A Look at How Airbnb Experience Hosts Can Inspire You to Make Money

Here’s a common scenario: You want to make more money but every “business opportunity” involves time-consuming email funnels and spending a fortune on Facebook ads. You don’t even know when or if you’re going to get paid.

Are you fed up with unrealistic side hustles?

I want to share stories of how regular people just like you are using Airbnb Experiences to make money by doing things that they enjoy. I’m also going to help you start making money with your own experience.

You may also find these other articles helpful:

Best Ways To Make Money While Avoiding The 9-5

How To Make Money Using The Airbnb Experience

How To Get 5 Star Reviews For Your Airbnb Experience

Since I published my article on how to make money with Airbnb Experiences, I’ve received all kinds of feedback. Some people loved the idea and they applied to host an experience. Others said that they couldn’t think of anything. One guy ended up starting his own coffee crawl in Barcelona when he returned home. Then he opened a coffee shop. We have coffee crawls starting up in England and Scotland in the coming weeks. I’ve been contacted about expanding my offering around Toronto.

I wrote about experiences because it’s a side hustle that actually brings money in. You don’t have to buy any business cards or get caught up in “working for exposure.”

We’re going to look at regular people who are making money with Airbnb Experiences and then we’re going to explore how you can start making money. Stay tuned until the end for a special surprise…

Check out the original piece on making money with Airbnb Experiences. Use my link for free money to test out an experience near you. Then check out the video below…

Let’s look at hosts who are making money with Airbnb Experiences.

I wanted to highlight people who are making money with airbnb experiences because I didn’t realize how many cool stories were out there.

I got to meet other experience hosts at a meet up in Toronto and through promoting my coffee crawl on social media. Here are some interesting experience ideas:

• Coffee drinking and fortune telling. This young lady has guests come to her place for tarot card reading and coffee drinking. She informed me that it gets pretty emotional at times. She has amazing reviews.
• Pub crawl. Don’t want to drink alone? Start a pub crawl. I met a gentleman who takes guests out to bars in town.
• Live piano shows at home. This guy plays the piano in his living room for guests. He puts on a show for guests.

Those are just a few of the ideas that come to mind. Let’s hear from a few of my friends who are making money with Airbnb Experiences…

The Las Vegas Tour Guide.

My friend Jonathan is a full-time tour guide in Las Vegas. We met through Instagram.

How did Jonathan end up working full-time as a host with Airbnb Experiences?

“I left New York to go sell solar and to manage an office in Atlantic City with a company That I’d been on and off with for 10 years. Quit that, went to Galapagos/ Ecuador, met a girl from Minneapolis, moved in with her and started working in transportation. The last promotion required me to move to Vegas, last October. Left Amazon in February. Did nothing for a month. A friend suggested that since I knew Vegas well, I should try this Airbnb thing which I laughed off and thought was a joke. Now I’m accidentally a tour guide. That’s my short story.”

What’s your tour all about?

“There are two main parts to Vegas: Downtown and The Strip. I show people the best must-see spots of the Vegas Strip which includes going in and out of the hotels. I offer hugs and high fives. and a little history about the area. I take photos and make recommendations. Before and after the tour I act as a concierge for anything else they need as far as information goes. Prior to the tour, I also provide a list of other things to do in Vegas outside of the tour.”

How did you get your first guest?

“By listing my tour on Airbnb. I like to think that by listing it for $1 pay-what-you-like played a role. I learned that, or got the idea from, Free Walking Tours by Foot. I’ve taken a few of their tours when I lived in NYC and at the end of the tour you tip or pay whatever you think the tour is worth to you. So I think the whole ‘name you’re price’ helped get those first few bookings.”

If you’re ever in Las Vegas then look up the best must see spots of the Vegas Strip. Follow him on Instagram.

Case study #2: Robert Hanlon the pizza guy.

What made you get into this?

“I wanted to do something fun to get out of the apartment on the weekends in NYC. Had the idea to connect a few passions of mine, eating pizza and the neighborhood I live in in New York (the lower east side). I love getting to meet new people and talk to them about my neighborhood in NY. Thus, Bob’s pizza tour was born.”

How did you get started?

“Before heading on a vacation this summer to Sicily I setup my experience on Airbnb. Once I got back I was approved and hosted my first experience, filling it up with a stress test of friends. The tour was a hit with my friends, and I prepared for my first tours with Airbnb guests the next weekend!”

How do you run a tour?

“My tour makes stops at four pizza shops on the lower east side. Guests meet me outside of the first stop on the pizza tour where we meet up to get to know each other and discuss the tour plan. We then visit four different pizza places with each guest trying a slice at each spot. Depending on the group, we sometimes end the tour with a beer at a local lower east side bar. Throughout the tour I give guests a background on the lower east side history and point out some of the most popular restaurants and attractions in the neighborhood. Each slice on the tour is different giving guests a diverse perspective on pizza available on the lower east side of Manhattan.”

Check out Bob’s Pizza Tour. The pictures may inspire you to fly down to New York City.

Case study #3: Adam.

(Group shot of the new Corktown History and Beer Tour)

“I started an Airbnb Experience because I have worked as a tour guide and tour company owner for a few years now. I was told about this and thought it sounded perfect and that it would offer me another way to showcase my talents to a smaller audience and receive a new stream of income.

I decided on my idea because I offer tours of Toronto already, but could now show more areas and for longer, and include some or our diverse food culture.”

Are you full-time on Airbnb Experiences?

“I’m full time self-employed across the tourism industry, but can’t rely solely on Airbnb Experiences at this point, and certainly not in the winter in Canada and Toronto.”

