Side hustles that complement STR hosting

Category: Off-Topic & Lounge

By: Chris Nakamura

Posted: 2025-12-22T08:38:47.683Z

I'm looking for ways to create additional income streams that leverage my STR assets, skills, and network. What side hustles have you started that complement your hosting business? Trying to think beyond "just add more properties."

Reply by Kevin O'Brien:

Several side hustles that leverage your STR directly: **Using your property:** 1. **Day-use rentals** — Rent your STR by the hour/half-day for photoshoots, meetings, content creation. Platforms: Peerspace, Giggster. My cabin earns an extra $200-500/month from photographers. 2. **Experience hosting** — If your property is near attractions, offer guided experiences through Airbnb Experiences. Cooking classes, local tours, outdoor adventures. 3. **Event space** — Offer your property (if appropriate) for small gatherings, baby showers, retreats. Separate from overnight stays = additional revenue on turnover days. **Using your skills:** 4. **Co-hosting** — Manage other people's properties for 15-25% of revenue. You already have the systems. 5. **Consulting** — Charge $100-200/hour helping new hosts launch: listing optimization, pricing strategy, operations setup. Use the House Manual Generator at https://strspecialist.com/tools/house-manual-generator for creating professional house manuals for clients. 6. **Cleaning business** — You know what clean means for STR. Start a turnover cleaning company serving other hosts in your market. **Using your network:** 7. **Affiliate partnerships** — Recommend the tools you actually use (PriceLabs, Hospitable, Turno, etc.) and earn referral commissions. Most STR tools have affiliate programs. 8. **Local vendor referrals** — Know a great handyman, cleaner, or photographer? Refer them to other hosts for a referral fee. 9. **Content creation** — Blog, YouTube, or social media about STR. Monetize through ads, affiliates, and sponsorships once you build an audience. **My recommendation:** Start with co-hosting (lowest effort, highest leverage) and consulting (highest hourly rate). These require zero additional capital and monetize the expertise you've already built.

Reply by Daniel Kowalski:

My favorite side hustle: I started a "welcome basket" business. I create custom welcome baskets for STR guests featuring local products (wine, snacks, artisan goods). I partnered with local businesses who provide products at wholesale cost. I sell the baskets to other hosts at $35-65 each. Hosts love offering them to guests, and it's a great upsell. I deliver 15-25 baskets/week at $15-20 profit each = $300-500/week. Bonus: I include a card in each basket with a QR code linking to the local businesses' websites. They pay me a small monthly advertising fee for this. Passive income on top of the basket sales.