In 2018, Shivam Chaudhary enlisted a spare bedroom in his Dehradun flat on AirBnb to make some extra money. Two years later, the entire three-BHK apartment is on the online marketplace platform with each room priced at INR 1,400 per night. “Initial income from one room listing was 5 times more than what I had anticipated. The potential business model prompted me to list the entire apartment,” says Chaudhary.

Homestays, bed and breakfast (B&B) or guesthouses—the concept of B&B lodging is fast becoming a popular business model for homeowners who have extra space in their property to spare. As of February 2019, Airbnb alone has about 45,000 listings in India, as announced by the platform’s co-founder and chief strategy officer, Nathan Blecharczyk during a summit.

The concept of homestays is quite simple. You rent out your unused property for short spans to guests travelling in your city. It is different than a hotel as you as a host share the house with your guest and do not have to provide round the clock room or restaurant service, as is the case with a hotel. It does not require heavy infrastructure either and, hence is easy on your pocket.

So, if you love hosting and want to start your own homestay business, here’s a guide on how to go about it.