MANAYUNK

Originally Published in Manayunk.com Magazine

By Ainsley Maloney

Just days before the arrival of his very first Airbnb guests—two couples from Germany who he’d never met, and who’d be spending the next four days living in a spare bedroom on the top floor of his four-story Levering Street row home—Derek Krucelyak was wondering what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

The message on his Airbnb account that he was trying to decipher was from one of the 20-something German girls, and it went something like this: “Hi Derek, we’re planning on renting video cameras while we’re there. Can you help us return them once we’re finished?” Krucelyak recalled. “And I’m thinking, hmm. Let’s see. Two couples. One room. Video cameras? Is this going to be questionable?”

He laughs about it now. “It turned out,” he said, “that one of the guys is a German music producer, and the reason they were coming to the U.S. was to film a music video for a song called ‘Philadelphia.’ So they needed Philly footage.” A few weeks later, the song was up on YouTube and near the end of the video, the producer gave a nod to his Manayunk stay: “Levering Street is in it. My house is even in it,” Krucelyak said. “The first guests I had were definitely the craziest, in the best way.”

Airbnb (airbnb.com), the room-sharing site that can turn anyone with an air mattress and box of Pop-Tarts into a novice bed and breakfast owner, launched back in 2008. But just this year, a surge of Manayunk homeowners have joined the site as buzz of the Pope’s September visit, and talk of leaving town and renting out your home to visitors, began. That’s what sparked Krucelyak’s interest. He joined the site in May. Now, just 3 months later, he’s hosted more than 10 guests, boasts a solid five-star rating, and has earned considerable additional income.

Part of the ease of his success, he said, is that Airbnb travelers are of a unique variety: many are looking to travel cheaply, live among locals, and immerse themselves in the city’s culture. Manayunk becomes the “perfect little village” for this type of guest, he said, with its old row homes, cobblestone streets, al fresco dining, and easy access to Center City.

Suddenly, with no hotels in town to have done so in the past, Airbnb hosts are introducing a brand new market of tourists to this historic district. “My guests have looked up Philadelphia and ended up in Manayunk not knowing the area. And what ends up happening is, they’ll see Main Street and never leave,” Krucelyak said. “My first renters from Germany had breakfast at the crepe place [So Crepe] every morning. They brought back bread [from Breakin’ Bread Bakery]. People love Manayunk—that’s a story in and of itself.”

So, if you’ve been thinking of riding the room-share wave, here’s your guide. For starters, listing your room or home on Airbnb is simple: just submit your license to verify your identity, upload photos, and write a detailed and honest description of your place. What takes significantly more effort is earning that five-star rating from guests, which—for a service that hinges solely on the trust of strangers—is crucial, especially as the site gets more congested. Whether you plan to list a couch, room, or home on Airbnb, Manayunk hosts share some considerations to make first.

Listing A Couch Or Spare Room    
If you’re thinking of opening your house to strangers, “you have to ask yourself whether you have the right space,” Krucelyak said. He offers guests an entire third floor suite (www.airbnb.com/rooms/6206483), complete with a private room with two queen beds and a personal bathroom. “You want a space, if you’re having people live with you, that’s separate but connected,” he said. “I’ll hang out with guests in the living room, but then at night, they can go to their own zone on the third floor. I almost don’t even know they’re there.”

Guests staying in his home have the added pleasure of touring a mini art gallery: his walls are adorned with funky sculptures—a vintage car bumper that looks as if it’s driving out of the wall—stunning photographs, and modern paintings, all purchased at the Manayunk Arts Festival. Offering such lavish and private accommodations is the reason he can charge $89/night, while couches or shared rooms run at $10-$40/night. Then there’s Krucelyak’s entire first floor, which is clean, open, and welcoming—the final factor to consider: Your living area will become public space. Are you ready for that? “Are you tidy? Or do you have exploded mail all over your dining room table?” he asked. “And it’s probably not a good idea to be in your boxers on the couch when guests arrive.” Letting go of your own privacy, and messy habits, are concessions to consider before joining Airbnb.

