"Couldn't I make more on Airbnb?"
Here is an example. Picture a neighbor who asks that question after seeing the nightly prices in her town and doing a little quick math on the back of an envelope. With a fixed income and a property tax bill that keeps climbing, the question makes perfect sense.
It deserves a real answer, not a lecture. For some homeowners, the answer will be a short-term rental, and for others, a long-term match. For city leaders and partners, the question matters for another reason: how spare rooms get used shapes how much housing a community has.
What to know
Short-term rental markets can offer higher nightly income than a long-term arrangement (VTDigger, 2022). HUD has noted that every room converted to a short-term rental is one less home for a long-term resident (HUD USER).
The scale is large. HomeShare America estimates that the 35 million spare bedrooms in homes owned by older adults, a figure from its analysis of Census data (American Community Survey 2023), hold an estimated $337 billion a year in unused rental value (The Value of a Match). That is an estimate of potential, not of rooms available to rent. How the rooms that are offered get used, for visitors or for neighbors, is partly a policy choice.
Why it exists
Short-term rental platforms are heavily marketed and make getting started look quick. The number per night looks bigger than a monthly rent, and the booking app can make it feel like much of the work is done for you. Home sharing has far less advertising behind it, so some older homeowners may never have heard it described as an option.
Timing matters too. An older adult may start thinking about a spare room when a large bill arrives or after a loss in the family. Whichever option they hear about first, and most clearly, can shape the decision.
Why it deserves respect
Making the most of your home is a reasonable goal, especially on a fixed income. Asking about short-term rentals is a practical question about a large asset, and it calls for the full set of numbers on both sides, not a push toward one answer.
What the evidence tells us
Compare the whole picture, not just the nightly price.
For some homeowners, a short-term rental may produce more income and provide more control over when the room is occupied. For others, the work, turnover, and unpredictability make a long-term home share more attractive.
Running a short-term rental usually means cleaning between stays, washing sheets, handling check-ins, restocking supplies, and absorbing empty nights in the slow season. Cities may require permits, registration, or lodging taxes, and some cap or ban short-term rentals. Guests can be verified and reviewed through the platform, and some homeowners enjoy meeting a changing set of visitors. Others find the turnover tiring.
A long-term match has its own trade-offs. It usually means monthly rent from one person you have gotten to know through a careful compatibility process. That rent is not guaranteed: a match can end, a payment can be late, and a room can sit empty between matches. Ending a long-term arrangement can also be slower and more legally complex than ending a short stay. HomeShare America uses an estimated $800 a month as a working benchmark for a typical arrangement (The Value of a Match), though actual rents vary widely by location.
Then there is the part no spreadsheet captures. Some older adults value having another person in the house over time. Others value the privacy of a room that is empty between guests, or of a house that is theirs alone most of the week. Neither preference is wrong, and only the homeowner can weigh it.
Ways to lower the barrier
- Estimate yearly income honestly. For a short-term rental, count empty nights, platform fees, cleaning, supplies, insurance, and taxes. For a long-term match, allow for gaps between matches. Compare both over 12 months.
- Check local rules first. Cities regulate short-term rentals in different ways, and a long-term shared home may be treated differently. Ask your city's planning or permit office what applies to your home.
- Ask what you want day to day. Some people enjoy a stream of visitors and flexible control over the calendar. Others would rather have one steady arrangement.
- For local leaders: make the long-term choice visible. When cities regulate short-term rentals, they can mention home sharing programs in the same mailing, permit page, or webinar, so homeowners hear about both.
- For partners: pair incentives with information. Home provider incentives, like those in Portland's pilot described in HomeShare America's analysis (Housing Capacity Parity), can help a long-term match compete with the nightly number.
Conversation starters
If you are an adult child or friend raising home sharing with an older adult or local leaders:
- "Aunt Ruth, before you decide on a vacation rental, would you want to compare it with a long-term match? Either could be the right choice."
- "Our city spends a lot of time regulating short-term rentals. Could you also tell homeowners about home sharing?"
- "Would the city consider incentives that help a long-term match compete with nightly rates?"
If you are an older adult talking with family, caregivers, or local leaders:
- "I want to compare the two honestly, including the work and the risk of empty months, before I choose."
- "I might want to use my spare room to help someone in this town. Where would I start?"
- "If there had been a local home sharing program, I would have looked at it alongside vacation rentals."
Compare the whole picture, not just the nightly price. Then choose the arrangement that fits the life you want in your home.
Home sharing and older adults
Home sharing works at any age. Older adults are one of the fastest-growing groups sharing a home with someone who is not family (Eye On Housing).
Where to get help
- IRS free tax help (VITA and Tax Counseling for the Elderly): how rent or short-term rental income is taxed.
- BenefitsCheckUp: check how rental income might interact with benefits you receive.
- Eldercare Locator, 1-800-677-1116: find your Area Agency on Aging and any local home sharing program.
- Free legal help for older adults or LawHelp.org: questions about local rules and agreements.
This post shares general information, not legal, tax, or insurance advice. Rules for short-term rentals, rental income, and insurance vary by location, so check with your city, your insurance agent, or a qualified advisor.