Airbnb - SFH two listings

[Edi C.]

Hi community, I’m seeking some Airbnb insight!

I own a rental (SFH) and I'm transitioning to short term vacation rental. The house has decent space and rooms, and an ideal layout to be split in two. After some repairs and decor I'm doing, I can set up an Airbnb for up to 10 guests (easily 12). But if most part of the reservations are 2-4 people I prefer having 2 "units", one up to 4 guests and the other one up to 6.

So, Airbnb allows listing multiple rooms at one location by creating a separate listing for each space you have available. Each space will have its own calendar and listing page that should reflect the number of beds, amenities, etc... reason why I don’t see any issue on Airbnb as it’s quite flexible.

However I don’t know how to proceed when thinking about the property itself (City, law, zoning, insurance, etc...). Seems a red flag to me just closing an interior wall and divide the property it in two different areas.

My question is do I have to rent the entire unit because it's legally a SFH? What should I do to legally have two spaces with separate listings? However, I'd like to fall into the "Entire place" category instead of "Private room" listing because, in fact, each one would be an entire place with no shared areas.

Am I missing something?

I would appreciate any feedback!

Thanks,

EDI

[Michael Baum]

Hey @Edi C., it seems like a call to the local zoning folks is in order. To legally split a SFH into 2 units requires some permits. Sometimes zoning won't allow it plus there is building codes to meet as well. Get on the horn!