Social benefits

The Social Benefits of Renting out a Room on Airbnb www.guesty.com /blog/social-benefits-of-renting-out-room-airbnb/ Sara Muchnick

It’s no secret that the “sharing economy” has stolen the limelight. What may be a little less clear, is why.

Perhaps it can be chalked up to be an inevitable societal development of our social tendencies as humans. Even the legend himself, Aristotle, predicted the collaborative business models that make up

the sharing economy today: “man is by nature a social animal…anyone who does not partake of society, is either a beast or a god.” Flash forward a couple thousand years and here we are: smack in the middle of a sharing revolution, where individuals and businesses alike have their hearts set out on contributing to a collaborative society.

But, why now? As traveling gets easier and easier, we’re drawn to cultural exposure more and more.

Having entirely new worlds within our grasps gives us the urge to just reach out and grab them. And we can, so we do. Because of this, the lines blur between distinct communities and everyone starts to seem a little bit less like a stranger. And we like it (because of that whole Aristotle thing).

There lays down the soil from which peer-to-peer-focused companies like Airbnb can grow. Airbnb encourages a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” community, where individuals reap financial and cultural benefits from sharing homes and experiences with each other. This brings about the togetherness we so crave.

It’s possible, even, to take this togetherness one step further by sticking around the home as you share it and joining in on what you’ve invited your visitors to experience. That’s right, by renting out only a room. Now, let’s get into how renting out a room on Airbnb has more social benefits for you than does listing your entire place.

1. Be a Smart Social Capital Investor Simply put: renting out a room opens up the table for social interaction. When renting out the entire place, hosts are expected to show face only upon check-in & check-out or by guest’s request, if at all.

Generally, guests don’t reserve a whole property with the intention of maintaining personal contact with the host throughout their stay. On the flip side, renting a room necessarily comes with some degree of host involvement, regardless of whether that interaction is limited to small talk or goes as far as sharing a meal. And social interaction–on any scale– generates social capital (the value created by interpersonal engagement).

Take Airbnb. You might find a place to stay that’s around half the price of a hotel but also it’s giving you a social value – a unique experience. So [even amidst a] very banal everyday experience, you’ve created social capital.

– Alex Stephany, Author of “The Business of Sharing” Aside from satisfying our natural social inclinations, social capital is what makes the collaborative world go round. This is why social interactions are so important: they’re “intangible investments” in the sharing economy.

2. Smile…You’re on Airbnb!

Aside from social capital, interaction with your guests comes with a cherry on top: happiness.

Interacting with strangers simply makes us happier. (Maybe this is what Aristotle was getting at with the whole ‘participate in society’ thing.)

The best part about this is that the degree of interaction is irrelevant. In other words, even nonverbal communication with new people can be one of the biggest influencers of happiness. For one, the smile we tend to smack across our faces to be cordial when meeting new people is self-fulfilling. And something as simple as making eye contact with a stranger, along with the feeling of being acknowledged on the receiving end of that eye contact, can alleviate stress.

What does all of this mean for the benefits of renting out a room on Airbnb? It means that simply by virtue of being in the presence of our unfamiliar guests, both hosts and guests will be happier social animals.

3. Make New Friends In a way, renting out a room is like inviting yourself along for the ride: you are opening up the table for you to share your guest’s experience. (This isn’t required, of course, but for the sake of going over social benefits of renting out a room, I’ll assume that gaining social value is in fact the end goal.) I’m not talking about plain old social interaction around the house, I’m talking about the opportunity to forge relationships.

Great hosts turn strangers into friends

– Chip Conley, Airbnb’s head of global hospitality and strategy This opportunity can really be taken in any direction: from helping your guests plan their trips to joining them along their itineraries. The point being that sharing a living space for however long creates a potential to start a friendship that remote hosting doesn’t offer.

If there’s one thing to take out of this, it’s that simply hanging around could make a world of a difference for both your and your guests’ Airbnb experience. Besides, even if you don’t become best friends, you’ll be sure to add a smile or two here & there, while contributing to the greater [sharing] good.