Becoming A 24/7 Host
For Janet Lemmen, lodging in a city rowhome “added to the adventure” of touring historic Philadelphia with her 15-year old grandson, both from Orlando, FL. Relaxing in a comfy leather chair in Krucelyak’s living room, she reflected on what exactly drew her to his listing. Mostly? Him. “Not knowing anything about the city, I felt like I needed an advocate,” she said, “someone who, like a friend or relative, you could ask, ‘Where do you go? What do you do?’ He seemed eager to be helpful.”

Lemmen thinks like most Airbnb travelers booking spare bedrooms: they evaluate the host as much as the accommodation. It should come as little surprise, then, that the highest-rated Airbnb homeowners are natural-born hosts. They joined this trend not for the profits, but the people. “I love having different people around, and it’s been really cool to get to know new people from new ways of life,” Krucelyak shared. He revels in his role as on-call concierge: earlier in the day, he had interrupted his thoughts to field a text from Lemmen asking where to find the best burgers in town. (His recommendation? Lucky’s Last Chance.) When you ask these hosts how much time they put into this side gig, they say “not that much.” But then you find out what they do, and you realize: it just doesn’t feel like work to them.

Tricia Betcher joined the site in January, and has since rented a large room in her 2-bedroom Manayunk Avenue apartment (www.airbnb.com/rooms/4330188) for $51/night to more than 15 guests. She bakes fresh banana or pumpkin bread for her guests’ arrivals, “which is really satisfying when you’re traveling,” she said. She’s spent 2 hours per day getting to know her guests, taking them out to eat, and showing them around Center City. She once escorted two young German girls through the bus exchange to the Camden Aquarium to ensure they made it there safely. Unsurprisingly, she has a five-star rating out of eight reviews.

Given the time these hosts invest in their visitors, no, they say, it is not weird to have strangers living in their homes. By the time the guests arrive, they’ve corresponded so much through the Airbnb site, “it’s like having friends over,” Betcher said. “And by the time they leave, they're like close relatives.”

Challenges & Cautions
The most challenging element of this side job, however, is the intermittent schedule, making turnover days a “logistics mission,” Krucelyak said. If one group leaves Wednesday, and new guests are set to arrive Thursday morning, be prepared to spend all night turning over the room—washing the sheets and towels, scrubbing the bathroom, and vacuuming—before heading to your day job, as these hosts do: Krucelyak as a sales manager and Betcher as a high school music teacher.

Then there’s the safety factor. Hosts should always use caution before handing their house keys to strangers. Airbnb offers Host Protection Insurance of up to $1M against accidents that occur during stays. Guests receive testimonials from hosts, too, so you can decline a guest with bad reviews. Betcher, a single female who lives alone, said, “I always pick people who have a reference and a verified ID. If they just created an Airbnb account that month, I don’t [accept them]. But 99% of my experiences have been positive.” Krucelyak agreed, adding, “What surprised me most was how nice and respectful people from Airbnb are of your place. They’re a little guarded too, because they’re in someone else’s home, so they tread cautiously: they ask before doing things, they put things away. I once came home to find my guests cleaning my picnic table, which I never get to, in all honesty! The coolest part? I’ve had no issues with anyone. It’s been the most fun experience.”

Turning Your Second Residence Into A Vacation Home
Hosting guests in your home while you’re there to gauge how they’re doing and avert any problems is one thing. Listing your entire house for rent on Airbnb, HomeAway, or VRBO (Vacation Rentals by Owner)—and preparing it for visitors to live in while you’re gone—carries its own set of costs and challenges. Vittoria Schutz, owner of VSA Property Group, rents out her fully furnished vacation home, a 2,000-square-foot townhouse on Markle Street (www.vrbo.com/425791), at $200-$350 per night to families of up to six people, some of whom are visiting Philly as tourists or here for a convention, others making rounds of college visits with their high school teenagers. Having a decades’ experience in the vacation rental world (her mother owns Manayunk Terrace Bed and Breakfast), Schutz offers tips to homeowners thinking of turning a second residence into a short-term rental. “People think you’ll double your monthly income, but there are a lot more expenses and [there’s] a lot more work involved,” she said.

