Many people are secretly making money in Nigeria by investing in Airbnb rentals.
But the truth is, that business is a closely guarded secret and they don’t want too many people to know.
Why so?
Simply because it is a very easy business to do, and you can keep earning passive income on real estate properties that you don’t own.
There’s a recent story I heard of how one Lagos big boy started his Airbnb rental with just 500k.
Now, he has multiple Airbnb rentals in different locations and even has managers in control of the units.
Here’s the story.
According to him, he never knew what an Airbnb was until a friend introduced it to him when he went on a trip to Ghana.
He wondered how this worked and researched more about it.
How could people turn their houses into mini hotels and make money from foreigners and visitors coming into their city? He thought.
After coming back to Nigeria, he decided to experiment and see if he could make money with an Airbnb rental.
At the time, he was living in a 1-bedroom apartment at Ikeja, so all he did was refurbished the apartment, furnished the sitting room, kitchen and bedroom, and signed up on the Airbnb website.
He only charged a modest fee of $30 per day for his 1-bedroom apartment, and a few bonuses.
But he still lived in the apartment until he got an order.
When he got an order, all he did was move his clothes and work items to his friend’s house and stayed there until the Airbnb guest left.
After almost 6 months of his Airbnb rental business, he started getting consistent orders for his 1-bedroom apartment.
He couldn’t keep inconveniencing his friend, so he got a cheap self-contained apartment close by.
Hustle mode activated.
He slightly increased the fee for his Airbnb 1-bedroom, and subsequently added more flats to his list.
Now, he owns several Airbnb rentals in many choice locations in Lagos including on the Island.
I recently checked one of his new 1-bedroom rentals in Ikeja that comes with free wifi and constant electricity.
Guess how much that goes for?
$40. He’s really doing well.
Now, over to you.
How do you start making money with Airbnb?
Let’s run through some checklists.
Find a Choice Location
The most important factor for running a successful Airbnb rental is location.
Is your rental location safe? Is security guaranteed?
Is the rental in close proximity to basic amenities and recreational centers?
Those are the questions many guests would likely ask.
No guest would want to walk a thousand meters before they could find transport to move around.
No guest would want to stay in an Airbnb that is far from the town or other sight-seeing locations.
So, you need to consider all that when locating your Airbnb rental.
Provide Basic Housing Needs
The next is to provide a comfortable residence for your guest.
Apart from official travel, the most popular reason why anyone would want to book an Airbnb is for vacation.
These guests just want a comfortable place to rest without any hassles.
So, the onus is on you to provide the basic amenities needed to bring comfort for the guests.
That means running water, light, security, and serenity should be non-negotiables.
You could also provide free wifi and even transportation if needed.
The goal should be to help your guest enjoy their stay so much that they recommend your Airbnb and even use your services when next they come into town.
Set a Reasonable Airbnb Fee
Price is a big part of getting guests to choose your Airbnb rental out of the thousand listed on the website.
So, you have to stay competitive by setting a reasonable price that matches the services you are providing and the location of your rental.
Most Airbnb rentals would even give discounts for longer stays so as to convince guesta to continue spending on their rentals.
That’s a very strategic move to increase earnings on Airbnb rentals.
Get Verified on Airbnb
Now that you are set, you only have to sign up on the Airbnb website and get verified as a host.
Set up your profile description and upload a nice photo of you or whoever is in charge of managing the rentals.
Then you start listing your rentals on the platform, and get people to try out your Airbnb.
It is important as a new Airbnb host, that you run a few test bookings with friends so as to ramp up a few good reviews to get things rolling.
Start Earning
Once you’ve done a few test bookings and gotten feedback from users, make the necessary changes and get set to start making money.
It’ll be only a matter of time before the money starts rolling in.
Here’s to happy earnings.