I turned my Airstream into an AirBnb last November—and here’s what happened

First off, nothing awful happened. People came, they did their tourism or temporary work or visited relatives, and then they left. Nobody damaged the Airstream, nothing was stolen. People appreciated the opportunity to try life in an Airstream for a few days, and we got great reviews.

It was also mostly hassle-free, for me, because I had an arrangement with the property owner, Adam. He and his mother (who lived on property) took care of the daily chores like booking, cleaning, and site maintenance. I took care of Airstream-specific repairs and filling the propane tanks.

From November 2019 through April 2020, the only repairs I had do were to replace one LED light bulb and one cabinet latch. Things ran so smoothly that I didn’t even both to go look at the trailer more than about once a month.

Adam kept the cleaning fees and half of the net revenue. We split the utility costs (water, sewer, and electricity), and his bookkeeper tracked everything in a spreadsheet.

For the most part, the Airstream was booked. We had 80-90% occupancy each month, but that was actually a slight disappointment. Tucson has a very strong winter visitor season, particularly in February during the famous Gem Show, and I expected 100% occupancy with a waiting list.

At first we chalked it up to being relatively new to the AirBnb market. But the problem turned out to be more widespread. In the past year Tucson has been over-saturated with AirBnb offerings, and prices have collapsed. It became possible (and still is) to get entire condos for $40 per night, so a 200-square foot Airstream became a tougher sell at the same price. My dream of hiking up the price to $80-100 per night during peak season never became reality.

We knew that the season would end by April 1 so I was prepared to forgo revenue over the summer. Even given that, I figured it was still a better deal for me to leave the Airstream on site (free storage) than to pull it out, so that was the plan.

But in mid-March the pandemic struck, and all our bookings evaporated instantly. I began to think more about my long-term Airstream plans and the value of keeping the Airstream on simply to rent it. My net income was averaging just over $300 per month, plus a savings of about $150 per month from not having to store it. Was it worth it?

I had visions of roof leaks cropping up over the summer monsoon season, or things gradually decaying/ rusting/ seizing from lack of use and attention. I’ve always said that neglect kills Airstreams, while regular use keeps them in good shape. One un-noticed leak, or a good (accidental) dent to the aluminum, or wear & tear to the interior could wipe out all the income for months. I was planning to be gone for two months this summer and it didn’t feel good to leave the Airstream behind without someone experienced to keep an eye on it.

Beyond the financial considerations, there was simply the fact that I don’t need or want a 30-foot Airstream anymore. I’ve been looking forward to downsizing to a 25-footer for several years, just for easier handling (parking, maneuvering) and lighter weight. I won’t be out in the Airstream for months each summer as I have been in the past, and without a kid in the trailer there’s no need for a 2-bedroom floorplan.

I took few weeks to evaluate my options, but finally put the Airstream on the market on April 26. I had two interested buyers within 24 hours, and closed the deal in a few days. On May 6, a commercial driver came by and towed it away to new first-time owners in Virginia.

Over the five months of rental, the gross revenues were $5,761 or an average of about $38 per day. Expenses, such as cleaning, supplies, furnishings (blankets, sheets, towels, etc), propane, and utilities consumed a lot of that revenue, leaving just $3,416 to split with Adam. So my net earnings on the AirBnb were about $1,700, plus about $1,000 saved from not having to store it from October through April.

I didn’t make a ton of money on renting the Airstream but overall, I’m pleased with the experience and think it was worth the effort I had to put into it. Most of what I did to get it ready for AirBnb was the same work I would have eventually had to do to get it ready for sale anyway. For my situation (the last few months of ownership) it made sense.

I don’t plan to do it again with the next Airstream. After a 9-month hiatus from Airstream travel I’m gearing up for a fresh start this fall, with my partner Tothie (who you’ll see in the Airstream Life TV episodes) and Mickey the terrier. Our new Airstream will be in and out often enough that it won’t be practical to offer it as a rental between trips.

The real value in the Airstream was never the revenue potential anyway. Over 15 years of ownership it gave me a base for over 2,000 nights, in all the lower 48 states, Canada, and Mexico—and then I sold it for 61% of the original retail price. That amazing 2005 Airstream Safari was the best travel bargain I’ll ever have, and a little AirBnb revenue at the end was just icing on the cake.

The biggest problem with any RV, I think, is taking care of it when you’re not using it. Airstreams rarely die while they are happily in their favorite medium, the open road, but they do slowly deteriorate if neglected in storage. (I wrote about this in my book “The (Nearly) Complete Guide to Airstream Maintenance“, and suggested some strategies for preserving your Airstream while it is resting between trips.)

It’s ideal if you can keep your Airstream at home where you can keep an eye on it, but not everyone has that option. When keeping it at home isn’t possible, a storage lot is usually the solution. I’m not a huge fan of storage lots because Airstreams get stolen from them despite the purported “on site manager” and “24 hour video surveillance” and gated entry, but if you pick wisely and put some protection on your trailer (like a Megahitch Lock) it’s a reasonable risk.

