EP199: This Week in the World of Airbnb

There are a number of different ways to take advantage of the Airbnb platform, from listing a room in your own home to re-leasing a rented apartment. You might choose to co-host with a property owner or rent out your entire home while you are away. Some creative hosts even convert unused spaces, turning a shed in the backyard into a tiny home or transforming an attic into a studio apartment. Toby Doré is doing all of this and more, using every Airbnb model that’s out there to generate income through the platform.
Toby has been hosting on Airbnb in Lafayette, Louisiana, since March of 2013, and he has a whopping 1,776 reviews! Toby is also a full-time university professor in athletic training, sports medicine and sports psychology. He loves to travel, road-tripping across the US and visiting more than 40 countries in Europe, Central America, and South America.
Toby is also a serial Airbnb entrepreneur who utilizes every model: re-leasing, co-hosting and listing his Lafayette home on the platform. He has his own website, Cajun Hostel, as well as a travel blog. Today on the podcast, he shares how an 8-week road trip inspired his Airbnb journey. He offers his take on the pros and cons of each model, explaining which has been the most lucrative and extending his advice around establishing contracts between co-hosts. Listen in and learn how Toby outsources much of his Airbnb business while he works full-time and travels the world!
Topics Covered
What Led Toby to Airbnb
•Read about minimalism in The Joy of Less
•Planned 8-week road trip across US
•Couple met through music promotion suggested Airbnb
•Used platform during trip
•Listed 3-bedroom home while traveling
•Airbnb profits paid for rental car, gas
The pros and cons of renting his own home
•Most profitable of business models
•Income pays mortgage, utilities
•Profits help pay for international travel
•Turned storage shed into tiny house
•Converted attic to private studio
•Always booked, no place for him to stay
The re-leasing model
•Rented affordable, small apartment in downtown Lafayette
•Lists studio on Airbnb four months of year while traveling for work
•Rented four other houses, but gave up as popularity of hosting increased
The co-hosting model
•Neighbor tired of renters ‘messing up house’
•Asked Toby to manage as Airbnb
•Split profit after expenses paid (utilities, internet, amenities)
•Implementing Airbnb co-hosting platform complicated things
•Toby suggests contract defining responsibilities around expenses
Tricks Toby learned from using Airbnb as a guest
•Keycode locks on properties
•Automation (i.e.: code sent upon confirmation of booking)
How Toby outsources much of his Airbnb enterprise
•Bilingual manager handles bookings, reviews
•Sister-in-law helps with cleaning
•Second cleaner with 17 years of experience
•Hires university interns in business, hospitality management
•Worldpackers get dorm room in exchange for social media marketing work
Toby’s Airbnb profits
•Receives flat fee for managing upscale house in New Orleans (about 30% of profits)
•80/20 split with next-door neighbor
•Most rental management companies receive 30-35%
•Income from home he owns pays mortgage, utilities + 20% profit
•Home improvement loans on tiny home, studio paid off in two years
Connect with Toby
Cajun Hostel
Toby’s Airbnb Profile
Toby’s Travel Blog
Resources
The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Guide to Declutter, Organize, and Simplify by Francine Jay
VRBO
FlipKey
Worldpackers

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