Mother-in-Law: Rent Out or AirBnB?

[Brad Jacobson]

Hey BP Nation,

My wife and I are set on the idea of making our current residence a rental and purchasing a long term home for ourselves with a mother-in-law that would help cover the mortgage.

I'm curious what everyone's opinions are regarding the pros and cons of making the mother-in-law a typical basement rental vs trying to Airbnb the space.

Currently basement rents in our area for 1-2 bedrooms range from $600-800/month or so. Vacancy shouldn't be an issue for the standard basement rental in our current market.

What are your thoughts? Airbnb or rent?

Would Airbnb provide considerably higher returns?

Is Airbnb worth the extra work? We're planning on managing/cleaning it ourself.

Thanks in advance!