For the past 16 years I’ve been lucky enough to be able to keep my Airstreams at home and plugged in, with the bonus of using them as guest house and office. I’ve ducked the expense and minor hassle of off-site storage. But no longer: I’ve moved to a place where the Airstream just can’t fit.

Coincidentally my Airstream travel is decreasing substantially. For the past decade I’ve logged about 120 nights and 8,000-12,000 miles per year, traveling from southwest to northeast and then back again each summer (with wild detours as far as Seattle and Florida). That’s a lot of travel. But now I don’t expect to be making that trip in future years, which means the Airstream will be used more like the average: a few weekends here and there, and the occasional week-long trip in the region.

All of that has made me start to think a bit outside the box. So I’m going to do something I previously said I’ve never consider: I’m renting my Airstream on AirBnb here in Tucson.

Yes … I really am.

I guess I see things differently now. First of all, the Airstream has a lot of life left in it. It’s a 2005 Safari 30 bunkhouse, which might be old for any other sort of vehicle (especially white box RVs) but is “barely broken in” by Airstream standards. I see Airstreams all the time that are 30 years old and still don’t need their first interior renovation. Being on the road for 40 or 50 years is no big deal in the Airstream world. So there’s no way I’m going to write it off at this point.

Second, I hate the idea of paying to store the trailer somewhere far away. There are no convenient and safe storage lots near my home, and here in Arizona it’s best to have covered storage (because of the intense sun 360 days per year). That puts the monthly cost of a storage space in the range of $120-50 per month, which is just an annoying steady drain on my wallet. As an AirBnb, the cash flows the other way.

Third, since I’m not going to be living in the Airstream for long periods of time anymore, I’m not as protective of it as I was. I just don’t need to keep it stocked so that I can fly off on a moment’s notice for a monthlong trip. I can be a weekender like most people: Load up what I need on Friday afternoon, and clean it out on Monday.

And perhaps most importantly, it’s not going anywhere. Being a stationary rental means that no inexperienced yahoos will be towing my Airstream. It’s sitting in a lovely private driveway near downtown Tucson, surrounded by tall fences and a gate, and watched over and managed by a sweet lady who lives on the property. She’ll clean it and re-stock it after each rental, take care of the customer service, and let me know if there are any problems.

This is definitely an experiment. I don’t know what hassles we might encounter (although I can imagine quite a few!) Certainly there’s a learning curve for each new occupant. I’m hoping to alleviate that by dumbing down some features. For example, I’m going to take away the awning pole in favor of a fixed shade awning we’ll put on the property later. We’re only providing a key for the padlock, so people won’t get confused about the door handle lock. The water heater switch will be marked “DO NOT SWITCH OFF”, and there will be a one-page info sheet in the rental to educate people about operation of things like the thermostat, toilet, stove (“use the lighter provided”), and vents. We’re also going to have at least a 3 night minimum stay, and encourage longer stays with a weekly rate discount.

Getting the Airstream ready has been challenging but fun. The first step was to just pull out all the personal items—a bigger task than you might think, thanks to the accumulation of 14 years of heavy travel. That step alone took a few trips and I’m still sorting through all the stuff. A shockingly large portion of the gear went straight to the trash, because it was so scuffed, stained, worn, scratched, cracked, dented or discolored that I couldn’t leave it for the rental. (Keep in mind that most of this stuff has been to 48 states and is 14 years old.) Lots more cosmetically challenged but functional stuff will be donated.

The second step was to hire cleaners to go through the trailer and do a deep cleaning. Two professionals took four hours to clean the interior from stem to stern. Every cabinet and cubbyhole got scrubbed out. They couldn’t make the trailer like new again but they did a pretty good job at making it fresh. I’ll be following up with a few minor repairs and maintenance, like re-caulking the shower and re-gluing some loose trim.

The third step was to come up with a list of everything we’d need to make the Airstream comfortable for visitors, and go shopping. That included all new towels, sheets, blankets, pillows, rugs, small appliances, and a handful of supplies. I was able to keep some of the dishes, glasses, coffee mugs, and cookware since that stuff held up pretty well over the years of bouncing around the nation’s roads. Still, I spent about $500 to outfit the trailer and there’s another $100 or so likely to be spent before I’m done.

Will it pay off? Early indications are very promising. We haven’t yet listed the Airstream on AirBnb but we already have it rented from November 5 through November 30 at an “introductory rate” of $40 per night (plus cleaning fee). It seems that people love the idea of staying in an Airstream. And it doesn’t hurt that the location is fantastic: just a 5 minute walk through residential streets to Tucson’s funky Fourth Avenue shopping district and a short bike ride from downtown. I’m certain that the Airstream will be booked solid all winter, especially during our popular Gem Show season in early February.

