Convert your Extra space to an Extra Income!

Do you know that the extra space in your home is an income generator.

As we all know travelling is a very famous trending activity among the youngsters nowadays. This trend creates the opportunity to house owners, earn extra money by sharing their extra spaces, which is called homestay business. But there is a lack of knowledge about how to set up this business properly. This is the starting chapter of the blog series about how to set up your homestay.

As a Hotelier, Marketer and an E-commerce specialist worked for Hotels and homestays more than 6 years, I have thought of sharing my knowledge with the current homestay owners and people who is seeking for an opportunity to get into the homestay business to make it a successful. This blog series we are discussing about how to set up your extra space as an income generator.

5 Steps to make your extra space to an income generator.

The five steps process we are introducing in here are recommendations which we have build up with the knowledge and experience through the hospitality industry. This can apply to current homestay businesses as well as new homestay businesses. In the five steps process, the first step is

1.) Choosing the correct extra space

The main successful point of any homestay business is choosing the correct extra space. Choosing the correct space at your home for the homestay business defines whether you will remain in the business or not. Because, it is the space you are going to provide for the guests who is going to stay at your home. When considering this space you can choose a space inside your home or any outside space which is attached to your house with separate access. And that extra space should have the below

• A window to have natural air and light.
• Door with a working lock
• Easy access to a wash room
• Easy accessible

When you have found the place with the above conditions then you are good to enter into the homestay business. It doesn’t mean that if you didn’t find a place with above conditions you can’t get in to the business. But to be more successful in the business think about the above points again. Once you choose a place with the above conditions, we are good to go for the next step.

2.) Applying colors to the room walls

We have to always consider the colors of the walls in the room. Some of you may think, what is to do with the color of the walls in the room with the homestay business. But there is a direct connection between the wall colors and the business. The color of room walls will always give an idea to the customer about the space, cleanliness and the colorfulness inside the room. So always try to choose neutral colors which will create a peaceful and calm mind set to the guest.

My personal preference is brilliant White to use as the wall colors, because it will show more space inside the room, and it is eye catching, with few lights room will be more brighter in the night and match any color of furniture, curtains. But some of you might think white is getting more dirty quicker than the other colors. Yes, that’s true, but when considering the revenue you can generate, surely you will choose White rather than other dark colors.

We have choose some colors which you can use,

• White (recommended)

• Beige

• Cream

• Light Gray

• Greige

3.) Furniture inside the room

The next most important part to consider is the furniture inside the room. Choosing a bed with a comfortable mattress is the number one in the important list. Everyone will remember their stay with the experience of the comfortability of the bed at the end of the day. Always remember to add a Double King/Queen size bed to the room if you are not planning to offer your room for individuals.

And a proper table with at least one chair must be inside the room. A dressing table and a cloth hanger or a small wardrobe is also some of the other furniture need to be inside the room. These are some of the items we are recommending to keep inside the room, as those are some of the basic needs of any person.

4.) A Separate washroom

Having a separate washroom for your guests always give them the comfortability on their stay. Using a shared washroom will reject most of the reservations from couples. But even with a shared washroom with all facilities and keeping it nicely, clean and tidy will give a good confidence for the guests to reserve it. A soap, shampoo, conditioner, tissue box, hand towels, face towels and bath towels are some necessary items to keep inside the washroom.

5.) Stable and fast Internet connection with easy access power sockets

Once we have set up our extra space, we need to provide facilities for the guests to market our property. Final step is providing a fast and reliable internet connection. A download speed of at least 50 Mbps (Mega bites per second) and an upload speed of 10 Mbps (Mega bites per second) is a good internet connection. There are lots of tools available in online which you can test internet speed. Once you have set up the internet connection, need to check on whether the power sockets are easy to accessible. These two points are one of the major things guests will get frustrated, if it is not to their expected level. So it is always better to get some expert advice from a technical person to fix if there is any issues.

Except for the above you can add some entertainment activities into the room which will add more value to your extra space. Some entertainment activities which you can add is a TV with cable channels, some board games, books with good content in different topics.

According to the space availability keep a small refrigerator and a microwave will create more visibility in facilities section when the homestay is listed out in online platforms.

In our next content we are planning to show you how to market successfully your business in online platforms. Stay tuned to get more valuable information on this. Our team of experts are finger tips away for your support on developing your business. Please contact us for more details.