[jriley]

Anecdote for my sister in Texas: 2010: Started renting her house on AirBnB to build savings / side-income. 2011: Left full-time design job. 2012: Repaired house and added efficiency unit. 2013: Picking up freelance design work.

Results: She works less hours overall, but feels need to respond to AirBnB-related requests at all hours. Now has ~20% higher income but less predictability. She pays taxes. AirBnB taught her several skills necessary for entrepreneurship. Still cringes when there is a critical review.

Her local bars and cafes definitely benefit from her guests (she provides local recommendations). I suspect local hotels might be losing some but not all of the business. Her guests pay roughly 25% less than local hotels.

She also travels more now, and has built a network from people who have stayed with her. Examples: Helped plan a wedding, assisted commercial photo shoots, went for drinks when visiting former guests’ cities.