Plenty of people around the world make some extra money by renting out all or part of their house on holiday rental websites like Airbnb or Stayz. Would you like to be one of them? It’s a great way to make some income if you have some room to spare, or if you won’t be using your house for a while due to an extended holiday or move.

Don’t know how to get started? Here are some ideas on what you should do first:

Check with the local council

Before you get too far into the process, check to make sure there are no restrictions or regulations in your local area that might stop you from renting out part of or all of your house. If you own a unit or townhouse that is part of a body corporate or strata title, you might not be able to rent out your rooms to other people at all, so it’s a great idea to check with them first. You’ll also have to consider how having people coming and going from your property will impact on your neighbours so have a think about access, car parking and noise.

Consider insurance

Websites like Airbnb and Stayz typically include some kind of insurance when you list your rooms or house with them. However, it’s still worth finding out if you need to take out any additional insurance on your own to make sure you’re completely covered. You’ll still need to ensure you have adequate home and contents insurance, and you should probably check in on these policies to see how your renting arrangement will impact them. Breakages, unintentional damage, extreme weather and break-ins are all possibilities, so make sure your insurance will cover all of these scenarios.

Clear out your personal items

Your guests will need access to basic furniture, of course. Consider which of your current items you can allow guests to use. If you’d rather not share, start shopping for some affordable and functional furniture to add to the rooms in your house.

You might want to leave pictures, artwork and other decorative pieces around to create a nice atmosphere but it’s best not to risk your most precious items to strangers. Do a round-up of your breakable and important items and either put them in another part of the house or consider putting them into storage.

If you’re renting out your entire house, you’ll need to clear out all of your personal items including clothing and any excess or precious furniture. In this case, hiring some short or long term storage can help you clean out enough space for your guests while keeping the items you care about most safe.

Clean everything up

It goes without saying but cleanliness is very important when it comes to holiday accommodation. You want your guests to feel at home and they’ll be able to do that if your place is clean and tidy. Make sure you do a thorough clean of the property, including the kitchen and bathrooms, before you have any paying guests. If you’re not confident you can do the job to a high standard yourself, it’s not a bad idea to hire professional cleaners to do the job for you. Remember, you’ll also need to clean again once the guests leave so your place is sparkling clean for the next load of guests.

Take good photos of your property

In order to attract people to book your property for their stay the photos you place online will need to be eye-catching and professional looking. Again, if you can afford to, it always pays to hire a professional to do the job. A professional photographer will know how to stage areas of your house to reflect its best side and attract the right kind of guests. If you’re doing it yourself make sure you do some research first and find out which photos are more likely to attract bookings and you’re using the best camera you have available to you.

Do a test run

Before you jump into renting out your entire house, maybe just start out by renting out a room or two while you continue to live in the house at the same time. It’s a common arrangement on sites like Airbnb and ensures you can see how the renting goes before you fully commit to it.

Even if you’re only ever going to be renting out single rooms of your house, it can still be a good idea to set a trial period to make sure it’s all going to work out. After the trial period is over you can reassess and decide what changes you need to make before continuing or calling it quits.

Are you thinking of earning some extra money by listing your home on a holiday rental site? Chances are, you’re going to need some storage. Luckily, Hire Storage offers modern facilities with 24/7 CCTV, on-site security personnel and alarms so you can rest assured your belongings are safe and secure. Our facilities are conveniently located centrally in each capital city. You can access your items anytime between Monday to Saturday from 7 am to 5 pm by only providing us with 24 hours’ notice and our rates start from a low $160 per module per month. We offer secure 10 cubic metre storage modules and also have storage options available for oversized items so you only pay for the storage you use.

For more information on how we can help you with your storage needs, call us today on 1300 358 700 or request a quote via our website.