In these days of extortionate rents it is heartening to know that there is still a way to squeeze even more out of your des-res.
With the advent of rent-capping looming on the horizon many landlords in Dublin 4 are now opting for the Airbnb approach. According to local landlords you can almost double your profits overnight.
A caveat should be observed here, there is far more than twice the amount of work for double the profit. Firstly, the property must be maintained to the highest of standards, and as we all know this is not neccessarily the case when renting out to lowly long-term tenants. It is particularly true with the older building stock we see in Dublin 4.
Landlording, as an active verb is not so active if most of us cast our mind back to looking for our first few flats. Poorly maintained, cash in hand firetraps are not so common these days.
Not the case with Airbnb. One is basically entering the realms of the hotelier, where reputation is king and that fizzy, popping socket will end your dreams of profit streams. Airbnb is reputation based, a child of social media. As one local landlord told me recently, “All you need is a couple of poor reviews to end the never-ending cycle of meet, greet, wash the towels and sheets.”
But what it does is to allow the tourist to be completely immersed, at least for a couple of days. in a genuine experience of living in a part of Dublin off the main tourist experience.
The more you engage your guest, the more likely they will leave good reviews ensuring more guests. It’s the way of the future, great for landlords, not so much for anyone seeking a home to rent.
By Steve Kingston
