5 Things You Should Know Before Renting Your Tiny House

Whenever I travel, I like to book unique accommodations. Whether it’s a converted van in Great Britain, a Glamping Tent in the Sahara Desert, or a Treehouse in Miami, Florida… I’m in! But renting a space for vacation is one thing and sharing your home with strangers is another. Recently I listed my Tiny House as a vacation rental and I’ve welcomed my first renters. Here’s what I’ve learned so far.

6 Things You Should Know Before Owning a Tiny House Vacation Rental

1). The Initial Cost is Huge

Throughout this journey, I’ve always been very transparent about my general cost of living and Tiny House expenses. So when I say that the initial costs of setting up a Tiny House vacation rental blew my mind, you know it’s true.

Here are just a few things I purchased BEFORE I ever rented my Tiny House:

• 3 sets of sheets for each bed (loft and pull out couch). 6 total.
• 2 comforters for each bed. 4 total.
• 8 towels, 4 hand towels, 4 washcloths
• Extra throw blankets
• Large bottles of biodegradable shampoo, body soap hand soap & dish soap
• Large bottles of biodegradable cleaning supplies
• An enormous bin of coconut coir (for changing the compost toilet)
• A bunch of sawdust blocks and kindling for the woodstove
• Emergency lights in case the power goes out
• First Aid Kit
• Solar lights and motion detection lights for exterior safety lighting
• Porch lights
• Coffee, creamer, sugar, salt & pepper, and olive oil for cooking essentials
• Matches and lighters
• Replacement pots and pans
• Paper towels (by the truckload)
• Toilet paper (by the truckload)
• Vacuum cleaner
• A large outdoor broom for the porch
• DVD player with an extra long HDMI cable
• Multiple phone chargers for guests

My house is actually more liveable than ever. That’s ironic because I spent this money to make it more liveable for other people, rather than myself.

2). You’ll Need Storage

All of the above items and your personal belongings need to go somewhere. But where? A Tiny Home only has so much storage inside. I actually had to downsize quite a bit to make space for my renters, as they need empty cabinets and shelves for their food and clothing.

I have a locked cabinet inside of my Tiny House for my small everyday items, and then a bunch of lockable storage bins underneath my porch. My cleaners also keep my extra sheets, comforters, etc.

3). Unless You Live Nearby, You’ll Have to Hire Help

If you’re like me, renting your Tiny House only works if you can do it while you are away. Therefore, I needed to hire someone to clean and do the turnover between bookings.

While most rental sites will allow you to charge a cleaning fee, most rentals I’ve seen do not charge more than $30. Well, it’s difficult to find someone to clean even a Tiny House for $30, especially because dumping a compost toilet is involved. Therefore, I pay $50 for cleaning, which eats into my profits.

4). Renters Will Mistreat or Misuse Odd Items

Since opening my house as a rental, I’ve had more things break or disappear than in three years of living in it permanently. Why? Renters don’t care about the space as much as I do. Not all renters… but in general, people on vacation aren’t gentle with the property they’ve rented. And because Tiny Homes tend to have unusual appliances (such as collapsible homemade furniture and composting toilets), things tend to break from misuse or misunderstanding.

I often imagine a renter becoming frustrated because they can’t figure out how to unlatch my table within .003 seconds of trying, and so they yank and pull until it comes loose from the wall. This fear is why I have dozens of written notes all over my house with helpful tips. Still, things happen.

Once I lost my French Press for almost 2 weeks, and then I found it one day, way back on the shelf above the toilet. In the meantime I had purchased another, assuming it was gone. My couch’s decorative pillows have ripped at the seams… I’m not even sure how that is possible. My compost toilet has overflown onto the floor. The velcro I hung on the wall and the back of my TV remotes have miraculously disappeared multiple times, and the remotes are always difficult to find. And don’t get me started on stains….

Nowadays, whenever I come home, I spend a good amount of time looking for things and fixing things. It’s annoying. But when I read the guest book, I think it’s all worth it.

5). It’s Not Just About Money

Owning a Tiny House vacation rental has not always made me a lot of money, but it has made me happy. I enjoy seeing photos of my house on Instagram, posted by my renters. I LOVE reading my reviews and the comments in my guest book. It’s fun to see which DVDs people watched recently in my DVD player, to notice when a board game has been used, or to observe a new page dog-eared in one of my Tiny House books.

My house is making memories without me now, and it’s heartwarming. But is it worth it? That’s still TBD.

Want to Rent My Tiny House? Click here.