Hi Simon -
I think Sarnen made some great points, and I would like to add some knowledge I have picked up in my experience as an Airbnb community leader:
1.) Don't just think of it as a "vacation" rental:
One thing that people tend to overlook is the fact that even though a property may not have certain characteristics which would make it ideal for tourism, it can make up for them by being near certain workforce centers, especially medical and research facilities. I have worked with several hosts who have had great success in renting their units out through Airbnb to traveling nurses and doctors or researchers who are on contract. They will pay quite a bit more for the flexibility of a furnished unit for 30-90 days.
2.) You can be as hands-on or hands-off as you'd like:
When I personally host a property, I am a very hands-on host, and enjoy helping people have an awesome experience in their travels. That said, there are certain things I always do, which reduce my headaches and increase guest satisfaction, such as installing electronic locks (I use YGPAK locks which are inexpensive, durable, and easy to program and use... They're available on Amazon... there are other options which I could recommend if you'd like which are more convenient but add many $$ in cost). I also highly recommend installing a camera (I use Foscam PTZ's, which I can view via my iPhone)... place one outside your front door and you can have a set of ears and eyes at your property.
There are options for management such as "Pillow" which I have not personally utilized since they're somewhat of a competitor of ours, but they may be available in your area, and handle most of the overhead including cleaning of the unit.
3.) You'll experience less wear and tear:
This is in my own personal experience of hosting over 600 and counting guests... only once have I had to file a claim on a deposit because a guest got into one of my client's liquor cabinets... they were very apologetic, and I could have done a better job of setting ground rules for them. She paid 90.00 immediately with no fuss, it was in my account within an hour of filing the claim request.
If you set the stage and guest expectations well, I think you'll find that people take much better care of the property, as they view themselves as "guests" rather than tenants... they don't want their reputation on the site tarnished nor do they want to lose their deposit... beyond that there's a 1MM host guarantee on Airbnb and other sites such as Homeaway and VRBO offer other types of coverages.
Those are just a few things I wanted to throw out there for you... I am more than happy to give you some pointers on hosting if you decide to go that route... Best of luck to ya!
