Anybody renting out their place in L.A on Airbnb or similar sites (sales, 2014)

[jm1982]

Anybody in L.A renting out their places on AirBNB or similar sites?

What area is your place in and how has it gone?

I have family staying in L.A and right now they are renting a studio in West L.A , its a small place and they are paying like $70 day which is reasonable for the area, don't know how much rent is...it's an older , kind of rundown building but the unit inside is nice.

I have a house, but I'm thinking of either renting it out on AirBNB or renting an apartment in a more desirable area for tourists/visitors and renting it out on AiRBNB. Don't know how people do this though as it probably violates landlord contracts.

The place my family rented the older lady neighbor across the hall helped them out ,gave them the key ,etc. She had been there forever like over 30 years...don't know if the guy that owns the unit pays her a little bit to help out... I would think he would do something for her.

Anyone making real/decent money on AirBNB or VRBO or similar sites?

I've heard of a family friend that does this in Washington D.C and sounds like he does well with it. I've heard of people doing it where they rent multiple places and make it a bit of a side business.

[jm1982]

Nobody...?

[disgruntled la native]

not personally, but I've heard varying stories. It seems it can be a great money to make some cash on the side but it's not going to be a full time job. I know one guy who tried to make it a full time job - he rented various apartments from the westside to hollywood and airbnbed them - turns out they weren't occupied enough to justify paying rent each month.

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by jm1982

Anybody in L.A renting out their places on AirBNB or similar sites?

What area is your place in and how has it gone?

I have family staying in L.A and right now they are renting a studio in West L.A , its a small place and they are paying like $70 day which is reasonable for the area, don't know how much rent is...it's an older , kind of rundown building but the unit inside is nice.

I have a house, but I'm thinking of either renting it out on AirBNB or renting an apartment in a more desirable area for tourists/visitors and renting it out on AiRBNB. Don't know how people do this though as it probably violates landlord contracts.

The place my family rented the older lady neighbor across the hall helped them out ,gave them the key ,etc. She had been there forever like over 30 years...don't know if the guy that owns the unit pays her a little bit to help out... I would think he would do something for her.

Anyone making real/decent money on AirBNB or VRBO or similar sites?

I've heard of a family friend that does this in Washington D.C and sounds like he does well with it. I've heard of people doing it where they rent multiple places and make it a bit of a side business.

How do these people know that the guests won't trash their place? From a guest's point of view, they don't seem to be any cheaper than a hotel/motel. Where's the value?

[Statz2k10]

I used Airbnb as a renter. I had a good experience. But I know you're looking for the tennant side of things. You can choose just to rent to people with good references. I think that helps a lot. You also deal with a 3rd party for financial transactions so that's a plus.

[jm1982]

Originally Posted by wehotex

How do these people know that the guests won't trash their place? From a guest's point of view, they don't seem to be any cheaper than a hotel/motel. Where's the value?

It looks like they verify people's identity and also have a $1million insurance coverage for each host.

https://www.airbnb.com/guarantee

Also I think that there at quite a few places cheaper than hotels .

Have family staying in West LA for $70 night , it's a studio apartment and has a little kitchen area too . Hard to find a hotel room in the area for that price .

[wehotex]

Originally Posted by jm1982

It looks like they verify people's identity and also have a $1million insurance coverage for each host.

https://www.airbnb.com/guarantee

Also I think that there at quite a few places cheaper than hotels .

Have family staying in West LA for $70 night , it's a studio apartment and has a little kitchen area too . Hard to find a hotel room in the area for that price .

I think that I read somewhere that they don't collect taxes. Is that still true? If so, that's also a fair amount of savings. Many cities gouge unexpecting tourists with extra fees to support arenas, infrastructure, etc.

[thelopez2]

Originally Posted by wehotex

I think that I read somewhere that they don't collect taxes. Is that still true? If so, that's also a fair amount of savings. Many cities gouge unexpecting tourists with extra fees to support arenas, infrastructure, etc.

I'd rather they gouge the tourist with money then the locals without.

I think the State will let it grow large before they come down on AirBnB for the bed taxes. Just like the Amazon sales tax.

[nightlysparrow]

Sometimes the temporary tenants won't move out:

Guests refuse to leave Airbnb host's house - CNN.com

[jm1982]

Yeah in NYC they are pretty upset.

Looks like a lot of people are pissed at AiRBNB.

Group Launches Campaign Against Airbnb In NYC « CBS New York

It looks like they are upset because rent controlled units are being rented out ,etc

Also the hotel taxes aren't being collected, so it's not as good for a city as that money theoretically helps to pay for city services that tourists use while in town.

But if you think about it people never paid hotel taxes for vacation rentals did they?

Also tourists generally spend a lot more than locals, since they generally eat all meals out and want to experience a bunch of stuff in a short period of time.