I have a colleague who recently moved from the United States to Ontario in Canada. Over a casual chat, he mentioned about the Airbnb accommodation he had arranged for before landing here. Until then, I connected Airbnb mostly with tourists and people vacationing.
I must confess here that I was quite surprised, actually, pleasantly surprised just by the fact that moving from one country to another has become this simple.
Not that it was complicated before Airbnbs, there were (are still) hotels and lodges. But then hotels, motels, lodges can never offer the feel of a real home.
My colleague, let us call him G, has rented this place for more than a month and is paying the nominal rent for that locality. According to him, the best part is that, he can plan and cook his meals and feel at home in this rented house. Besides, this place is just 30 minutes drive to his workplace.
I am positive, by now we all know why people prefer Airbnbs—low cost, convenience, household amenities and most importantly, a feel of home away from home.
So then how much would it cost for a person/people either as a tourist or as in G’s case, in a job changing situation?
Pricing is the first and the key step in your planning in renting out your property.
Anywhere between 18 CAD to 210 CAD per night is what my research for Airbnb around GTA shows.
You might think $18 as too little. But in a scenario where you are renting for more than a month, it can be quite a substantial amount.
Here is a break up of how to set up a price for your place.
It obviously depends on what part of the home you are planning on letting out. Is it the entire condominium or just a room or the basement that has independent access and includes all the essentials like kitchen, bathroom, car park, etc.
Entire apartment with a single bed can be priced for a tad less that 100 CAD, or if you have two bedrooms, add another 30 bucks or so.
Furnished basements with one or two bedrooms with full kitchen, bathroom and separate entrance good for three to five people can be priced anywhere between $50 to $70. Good location matters a lot for the price you are planning to charge for renting a basement.
Or you have one spare room and interested in making some extra money, $35 to $50 seems to be a going rate. Nice to include in this price range would be a kitchen, washing, etc. (shared or otherwise).
A loft in the city with a beautiful view and tons of natural light can cost you over $200. Many of my friends like to rent lofts simply because they love the feel of living there. Large windows that bring in natural light are my personal preference.
If I am paying over $200, I would like some form of entertainment. And television is not my idea of entertainment. I want something out of the normal. Like tons of books, reading material, a cozy kitchen where I can cook my meal and read while eating and basking in the natural sunlight/light.
If you have a loft that closely resembles this idea go ahead and get it listed and the bonus being, you have a price range to do it.
Not all lofts cost $200. They are slightly expensive than renting a room in townhouse or a basement in a home. It is safe to say that lofts can be priced anywhere between $50 to 200 and they typically are good for two to four people depending on the property and the location of course.
If you have properties outside the city limits like say cabins, cottages, villas that is awesome too. The pricing slightly varies. Most city dwellings are meant for one to four guests.
But dwellings outside city limits are bigger therefore more number of guests. Some cottages and villas can be rented for almost 10 people.
The pricing more or less remains the same. These accommodations are perfect for families and friends wanting to enjoy a good vacation outside city limits. Therefore, you can focus on the kind of stuff you can provide for people looking to spend a bit of quiet, far from the hum and drum of the thriving city atmosphere.
Discounts and offers are always welcome.
If you have a townhouse, and want to rent out a spare room, you can make it a bit more personalized by adding in breakfast. These personal touches matter and hey, we all love to have out tea/coffee, juice and a buttered toast or breakfast cereal in the morning. The price for the room and breakfast can be a little over $60.
The price you fix for you renting will also depend on the number of guests your place can accommodate.