How to Make Money on Airbnb without Owning Property

The vacation rental industry plays a major part in the travel ecosystem these days. What started as a niche product for family reunions or vacations with groups of friends has turned mainstream, with booking sites like Airbnb offering millions of vacation rental properties around the world.

In the US alone, the vacation rental industry’s total revenue is estimated to reach $13.3 billion with a roughly 10% year-over-year vacation rental market growth rate, the industry will be close to $20 billion in 2025. If you want a piece of the pie for yourself here’s how you can without even owning a property.

Airbnb rental arbitrage is essentially a business model that is based on subletting another person’s property via a sublease agreement and renting it out as a short-term rental in OTAs such as Airbnb. In a nutshell, it is taking property from the long-term rental market and renting it out in the short-term rental market.

As easy as it sounds there are a few legalities to be considered when going ahead with the rental arbitrage model.

An Airbnb cohost is someone hired to manage a listing or multiple listings. Co-hosts take on responsibilities for maintaining the property on behalf of the Airbnb host. Some responsibilities taken by hosts are:

Launched by Airbnb in 2016, Airbnb Experience is essentially a workshop of sorts and is aimed at bringing local flavor to travelers who use Airbnb. While this used to be a strictly physical experience as of April 2020, people were also able to host online.

However, Airbnb takes its experiences seriously and any ideas presented will go through a thorough vetting process before it is approved.

Short-term rental management refers to the supervision and administration of short-term rental properties. The person in charge of managing these rentals has to complete a long list of daily tasks that involve operations such as:

Cleaning is typically one of the first tasks that hosts outsource and therefore starting a cleaning service means you will not have a shortage of work as long as there is a good amount of short-term rentals in your area. When considering this option make sure you have done your research not only on your competition in the area but also on any state requirements, such as insurance and licensing, and what the standard cleaning costs are. Make sure to factor in expenses as well. Examples of expenses involved in this type of business are cleaning products, equipment, labor, and marketing.

Becoming an Airbnb photographer is a creative way to make money. To list yourself as an Airbnb photographer you can become a freelance marketplace listing photographer and get listed by Airbnb or advertise your services using platforms like Fiverr and Instagram. To get listed on Airbnb you simply read the role overview and fill out this form.

It is now easier than ever to earn with Airbnb even without owning a property. Whether you are looking for a side hustle or a full-time job there’s something for everyone in the vacation rental industry. Some of these strategies require more planning, strategizing, and financial investment than others. However, with hard work and commitment, you can make a decent living.