Airbnb Hosting with Phoebe Douglas
We are officially in summertime, so I wanted to share frugal travel hack ideas this month. Travel is the number one goal of clients of the Financial Gym, and it has been for the past 10 years. As most of us know, travel can be an expensive goal. I love the opportunity to help my clients achieve their goals, like travel, frugally, so we still have cash for the other life goals we have.
We have already talked about camping and travel hacking, so now we’re diving into Airbnb. This episode is a twofer, where I want to remind you of the frugal joys of utilizing Airbnb for your travel needs and thinking about Airbnb as a side hustle.
Joining me today is Phoebe, a long-time podcast listener and Financial Gym client who turned a crappy rental situation into an Airbnb gold mine. She shares her journey to get there and the lessons she’s learned along the way.
What are we drinking?
Phoebe - Water with chlorophyll
Shannon - Black Cherry Schweppes
Podcast Notes
What was your path to owning an income-producing property?
As Phoebe grew up, she saw how money seemed out of her family’s control at all times. In her mid-twenties, she realized that she wanted to make a change and break the cycle, so she set out to find resources to learn more about money.
She started reading blogs and listening to podcasts all centered around personal finances. This opened her to the idea of getting into real estate, which would offset her largest expenses.
It was always a dream to own a multi-family home and was able to make it happen through NACA. She attended one of their events, went through the process, and closed on her house on New Year’s Day 2020.
NACA can be a great resource for people who are looking to become homeowners. The process can take some time and even be tedious at points, but it can save you thousands.
Phoebe had a friend who had gone through the process and walked her through it. She attended the events with all of her documents ready to go and was assigned a counselor. She was pre-approved to start looking for houses that same day. There are realtors who are familiar with the NACA process, which can help with the actual buying part.
She knew going in that she wanted to buy a two-family home somewhere in New York City, so she could have renters to help offset the cost of living in an expensive borough.
There are two options, you can either rent long term to folks, dealing with tenants, leases, legal documents, and challenges, or you can do short term rentals through a site like Airbnb, which is what Phoebe uses. There are laws, pros, and cons to consider.
What have you learned while renting out part of your home?
When she first bought her home, she went the traditional renter route on the advice of her realtor and learned a lot during that time.
She’s been a short-term host since June 2022. It’s been both a rewarding and learning process. As a traveler herself, it’s nice to offer the space to someone traveling and looking for somewhere cozy and economical to stay.
The rules for renting out part of your home differ depending on where you live. Airbnb will help guide you through, but it’s crucial to look up the laws in your area.
The logistics of listing your space are relatively easy. You do everything in the app, and Airbnb does a great job promoting your new listing.
She found someone in her neighborhood on TikTok who rents part of their home and reached out to him. He gave her some great tips and websites to further her research. She aimed to learn about what else was available in her area, the pricing, and ideas to make her place great. She knew that as soon as guests started staying, she would start learning a lot more, like the power of automation and adding space between stays for the cleaning team to come through.
She consistently hires the same cleaning team, which is scheduled automatically when the space is booked, which is all done through an app.
Some guests that stay do not treat the space as if they’re in someone else’s home, even going as far as throwing trash out the window. Thankfully, Airbnb helps in these scenarios and will reimburse the owner for damages. Even with challenging guests, they only stay for a few days, so you don’t have to see them again.
Phoebe's Tips for Successful Airbnb Hosting
Tips that have made Phoebe a super host:
Use automation everywhere you can. It makes things easier for you and your guests.
Make the check-in process as seamless as possible. Phoebe uses August smart locks, so the guest can use a code or phone to open the door. When folks are getting ready to check in, the code is sent to them automatically, and it links to the Airbnb app.
She creates an atmosphere by making sure the apartment smells nice, and there is coffee, water, and creamer available for the guests.
She gets positive feedback for being responsive to guests and being kind throughout the conversations.
She leaves a small film camera on the office side table as an extra touch. Some folks have taken it out in the city.
Tips for logistics and taxes:
She has a separate checking and savings account specifically for the rental. This way, her automatic purchases, and deposits go into the ‘business’ account. She then pays herself monthly to her personal accounts.
The booking rate isn’t always consistent, so planning for that is essential. The colder months have been slower, but October ended up being busier than she expected because of how a sports team was performing.
Airbnb can be an excellent option for travelers and folks who want to earn extra income by sharing their homes.
Takeaway: My biggest takeaway is to explore all options when you’re thinking about where you’ll stay when you travel. Airbnbs give a number of benefits and cost savings you’ll never find in a hotel, plus you’ll help micro-entrepreneurs like Phoebe achieve their life dreams. I would much rather contribute to her than a big company like Marriott when I think about travel stays.
Random Three Questions
How many rental properties would you ultimately like to have?
If you were given $50,000 to travel, where would you go?
If this was your last meal on earth, what would it be?
Connect with Phoebe
Resources Mentioned in the Episode:
NACA.com - to help purchase your first home
AirDNA - to research other rentals in your area/pricing
Turno for Cleaners - to hire a cleaning team
Lasting Joy Brewery - Shannon’s new favorite brewery
If you have any topics you would like me to cover on this podcast, or if you’d like to get in the financially naked hot seat, I encourage you to email me at Shannon@fingyms.com, or join the private Martinis and Your Money Face, and let me know what you want to hear.
A recent Financial Health Network study revealed that only 31% of Americans were financially healthy. Only 23% of women and only 15% of black people were. Financial health is a crisis in the US but it doesn’t need to stay that way. At the Financial Gym, we’ve spent the last 10 years working one-on-one with our members to help them achieve their financial health goals.
With a 90% success rate and with memberships starting as low as $35 a month, Financial Gym is not only the inflation-proof source for financial wellness for anyone but also a trusted and capable partner for your financial wellness journey. Head over to, or send friends to, financialgym.com and schedule a warm up call today. As a reminder, our warm up call team is staffed with amazing and current Financial Gym clients that can answer any of your questions about our program without any pressure to join. The call is free, so you have nothing to lose.