She turned down “a bunch of college party guys” and was suspicious of “two girls who were almost 18
and their mothers said they could come to New York.” She also says no to people who have “ridiculous requests, like ‘Can I smoke weed in the room?’”
When she retires, Ms. Deans would like to move to Florida
and rent or buy a house near Orlando, where she could host families headed to Walt Disney World.
“As an Airbnb host you have to remember, it’s not about you, it’s about them.”
Airbnb, the short-term home rental service that began operations eight years ago and is now valued at $31 billion, estimates
that there are 46,000 hosts statewide, with more than 45,000 active listings in New York City alone, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in rental income every year.
“First, the host is nervous to start, then they’re excited, then they see the money.”
But when the host comes across a bad guest or feels taken for granted, she said, “they say, ‘Oh my God, I hate these people.’”
Despite the good income she earns through Airbnb each year, Ms. Badia does not feel financially secure.
“My first mistake as a host,” Ms. Badia said.
Like Ms. Badia, Ms. Deans is a host out of necessity.
At her primary residence, the two-family house in Clinton Hill, Ms. Cames said an apartment she offered for
rent sat vacant for months before she listed it on Airbnb, because she could not find a long-term tenant.