How I found out

Sometime during the summer of 2012, I was having lunch with a female friend. I had a crush on her, but it never got anywhere. However, she told me about this new website called Airbnb. That conversation had an impact on me that has lasted over 6 years. At that time very few people knew about Airbnb.

Why did I get started

I had been running a dance school, Dance Conmigo, for about 7 years and I was burned out. I was working about 10 hours per day 10 days a week. I needed to do something different.

The investment

I bought a condo in Le Plateau, the most trendy neighborhood in Montreal. I bought second-hand furniture, I asked some female friends to help me out with the decoration, my mother came over from the U.S. to help me out. There was nothing spectacular about the apartment except the great locations and impression that it was a clean place specially tailored towards them, the tourist.

The profits

The business was a success! The first month I covered my expenses and eked a bit of a profit. Then it was a honeymoon from there. It became a seasonal business. Spring, Summer, and Fall were extremely profitable and Winter was a break-even season.

Overall, I had enough to pay all my expenses, pay the cleaning person, and on top of that, I would have about $1,000 cash flow.

The evolution

This turned out to be a great side business.

After two years, I got kicked out of the building. Although my tenants never created any problems, the other people in the building got nervous about strangers coming in and out of the building.

I sold that condo and I broke even on the property.

I bought another condo where I did it Airbnb for another 2 years until I got kicked out again, this time because the insurance company of the building refused to continue ensuring the building as long as there a property being rented for Airbnb purposes. I turned that condo into a regular rental and today I am a landlord of one condo.

Finally, I rented a property that belongs to someone else and with his permission was able to list the property for almost 2 years.

The end

After 6 years I was tired. The thrill was gone, and I had developed other sources of income. Also, the owner of the building wanted his property back. I was in charge of communicating with clients. In the beginning, each message was a source of happiness. During the last year, each email was an annoyance.

What’s next?

I have several side gigs: I still teach dance, I have a photography business, I have some money coaching, and I make a bit of cash flow from my condo. I make enough to live and I get plenty of leisure time. I am not financially independent but I act as if I was. I only take clients that I like and I am very quick to disentangle myself from activities that I don’t enjoy.

Would I recommend Airbnb?

For sure! I have helped many people get into the Airbnb business. I feel that I need a break, but for anyone who wants to hustle a little bit, Airbnb creates all kinds of opportunities. You can rent just a room or you can rent a big house.

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