Do you think any AirBnBers would even want to stay here?

[Loretta]

I live in a 1 bedroom/1 bath condo in the DC suburbs.  I am toying with the idea of advertising my pull-out sofa on AirBnB.  I stayed as a guest previously and it worked out great.

Do you think I have the right set-up for a profitable and positive experience?  I am having a hard time believing anyone would pay me $50-100 a night to sleep on my couch and shower in my un-fancy bathroom.  My 3 cats would probably be all over a guest.  I would be at home in the evening but at work during the day.  I see other people in my suburb renting out whole apartments or levels of townhouses.  I am not in walking distance to the metro, and the bus service seems spotty for weekend activities. 

[Sydneystache]

Would modify it to cat-loving, bring your own scooter...then lower the price to $10-20 couchsurfing. Don't oversell and price accordingly. There will be some budget travellers who just want a no-frills place for the night. Not sure if it's worth it but it IS money coming in...

[Russ]

yeah you definitely need to work on the copy a bit... you probably won't get more than $20 for the couch (check out prices in your area to be sure, but for $50 here people expect their own room, and a $100 room is like staying  at the Ritz), so advertise to those people. Definitely put a posititve spin on everything while making it absolutely clear what the space/experience is like, and clean up a bit and take advantage of their professional photographers (they're free). You won't make rolls of money, but then again these types of guests probably won't require too much work either. Also don't be afraid to be "booked" if you don't want guests on a particular day, I wouldn't base my life around getting $20 here and there.

I personally plan on opening up my couch to people on couchsurfing fo' free once I actually get one. Lower expectations, people are cooler IMO, and I'd rather have the barter system and a place to stay myself later than the $20 or whatever I could get on AirBnB

Also maybe throw your friends on MMM a bone here: AirMnM

[Sydneystache]

yeah you definitely need to work on the copy a bit... you probably won't get more than $20 for the couch (check out prices in your area to be sure, but for $50 here people expect their own room, and a $100 room is like staying  at the Ritz)

Yep, that is what is turning me off about AirBnB re high expectations - might as well be a proper B&B...so at the lower end do I treat it like a housemate type of experience? Or do I have to kit out the lounge etc...$100 is attractive but any less then makes me wonder if it is worth it given I work as well and safety/security issues. I'm probably more open to the barter system at $20. Here in Sydney, someone was raped after advertising thru couchsurfing.org and Gumtree has all sorts of psychos along the lines of 'free couch for the night for females only for benefits' etc type.

Maybe I will just stick to friends-of-friends need a couch to crash :-)

[Russ]

The $100 nightly rooms here actually are full time B&Bs, they just do all their booking through AirBnB.

so at the lower end do I treat it like a housemate type of experience?

I think you can treat it however you want (part of the appeal IMO), you just have to make sure the renter knows exactly what they're getting. For $20, I might not let somebody use my kitchen. Definitely wouldn't be feeding them. But if you don't say that up front, you are opening yourself up for unmet expectations/bad reviews. I would expect the place to look like the pictures, so if that means fancying up the lounge then yeah. If not, then no.