This is a guest post by Stephanie Anderson of Andersonswife.com. She and her husband, Trevin, are pastors at Mannahouse in Portland, OR. 

When my husband and I were expecting the arrival of our second child, we were knee deep in remodeling a detached mother-in-law suite that was on our property in Portland, Oregon, all of which we had bought from the bank in almost terrible condition.

Being tight on funds is a familiar situation for my husband and I. We are both pastors at our church, but only one of us is on the payroll. I am a highly committed volunteer. So, living on one income limited the kind of home we could buy for our family of three that we knew would someday be a family of four.

Every year, we have used our tax returns to do two things:

1. Pay for birthdays
2. Either continue some remodel project or take a vacation

What that means is that some years we get a vacation and some years we don’t, all while living in a (minor) construction zone. But, we always have enough to celebrate us on our special days.

How We Became Airbnb Hosts

Just three months after our second son was born, I officially became a stay-at-home mom. We were living on one income, so this detached mother-in-law suite was to become our Airbnb rental unit. My job and our new side-hustle.

Fast forward to today and I am pleased to say that we have had the privilege of hosting over 334 guests from over 8 different countries just this last year alone! We have a 5-star guest rating and are proud to wear the #Superhost badge on our Airbnb profile. We have had our Airbnb suite now for almost three years and have been superhosts every quarter since the one when we got it up 

and running.

In my opinion, the best decision we ever made was to pay for the side hustle with cash. That way, as soon as money was coming in, it was already ours and could go towards what we wanted it to, like diapers.

How To Find The Cash To Remodel

Wondering how it’s possible to complete a remodel with cash when you’re living on one pastor’s salary with two adults and two kids on the west coast? Here are six creative ways we completed our Airbnb remodel without any debt:

1. Looking in our garage, we asked ourselves two questions:

• What can we sell?
• What can we use to furnish the Airbnb rental?

It was incredible to see how much we had that we didn’t ever use. Since then, my husband and I clean and organize our garage twice a year on a Saturday to make sure there isn’t anything else we can sell!

2. We also used tax returns, birthday money, and Christmas money to pay for it. Anything extra went towards our Airbnb construction fund.

3. I borrowed maternity clothes from a fashionista girlfriend instead of buying them!

4. Nothing but bedding and towels was purchased brand new. Everything else was used.

5. We ate rice and beans (just prepared different ways) and fruit until the project was done. We never ate out. Our diets were boring, but our wallets were happy.

6. We had to say no to some fun opportunities. But it was worth it.

How We Balance Hosting With Ministry

I was worried that managing our ministry life and this side hustle would be difficult. However, with creative preparation and organized planning, we have been able to adjust as the seasons come and go.

Here are six ways that we have been able to manage the Airbnb around our (overtime) ministry life:

1. I have template messages and emails. So, any time a guest books with us they get the same communication as another guest unless they ask for more information. I created these ahead of time and have only updated them once. Communication with each guest only takes a few minutes at the most each week.

2. We don’t allow early check-in or late check-out on Sundays. Sometimes guests will ask if they can check-in early and normally we try to accommodate. However, on Sundays we let them know that due to our work schedules we are unable to prepare the room for them in time for an early arrival.

3. We leave (limited) extra supplies in the suite, including cleaning supplies. Guests will usually clean up at checkout if cleaning supplies are available like napkins, Clorox wipes, sponge, dish soap, and trash bags. This means less cleaning time for us.

4. In our experience, Airbnb makes everything from starting up the business to filing taxes really easy! Taking one step at a time, reading all the directions, and going slow is the best way to set up the side business.

5. When we look at our calendar, we add family nights, church services, then work and school. The side hustle is the last thing we schedule.

However, it is something we look at every day before going to bed. This way we know if we have to prepare the room for a new guest on our lunch break. (We have a few sets of bed linens, towels, and bathroom rugs, in case we are behind on laundry. Which is usually always the case.)  

6. We block out days and do not accept guests during times when we are extra busy with ministry, like when we are hosting conferences, for example.

When we first opened up, our Airbnb was booked for six weeks straight and we didn’t even know if we would like it. We slightly panicked and blocked the next few months out, so that no more reservations could come in.

The security we had in knowing that we didn’t acquire debt to start the side hustle gave us the freedom to say “if this doesn’t fit our life, there is no loss” and we could look for another way to bring in extra funds. Luckily for us, we were able to adjust, and even our boys contribute to the workload on weekends. As such, the cleanup and preparation is only a 45-minute process.

Reflections On Hosting

It has been a privilege to host so many different guests through this side business. We have gotten to meet some really special people over these past few years. It has also been good for my devotional life.

While cleaning the Airbnb, I pray. That is when I pray for my church and the prayer requests that come to us as pastors. Sometimes I’ll listen to the audio version of the bible on my YouVersion Bible app.

My family and my church get a solid 45 minutes of prayer every 2-3 days because of this. Yes, it’s work, but it’s great work. Creating a space for others to spend time with their loved ones while I am paid to clean and pray and listen to what the Holy Spirit has to say… yes, please!

It took sacrifice to get where we are and courage to say “let’s try this” but we did it and we are grateful!

If you ever come to the Portland area we’d love to be your host. You can see more of our space here.

Click here to read about how renting out part of your home affects your clergy housing allowance!