Make 2025 The Year You Try My Favorite Side Hustle

With the holidays in full swing and New Year's resolutions top of mind, a lot of people are asking me what they can do to build an extra income stream or side hustle in the new year. My best advice is to look at what assets you already have and ask yourself how you can make them work harder for you. For anyone who owns a property, my first suggestion is to turn your real estate into a real income stream by hosting on Airbnb. As you know if you listen to my pod, I am an Airbnb host— and I had Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on the pod to give me advice on how to be the hostess with the mostest. If you are ready to be a super host, you should definitely follow these tips. Here are my three favorites:

#1) Make a splash by starting low. Travelers pay for trust and if you don't have reviews, you can’t compete on ratings— but you can compete on price. So charge a little less than market rate, get some stellar reviews, and then once you do that, you can raise the nightly rate. This makes perfect sense if you're a newbie host and haven't had enough bookings to have a robust review history.  

#2) Make use of the co-host network. The team at Airbnb rolled out a new feature to make it easier than ever to become a host. This feature is for anyone who has procrastinated on signing up as an Airbnb host because they feel like they don’t have the time to clean or communicate with guests— or, they want to list a second home and can’t go back and forth to get the property ready every time they have a booking. Airbnb's co-host network is a marketplace of high-quality, local co-hosts with Airbnb experience that can take care of your home and guests. Co-hosts can do what you don’t have time for, like managing your reservations, messaging guests, giving support at the property, or can even create your listing for you. So if you feel like you couldn't host without help— get the help you need with a co-host.

#3) Photos really matter. And this isn’t that surprising, right? When I’m booking a stay on Airbnb, I look at the photos before I look at reviews or amenities or anything else really. So, take the extra time to stage your space— or, even hire a pro to take your photos. It’s an investment, but it could pay dividends when it comes to guests like me who are photo nerds.

Are you ready to add a new income stream in 2025? Consider hosting your home on Airbnb to support your next steps toward financial freedom and crush those New Year’s resolutions. Find out how to get started at Airbnb.com/host.

xo,