Adam runs Toronto Free Walking Tours. His Airbnb link is here. You can also check out his website.

Why should you even bother with hosting an Airbnb Experience for money?

“Is this worth it?”

I get asked this question about side hustles all of the time.

Here’s the thing. If you want guaranteed income, then get a job. All side hustles require a time investment and the income depends 100% on your effort.

Here’s why I’m a fan of starting an Airbnb Experience…

Experiences are a true side hustle.

You don’t have to worry about email marketing or all of that other stuff that comes with most business opportunities that you read about online. You can make a few extra bucks on the side. You get to set experiences on the app for when you feel like making money. You don’t have to work if you don’t want to set any experiences. You also don’t have to work for free.

You can turn your passions into profits.

Most of us would love to do something that we love for money. We know that there has to be more to life than being stuck in a cubicle. This is why I suggest starting an experience to explore your passions.

You can teach people how to surf, show off the best restaurants in your community, or play an instrument for guests.

You meet new people.

I have a place to stay in Greece, England, Mexico, and Hungary. I’ve met guests who are social media specialists, into the same kind of training, and with unique interests.

Meeting new people has been the best benefit by far. I don’t even mean this in a corny way. You actually make new friends from around the world. You have so many new places to visit and you have friends to connect with in other parts of this globe. The guests also start to do the promoting for you with reviews, pictures, and referrals.

One guy had such a good time on the crawl that he returned for a second time. He even ended up coming to my birthday party.

You’re wasting your time on other things already.

Sometimes you have to pursue something new to see where you can take it. You won’t get rich off the first few experiences that you run, but there are ways to turn this into a full-time income.

Most people who ask if experiences are worth their time usually waste time on other stuff. You’ll feel much better if you can bring in a few bucks on a Saturday morning instead of scrolling through social media.

Don’t let your entrepreneurship addiction hold you back from ever making any real money. Test out different income streams until you find something that works for you.

How can you start an experience to make money?

I’ve heard every excuse for why one can’t start their own experience:

• “I don’t live in a big city.”
• “I don’t have any ideas.”
• “I don’t think I can be a host.”

You have to throw the excuses away eventually and apply to see if you can bring some money in.

Don’t live in a big city? Small towns need entertainment too. You can also visit the closest city once per week to make a day out of it.

Don’t have any ideas? Start a walking tour or food tour. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel?

Can’t be a host? You won’t know until you try.

You just have to apply.

If you accepted, you can start hosting experiences. You have nothing to lose from applying. You can host only when you feel like it.

I’ve summarized the entire process step-by-step in my last article.

Here’s an overview of what an application should look like from when you get to the final step.

Then once you press submit, you wait to see if you get accepted.

What if you don’t get approved? Airbnb will tell you what you need to do to get your experience approved.

You make the changes and then you should see this pop up within a few days.

For the sake of this article, I applied for a new experience. I had zero information. I looked everything up. I finished the application in 19 minutes. I was then denied and sent an email of what I had to fix. Then I was approved a few days later.

It never hurts to apply.

You can go here to apply to host your experience. Use my link for free credits to see what’s popular around you.

What are experiences that you can offer for money?

How do you think of an idea? What if you’re feeling stuck?

Here’s what I want you to do to find an Airbnb Experience that you can offer as a side hustle:

• Look at what’s popular near you. What’s trending? What has the most reviews?
• Think of how you an add a twist to something popular.
• Jot down interesting things that you do.
• Think of how you can combine two popular ideas (biking-photo, drinking-sports, and so on).

You have so many options.

There will never be enough food tours, walking tours, and coffee tours around the world. People will always need to eat, explore, and load up on caffeine. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. You can make the most popular food tour in your community.

Here are a few things to think about:

• Do you have any special skills?
• What can you show people?
• What do you know a lot about?
• Can you improve on anything in your community?

From there you should have a few ideas. I want you to write down 5 ideas right now. Leave a comment with your idea below.

How do you make money with this thing?

Let’s switch gears and talk about making the most money out of your experience. How do you make this profitable? How can you turn this into a full-time venture?

Here’s how you can make your money with hosting an experience..

1. Volume. Large groups obviously bring in more money. Work on getting those reviews in until you become popular.
2. Offer an activity that doesn’t have many expenses. Things like walking tours or lessons don’t have much overhead (just your time).
3. Tips. I’ve made some money from tips. Some guests will choose to tip you at the end.
4. Deals and discounts. Use the fact that you’re bringing large groups to a destination as an excuse to get a deal or some sort of a discount.
5. Strategic partnerships. Can you work with vendors? Can you make deals with local businesses?
6. Affiliate marketing. You can promote products for a commission. I don’t want to get into the whole business of affiliate marketing, but you essentially earn a commission every time you promote a product or service. Easy wins here are promoting ridesharing or food delivery services.
7. Host multiple experiences. You don’t have to limit yourself to one experience. You can setup multiple experiences in different fields. You can even hire co-host to run multiple experiences with someone else.
8. Offer upgrades. You’re not limited to just your main experience. You can offer different tiers and premium versions.

That’s a sneak peek of how you can monetize your experience. I’m going to be releasing an entire guide on how to make money with Airbnb Experiences in the near future.

Drop your email below to stay updated.

I’ll send you a few free gifts (my previous guides and 7 steps to financial freedom) for trusting me with your email.

I won’t sit here and promise you the world. I can promise you that you’ll at least make a few bucks with a new side hustle. We all know that it’s impossible to survive these days with just a 9-5 gig.

“Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because remember that’s where you will find success.” — Thomas J. Watson