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Entire Place or Private Room? Choosing What Guests Will Have

The listing flow asks what a guest actually gets. Here is how to pick, what the tricky cases mean, and the one extra question a private room adds.

The itsFurnished Team·

Entire Place or Private Room? Choosing What Guests Will Have

Your home type says what the building is. This question asks how much of it a guest gets: an entire place, or a private room.

The one-question test

During the stay, is anyone else living in the home?

  • No: an entire place. Guests have the whole home to themselves.
  • Yes: a private room. Guests have their own room, and share spaces like the kitchen and living room with you, a roommate, or another guest.

How big the home is, or whether you stop by to fix something, does not change the answer.

The cases hosts ask about

  • A guesthouse, casita, or ADU in your backyard: entire place, even though you live next door.
  • A basement or in-law unit with its own entrance, kitchen, and bathroom: entire place, as long as guests are not walking through your living space.
  • Half a duplex: entire place. Your neighbor lives on the other side of the wall, not in the home.
  • A spare bedroom in the home you live in: private room.
  • Two spare bedrooms for two different people: a separate listing for each room, each one a private room.

There is no shared-room option. Every guest gets at least a room of their own.

What your answer changes

  • How your home is described on its listing page and search card.
  • Which searches include you. Guests can filter for entire homes or for rooms.
  • One extra question. A private room also asks whether the bathroom is private or shared, and it needs an answer before you can publish.

For the rest of the flow, describe what your guest can actually use: the beds and guest count for their space, and the amenities they really have access to.

Be plain about sharing

A shared kitchen is nothing for two nights and a real part of daily life for three months. If you list a private room, use your description to say who else lives there and what is shared. Clear expectations mean fewer mismatched requests.

Changing it later

You can change it until you publish. Switching from a private room to an entire place clears the bathroom answer, since it no longer applies. Once your home has been published, it cannot change, because guests have already found and requested that space.

Related

Common questions

Should a backyard guesthouse be listed as an entire place or a private room?
An entire place. Guests have that whole structure to themselves, even if you live in the main house on the same property.
I live in the home and rent out one bedroom. Which do I pick?
A private room. If anyone else is living in the home during the stay, it is a private room.
Is a basement apartment an entire place?
Yes, if it is self-contained, with its own entrance, kitchen, and bathroom, and guests are not passing through your living space.
Can I list a shared room or a single bed?
No. itsFurnished offers entire places and private rooms only. Every guest gets at least a room of their own.
What if I rent out two separate bedrooms?
Create a listing for each room and mark both as a private room. One listing describes one space a guest can have.
Does picking a private room add any extra questions?
One: whether the bathroom is private or shared. It needs an answer before you can publish.
Can I change this after my listing is published?
No. Once your home has been published, it cannot change, so settle it before you publish.
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