and make them feel at home by giving them the space they need—after all, you’ve already accepted their money!
2. Hosting Shouldn’t Just Be About Money
Yes, hosting can be profitable, but if your sole focus is making as much money as possible, this will backfire on you.
Many guests simply want an affordable, clean, warm, and welcoming place to stay. If you go overboard buying expensive furniture and upgrades thinking you’ll just pass the cost onto guests, you will price yourself out of the market. Almost everything you need for your rooms and living space can be found in Homestore, Dunnes Stores or Amazon.
5 times out of 10, a happy guest will leave a great review. 10 times out of 10, an unhappy guest will leave a bad review. Remember, good service is the bare minimum, so customers already expect that by default. They are more likely to leave a lengthy review about your business if they are unhappy.
So be sure to be empathetic and put yourself in your customer’s shoes. Make sure to give them space, but be easy to reach if they have any questions.
3. Fill Out Your Listing Completely
Airbnb and Booking.com have many listing features that new hosts often ignore. Take advantage of settings such as:
- Booking restrictions (e.g., minimum and maximum stay lengths).
- Advance booking settings (how far in advance guests can book).
- Check-in and checkout times
- Different prices for weekends, refundable stays, and mobile users.
- Provide photos, details on available amenities, home rules etc
A detailed listing is a very proactive way of answering guest questions before they are asked. This makes bookings easier and smoother for all the parties involved.
NB. Remember that some customers may not read entire listings when they book. However, a detailed listing is a form of insurance for you in case a customer makes requests that are clearly against the rules of the listing.
For example, if your listing clearly says that ‘there is no breakfast option‘ and a guest wakes up requesting breakfast, you can simply inform them that this option was not available at the time of booking. It is the customer’s duty to read the listing fully before booking.
4. Know Your Tax Obligations
You will need to provide your VAT number or PPSN details when signing up for Airbnb & Booking.com, as they have a filing requirement to declare any payments to you to the Irish Revenue.
Remember, you are not an employee on these platforms. You are basically self-employed – so you will have to declare any rental income yourself and pay the required tax on profits (if any).
Those earning rental income from Airbnb are required to register for Income Tax and file a Form 11 or Form 12 tax return annually. So it is very important that you keep all receipts on your income and expenditure closely.
Check the Revenue.ie website for the rules to stay compliant.
5. Always Price Competitively.
Price is the single most important factor when customers book, especially with inflation as it is today. Everything else is secondary.
When you’re new, you’re competing with established hosts who already have dozens of great reviews. To attract bookings early on, follow these steps:
✅ Research the available rooms in your area for any date and filter by price.
✅ Set your price slightly below the cheapest room (5-10%) to increase your visibility.
✅ Adjust your price based on location (rural vs. city).
Most guests filter by price first, so a competitive rate helps you get noticed. Once you’ve built up positive reviews, you can slowly increase your price to meet your needs, but always price lower than your closest competition.
6. Start with Solo Guests Before Hosting Groups
At the very beginning, even if your room can accommodate two or more people, consider making bookings available for single guests ONLY.
Why?
Solo guests are a very good litmus test for you to learn about yourself as a host first and your temperament. This experience will help you decide if you want to continue hosting in the future.
✅ Solo travelers are adventurous by nature, and therefore, a lot more independent, easygoing and less demanding.
✅ Solo guests are mostly happy with a clean, quiet and warm room.
✅ Easier to manage (one person is simpler than a couple, family or group).
✅ Less cleaning and laundry after checkout.
Once you have dealt with a few solo travellers, you will then find out for yourself whether you are ready to welcome couples, families and groups into your home.
I have also added some interesting stats that used to be available from the Pulse app (the app for hosts on Booking.com).
Traveller types on Booking.com in Donegal:
- Couples – 60%
- Families – 20%
- Groups – 10%
- Solo travellers – 10%
I don’t know exactly how this may relate to the rest of the country, but this guide could give you an idea on how you would like to structure your booking schedule or targets.
6. Limit Stays or Close Weekends at the Start
During my first 2 weeks hosting, I not only made my spare room the cheapest in the area – but I also made it available for all days of the week. That was a huge mistake. I created both my Airbnb & Booking accounts on a Friday night. On Saturday just before noon, I was woken by 2 guests who had booked on both apps overnight.
I checked my phone only to see that I had missed the bookings. But worse, I noticed a 3rd booking – a guest had booked for 8 straight days the following week.
I quickly realised that I will be busy for 10 days straight – plus I worked remotely full-time. The house was too small and I needed breathing space.
Though the 2 solo guests were happy to compromise during their weekend stay, I quickly realised that this cannot happen again. This was my own fault – A customer that has paid in full should not have to compromise to get what they pay for.
So in order to avoid feeling even more overwhelmed in the future:
- I immediately Limited guest bookings to only Monday to Friday bookings on the app.
- I Blocked off weekends since I also worked full-time and needed to make time to rest for myself.
- Over the years, I had enough traffic during the week to not make weekends available until I eventually moved.
Your schedule might be different from mine. But it is very important that you are able to find enough time for rest. Close some dates in advance for rest or make sure to get extra help.
This is because first impressions matter, and burnout stress can be transferred unknowingly and unfairly to your customers. It is your duty as a host to rest, so that you can serve your guests better.
8. Sync Your Calendars to Avoid Double Bookings
If you list on both Booking.com and Airbnb, you must sync your calendars. This will:
✅ Automatically allow a new booking on one app to automatically block the same date on the other.
✅ Prevent double bookings (which could mean refunds and bad reviews).
Using a joined calendar makes hosting stress-free and avoids frustrating mix-ups with guests.
9. Safety & Security – The Reality of Hosting
- Keep all your valuables in a locked space (just in case).
- Make sure the guest has their own keys to their room and common areas. If you don’t have extra keys, duplicate them.
- If you are a male host, be more mindful when with solo female guests. Make sure they feel comfortable by giving them as much physical space as possible – at all times.
- If it cannot be helped for any reason, then make sure your entire body-frame is always in full view. No guest likes to feel as if they are being crept up on.
- Set house rules clearly (e.g., no unregistered guests).
Hosting strangers comes with risks, so trust your instincts; if something doesn’t feel right, you don’t have to accept every booking.
10. Expect the Unexpected
I am extremely lucky that 95% of my live-in hosting experience was great. But no matter how well you plan, hosting may come with unpleasant surprises. Here are some examples of unexpected situations you may encounter:
- A guest arriving at 2 AM despite an 11 PM check-in limit.
- A couple who doesn’t realise that your listing is for a shared home.
- A rude or simply unpleasant guest.
- A guest trying to invite an extra person that has not paid.
The key is ALWAYS to stay calm but firm. The guest is under your roof, so you have more to lose if things truly go sour. The trouble that comes after is almost always not worth the money.
So set clear rules, but also be prepared for last-minute surprises. Control over your temperament is extremely vital.
Final Thoughts – Should You Host?
Live-in hosting can be a fantastic way to earn extra income, but it isn’t for everyone.
Before jumping in, ask yourself:
✅ Am I comfortable with strangers in my home?
✅ Am I doing this just for money, or do I want to provide a good guest experience?
✅ Am I willing to set firm boundaries when needed?
If you enjoy meeting new people, have a welcoming attitude, and are willing to learn, then hosting could be a great opportunity for you!
- Thinking of starting? Sign up on Airbnb using my Link HERE.
- Looking for ideas to earn passive income in Ireland? Read more HERE.
Have questions? **Drop a comment, and I’d be happy to share more insights.
