The pungent smell of mussels being shucked in his kitchen by strangers was unappealing.
But renting part of their home, just a 15-minute drive from the surf town of Torquay at the start of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road, was well worth it for Megan and her husband.
The $5,000 they earned from their foray into Airbnb funded their own Thailand vacation.
Megan and her husband, who did not want their last name used in this article, rented three bedrooms in the back of their four-bedroom house.
Between November 2017 and March 2018 they attracted a steady stream of people heading to the Great Ocean Road or sporting events in the area.
Guests had their own bathroom but also had access to the main kitchen.
“The worst we had was a bunch of… people who had gone mussel hunting,” Megan said.
He had two buckets of mussels and mud crabs and I thought to myself, this is going to stink of the house.
“It’s just something to be wary of when people come into your house – they’ve gone on vacation, maybe they’ve gone fishing and they treat it a bit like their own home.”
The couple had a convertible sofa in their office, which meant the room could be used as a living room or bedroom with the sofa lying down.
“If you can, try to be flexible in how you set it up, so you can give people different things based on their needs,” Megan said.
She recommended clarifying to guests if you don’t have air conditioning in the rooms. Otherwise, you may have to do what Megan’s husband did – make a late night run to the stores for fans after a 40 degree day.
Megan said to expect damage to your property, such as scratches made when suitcases are dragged against the walls.
Kim and Oliver, however, took an entirely different approach.
The couple, who did not want their surname published, rented their entire house in Torquay while they caravanned through Victoria.
It took a few weeks of work to get their property ready, but it paid for their trip and also helped pay off the debt.
“We win by having a vacation experience while making money,” Kim said.
She said that in the six weeks before they left, they had a long to-do list that included painting the walls, replacing doorknobs and fixing up the garden, as well as buying things like extra pillows and the changing family photos with landscapes.
Kim said the pair were done in a few months what would normally have taken them about a year.
“You would start something and then you would always find something else that was wrong or that you needed to do, so it felt like the list never ended,” she said.
We were exhausted but it feels like the house is totally renovated.
Kim said that aside from the extra money, it was a big motivation to declutter the house.
She suggested that anyone considering renting their accommodation store valuables in locked drawers, rather than having to move them to a garage or other secure location.
The couple used property management company AirReady to handle their bookings and screen guests.
“If you don’t have the time to devote to managing your property, outsource it,” Kim said.
Estate agent Barry France, of Sawtell Real Estate Co on the NSW coast, said properties in the area can fetch $700 a night during the peak summer period.
He said people considering renting their homes should take appropriate safety measures, such as checking for tripping hazards, fitting windows with locks and ensuring gas stoves and barbecues were safe.
Susan Wheeldon, country manager for Airbnb in New Zealand and Australia, said many people were renting out their homes to cover their mortgages and to combat the rising cost of living.
“Hosting allows people to typically take their most important asset – their own home – and turn it into a revenue driver,” she said.
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