It’s an interesting thought that you can buy an Airstream and actually have it make money for you. This turns the entire idea of an RV being a depreciating asset on its head. (Well, maybe not just any RV, but ones with a certain appeal. I’m sure a well-renovated vintage trailer would also be popular.)

At this point I think my major problem is that I’ll actually have to block off rental times in order to be able to go on my own trips, and I’ll always be thinking about the revenue that I’m forgoing. But on the plus side, the process of getting ready for AirBnb has motivated me to completely clean and refresh all the stuff in the Airstream. It was always cleaned along the way but I never had a reason to dump all the well-worn stuff until now. It’s really a lot nicer inside now with the dust and detritus swept away. It feels almost like a new trailer, and that has brought back a tinge of excitement for the next trip.

Of course there are still a lot of things that can go wrong or become a hassle. I’ll update the blog again later as this experiment plays out. In three days our first customers will move in, and I’m sure we’ll rapidly learn exactly what it takes to make an Airstream into a successful AirBnb.

Yeah, we needed a rest day. Everyone agreed. We spent the day in Cumberland taking care of little things, re-stocking, enjoying a fine Italian dinner at Ristorante Ottaviani (recommended by other cyclists) and resting. 157 miles of cycling doesn’t really seem like all that much to me in retrospect, but the day after day grind really does have a cumulative exhausting effect.

But having rested, we were all eager to launch into the second half of the trip: the C&O Canal National Historical Trail, which runs for about 185 miles from Cumberland MD to Washington DC. The skies were blue, the air was fresh and warm, and the trail just seemed to be calling us out of the hotel. We obliterated the complimentary hotel breakfast and saddled up as soon as possible.

The C&O is a very is different sort of trail. Unlike the finely groomed GAP, it consists of moderately rough double-track for most of the way, with tree roots and mud puddles every few hundred feet. It reminded me of long-ago days in Massachusetts when I would mountain bike with friends in the forests: mostly flat, mildly technical, and a lot of fun.

But my compatriots were not as sanguine. Bert’s e-bike battery was reduced to the lowest daily level we’ve seen so far, due to mileage (45 miles by the end) and higher effort needed to overcome the rough gravel. Adam and Susan felt it was tougher than the first part of the GAP, too. I felt like it was a breeze in comparison to the GAP, so I guess I’m finally over the bug that slowed me down last week, and I feel a lot less like a weenie now.

In any case this was the longest and hardest section of the C&O, so it is literally and figuratively all downhill from here. Not much downhill, mind you, but at least mostly level and no significant climbing.

The old long-abandoned locks and lock keepers houses are scenic and interesting, but unfortunately you can’t go inside the houses. For us, the engineering marvels of aqueducts (one example pictured above) and the 3,000 foot Paw Paw Tunnel were the big thrills of the day.

In the Paw Paw it is dark and slightly treacherous footing on a narrow tow path, with other cyclists coming in the pitch dark, so walking the bike is the only practical option. The trip through takes quite a while as a result, and I found it delightfully spooky.

Long distance riders recommended to Bert that he try something called Butt Balm for the inevitable chafing that occurs during rides like this. We all mocked him mercilessly at the beginning but gradually we’ve conceded that Butt Balm (or similar products such as Chamois Butt’R) has its place, so to speak. And except Susan, we’ve been applying the stuff to that place. I have it on good authority that she will be the next convert, starting tomorrow.

The bike shop mechanic in Cumberland said I would be fine with my existing tires (700C x 32) and he was right. His recommendation was that anything from 32 to 38 would be appropriate. But the trail is dry and the muddy spots are mostly firm. I still think that if the trail were wet I would want something a little wider and with more aggressive tread.

We’ve overlapped with a lot of tour groups on the C&O, more than on the GAP. Most of them are supported by vans that carry their luggage, so they have an easier time of it. If you’d like to do this ride but are worried about your cycling ability I’d definitely recommend checking a tour guide out.

Today’s trip ended in Little Orleans MD, which is a tiny town with few resources for cyclists passing through. There is one restaurant, which unfortunately for us is closed on Tuesday nights. Forewarned of this, we brought some food along to scab together a semblance of dinner. There is also only one place to stay, but it’s a great one: Town Hill B&B. To get to it requires a 20 minute shuttle, which the inn provides cheerfully, and at the end we found ourselves in a sweet historic inn that knows how to cater to cyclists.

So after a dusty and humid day of harder-than-expected cycling, I am comfortably settled on the couch in the inn’s living room with a complimentary tea and feeling extremely civilized with the memory of a long hot shower in my recent past. This beats the hell out of tent camping. Perhaps it is because of these comforts that after 200 miles and six day of togetherness we are still all having a wonderful time, and already talking about the next trip.