-- Your monthly income fluctuates. With tenants, you set your monthly rent at a price that covers or exceeds your mortgage and other expenses. With Airbnb, prices fluctuate based on supply and demand. In the winter, you may be vacant for months, so you’ll need to raise your price during the busy season and for event weekends, such as the Army-Navy Game or the Made in America concert. “It’s tricky,” she said. “You have to manage your income very closely and build a surplus to carry over into the slower months.”

-- Costs of furnishing are exorbitant. Families renting homes on VRBO expect the comforts of home with the luxuries of being on vacation. Trained as an interior designer at Moore College of Art & Design, Schutz said, “I think about the décor, the upgrades, having nice finishes, having soft towels,” comfy beds, and modern furniture—all of which are substantial costs up front, and to maintain.

-- You foot all of the bills. Without tenants, all utility bills will be in your name. And families will expect upgraded cable with all of the channels, high-speed Internet, a security system, and a parking spot “all of which you pay out of pocket even if you have less income that month,” she said.

-- Cleaning is costly. Every time guests leave, you’ll need to hire a professional cleaning service. “Every inch of the house gets used, unlike a typical home where, say, the dining room isn’t used daily, so it only needs a light dusting—so it’s triple what a residential housekeeper would be,” Schutz said. If you have two rounds of visitors in one week, you could spend $300 that week on cleaning alone.

Renting Out Your Home While On Vacation
Any dream of wracking in easy money by renting your home to strangers while you relax, stress free, on a tropical island can become a reality only if you prepare thoroughly beforehand. Zach Torres, an architect and co-owner with his father of StudioTorres, Ltd., listed his personal three-story Roxborough Avenue residence (www.airbnb.com/rooms/6849746) at $875/night for the Papal Visit weekend. He plans to leave town and take his wife and 6-month-old on a vacation to Mexico. What follows are ways to prep and safeguard your home for guests.

-- Lock up all valuables. To clear out space for guests’ belongings and protect their personal items, Torres intends to empty all of their closets and drawers and lock everything, including valuables, on their third floor. Also, since Torres will be handing his house key to strangers, he fully expects to eat the costs of changing the hardware of their front and back door locks upon their return.

-- Leave instructions. Considering visitors won’t know how to work your finicky sink or where to find extra toilet paper, Torres aims to create a binder with house rules (are guests welcome to eat your food?), instructions (when is trash day?), and a check-out list. Schutz also advises leaving pamphlets of tourist attractions, city maps, and schedules for public transportation.

-- You can’t just disappear. Guests will feel safer knowing you are a quick text or email away. If you plan to be on an island with spotty service, you’ll need to hire a property manager or assign an emergency contact (for Torres, it’s his father) to run over at a moment’s notice if the toilet overflows or guests get locked out.

-- Set aside income for taxes. If you rent your personal home for more than 14 days per year, the rent you collect must be included in your income. Airbnb sends a 1099 tax form documenting your income to the IRS (read more at www.airbnb.com/help/article/414). Set aside at least 33% of the income you make on Airbnb in case you’re asked later to pay on unreported income.

Think Like Your Guests
What becoming a five-star rated Airbnb host comes down to is this: think about what you would want if you landed with your family in an unfamiliar city and were staying in a stranger’s home. Schutz greets families on the first day to make sure they settle in comfortably. “I give the personal tour,” she said. “I tell them where the wine and spirits store is, the Dunkin’ Donuts, and the Acme. Remember, if you rent a house, and you get there, you’re wondering: Where do we get a bottle of wine? Groceries? I tell them where they can rent bikes, where the kayak tour is. I show them how close Main Street is; I tell them what a nice Sunday brunch Manayunk Brew Pub has. Manayunk is an easy sell.”

As a host, you get back what you give—mostly in the form of honorary relatives all over the globe. “People are just so nice, you have no idea,” Schutz said. “I’m Facebook friends with past guests. One works in a vineyard in Italy, and she was here traveling through town selling wine. She said, ‘Come to Italy! Stay in the vineyard!’ And you know what? I might just do that. You know, it’s not easy money. But if you really enjoy people and providing a service, like I do, it’s well worth it.”