2023-06-18 12:00:49
Faced with inflation, more and more Parisians are renting an empty room in their apartment as a “private room” on Airbnb. Between mental load and beautiful encounters, two hosts tell their daily lives.
“They have access to all the rooms, apart from my bedroom of course”. Romain is 31 years old, he is a freelance artist and for seven months, he rents his second room, unused, via the Airbnb platform. And he is not the only one, since in Paris, 20% of the accommodation offered on the Airbnb site are private rooms. A figure up 13% over one year according to the American company, which is explained in particular in a context of inflation.
A study from the economic consultancy Astères commissioned by Airbnb reports that with a median income of 3,916 euros, Airbnb hosts saw their purchasing power increase by 6.6%, more than an additional point compared to inflation. . Romain recognizes this: thanks to his room for rent, guests can earn the equivalent of “a minimum wage, or even two for some”.
For Romain, however, money was not the only reason for registering on the platform. “Basically, I didn’t care regarding the money, that wasn’t the goal at all, it was really to meet people,” he explains. When he buys his apartment with two bedrooms, he has the idea of taking on a roommate. “I work freelance, I don’t necessarily have colleagues, I meet very few people,” he admits.
So, when the “roommate” experience goes badly, he turns to Airbnb: “I have people who take turns absolutely all the time”.
“I am cutting back on part of my intimate life”
On the app, hosts have the option to block certain dates. Romain decided to keep reservations “open all the time” and to set “very cool” cancellation conditions. “It opens up a lot more reservations and the algorithm puts the profile forward when the conditions are favorable for Airbnb,” says Romain. A heavy workload that “goes very well” with his freelance lifestyle.
But being available 24/7 for its tenants also has a cost. “I am cutting back on part of my intimate life, it comes with constraints”, recognizes Romain.
Constraints that Julien [le prénom a été modifié, ndlr] try to limit. At 57, this single civil servant embarked on the Airbnb adventure for financial reasons. “It pays me my condominium fees, my property tax, my electricity, even part of my food. Without Airbnb, I would have trouble,” he says. Unlike Romain, he therefore regularly closes his reservations to “preserve [sa] Mental Health”.
“There are times when I close reservations because I’m tired. The maximum I can hold is 20 nights in the month”, analyzes Julien.
Even if he tries to “keep his distance”, he still recognizes that “it’s human”. “I spend time asking them what they want to do and guiding them around the neighborhood, I take them to the market, he explains. I have nothing to do with tourist rentals, which make cash for cash”.
“We are asked for exceptional service”
Behind the contact, receiving at home very regularly requires stringent logistics. Laundry, repeated cleaning, the mental load of a private room is fully felt.
Romain has “Superhost” status. A godsend, since the Airbnb algorithm pushes its announcement in the first and the small badge, which gives confidence to travelers, makes it possible to increase the price of the room. But these benefits come at a high price. To keep it, you have to meet very specific criteria: respond within an hour to new requests at the risk of being downgraded or never cancel.
“If ever I have something unexpected, I have to manage, we are asked for exceptional service”, explains Romain.
“The whole world is coming to your house,” remarks Julien. For him, the most difficult to manage are the cultural differences. “I recognize that there are nationalities on which I am more reserved, he reveals, the Americans are hell!” Negative anecdotes regarding Americans, Julien is not lacking. Hygiene issues, “pestilential smell”, loud noises in the middle of the night, damaged furniture.
“Last week, I ran into an American from Texas, completely freaked out. At 4:00 a.m., she was so drunk she mightn’t get the entry code, and when I opened the door for her, she tried to kiss me”, recalls Julien.
“In Lasting Friendship”
To protect himself, Julien has set up rules. “In my listing, I lock everything I can lock, otherwise Airbnb won’t protect me,” he explains. No outside visitors, ban on co-working in the room, precise arrival and departure times, ban on going back and forth at night, ban on cooking, no full refund in the event of cancelation…
“I am not a hotel”, defends Julien.
Romain has very few rules, and has never had a very bad experience with guests. Do not smoke, do not bring an outside person and do not walk on the floor with your shoes. “They have access to all the rooms, except my bedroom of course,” he recalls. Regardless of the situation they faced, both hosts are unanimous in supporting Airbnb. “Several times I called Airbnb for problems with travelers, they called me back right away and were responsive and kind,” recalls Julien.
Despite his sometimes incredible adventures in the middle of his freelance daily life, Romain does not regret his choice. Having a private room on Airbnb has a lot of positive aspects.
“Mainly what I get out of it is that it turns into a lasting friendship,” explains the young man. He remembers a traveler from Malaysia, in her fifties, who came with her children. “We talked for hours and hours, she offered me the restaurant every day. We connected on the theme of mourning and she told me that it had helped her enormously”. Today, Julien is still in contact with her, “she even invited me to Malaysia”.
With the Olympics, jackpot in sight?
The arrival of the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024 is attracting people to the market for furnished tourist accommodation and private rooms, even if Airbnb has not yet communicated figures on the increase in rentals.
What is already known, however, are the prices. Up sharply over this period, at least on the announcements. The bait of gain even goes very far since, according to Romain, for the period of the 2024 Olympics, he knows “friends who will increase their prices enormously, going up to 1000 euros per night”.
“They think it’s going to be the financial jackpot but they’re going to fall from above, they don’t realize the work it takes”, tempers Julien. It also remains to be seen whether travelers will actually subscribe to such fares.
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