What you can make renting your place on Airbnb Shana Engelhart's three-bedroom Brisbane townhouse. Shana Engelhart, 33, started renting her spare room on Airbnb in June. IF YOU'VE been travelling in the past 12 months, chances are you've heard of Airbnb. Plenty of Australians use the website - which allows people to rent out their house to travellers - to find overseas accommodation. And since launching in Australia last year, 9500 Australians are using the service to rent out their spare rooms or entire homes in order to make some extra cash. But what's it like to actually rent out your place? How much money does it bring in? And how do you make sure your guests aren't psychos? Shana Engelhart, a 33-year-old Brisbane lawyer, lives with her partner in a three-bedroom townhouse close to the airport. She rents out a spare room and explains the work that goes into hosting guests. Ms Engelhart heard about Airbnb through friends who were using the site to seek accommodation in America. "I then went and booked a stay in New York as hotel prices there were too expensive," she said. I enjoyed my stay in New York and thought 'I can do this'. And I can probably do it better than my New York experience. Ms Engelhart started renting out her room in June this year. Her start-up costs came to about $200, which she spent on buying new towels, sheets and cushions for the bedroom. Airbnb provides a professional photographer to take a picture of your home. Her upkeep costs are about $4 to $7 per stay - mainly due to an increased water bill. The biggest responsibility is keeping the house tidy and washing and replacing linen before new guests arrive. Ms Engelhart also provides a basic breakfast of toast, tea and coffee but this is not a requirement. She charges between $60 and $67 per night, and in an average month her room is rented out 10 nights, which equates to more than $600 in extra pocket money. Ms Engelhart says the biggest responsibility when hosting Airbnb guests is keeping the house clean. I spend it on making the house nicer, but nicer for myself as well. I put insulation in which makes it cooler in summer. I bought new curtains that I wanted to buy a long time ago. I got sliding mirror doors in my room as well," Ms Engelhart said. I think it's a good way to have some extra income for the little things you want to do without being out of pocket. I don't think it would be your sole income. Her biggest worry - and the source of most people's trepidation about renting out their home to strangers - is how to ensure you don't accept dodgy people. "Initially when you start you always get a bit concerned over who is going to come to your house and whether you'll get [their] references," Ms Engelhart said. I didn't have a bad experience but I did have one guest that we declined that we didn't want him and it was basically because he had no verifications. He was from Brisbane and also wanted to see the room before he arrived. I didn't think that was appropriate. Ms Engelhart checks her guests' references before accepting them, and finds that Airbnb stayers are better guests than friends and family. What I actually found is the guests we have received are really good, more polite and friendly. They look after your place more than people you know," she said. The types of people she has stay with her come from all over - and often are Australian business people. We've had many international people. Americans, Germans, and recently people with kids," she said. Lots of people from North Queensland. I find the experience really valuable, I actually come from Brazil and I travel a lot. I can connect a lot with people in a different country," she said. I don't see this as a business as I get so much from meeting these wonderful people.