An unused bedroom in your home costs you money. Whether it’s in rent, mortgage or any of your utility bills, one way or another your home costs you money to maintain. So, to help pay for all this, maybe it is time to consider how to make your home work a bit harder for you.

With the global pandemic now (hopefully) coming to an end, and people moving around much more freely and travelling again, especially as they gear up for the upcoming summer holiday season, this might be a great time to start earning some extra income from any space space you might have in your home or rental.

Before doing so, though, there are a few things that you should keep in mind when managing this form of passive income. Let’s take a look at some of them.

Learn your rights

If you own your home or apartment, you can lease your extra bedroom without gaining permission from any other authority. You might, however, have to pay taxes on your rental income depending on where you live and how long your guests stay. If you’re not sure about the laws in your country, consult a real estate lawyer for guidance.

You might also be able to deduct some of your expenses from your taxes each year. As a landlord, whether temporarily or long-term, you’re responsible for fixing things that break and other financial obligations. Deductions as well as the rent you collect can offset the taxes you pay on rental income.

Take photos of your space

When you advertise your room for rent on Airbnb or any other website, you’ll need to  prepare a written description of the space. However, great photographs often result in more bookings.

Before you grab your camera, though, make sure to style the space so it looks its best. Rearrange furniture, make the bed with fresh linens, open the windows to let in natural light, and add a few elements of decor to beautify the room. Then grab your camera and click away.

Create your profile

An effective rental profile tells guests what they can expect when they rent your extra room. Include the types of rentals you prefer (e.g. long-term or short vacation stays) and all the amenities you include in the space. For instance, if you brew fresh coffee every morning or have a pool in the back yard, your potential guests will want to know.

When renting out a private room, make sure to let guests know whether they’ll have access to a private bathroom, as well. Tell them which common rooms are available to them, such as the living room and kitchen, and whether you have any rules, such as a no-smoking policy.

Set your rates

You can rent your extra bedroom for a nightly rate, a weekly or monthly rent, or some other method of calculation. Take time to scour the rental listings for similar rooms in your city. What do other homeowners and renters charge their guests?

You might want to offer several different rate options. For example, your nightly rate for a weekend stay might cost more per day than your monthly rent for long-term tenants. And since it’s holiday season, now may be a great time to consider raising your prices a bit. Do a bit of research to determine the going rate in your area.

Rent your room

Once you publish your listing to the public, potential guests and tenants can contact you or book the space. Use the intervening time to spruce up the room or to set house rules for your guests.

Receiving payment from your rentals

Of course, you’re in this for the money, right? So finding a way to receive payments from your online rental platform, like Airbnb, to your bank account account is crucial to making this work. For this, you’ll need a payment solution that is already integrated with Airbnb, Home and Away, Guesty and many other online rental platforms, to accept payments in a currency that suits you.

With Payoneer, your guests can pay you through Airbnb, or any other rental platform you’re promoting your space on, in a currency that suits them. You can then withdraw your funds from the platform to Payoneer where you’ll be be able to use your funds in multiple ways:

• Withdraw to your local bank account
• Use your earnings to pay contractors for any work done on your property
• Pay online or in-store for items needed for renting your space
• Withdraw your earnings via ATMs worldwide

As a property rental host there are a world of opportunities for you to make money, and Payoneer is here to help you manage your earnings with ease.

Tell me more

The Payoneer Refer A Friend program enables you to earn rewards for referring new Payoneer account holders. Click here for a step-by-step guide on how to use the Refer a Friend program.

Check out the 10 top tips for referring your friends to Payoneer:

1. Log in to Payoneer  and go to Activity –> Refer A Friend to start participating.

2. Share the Refer A Friend referral link on all the social media channels on which you are active: Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Do you use other social channels? Feel free to copy the link and share manually!

3. Send out the email referral to friends who would benefit from Payoneer’s services. Use the existing text or personalize your own message.

4. If you have a personal website or blog, be sure to add your personal referral link in an appropriate location that will receive traffic.

5. If forwarding your personal link, remember to copy the link from your Refer A Friend page. Make sure that your friends sign up through your personal link only. We cannot track external links which means that if friends sign up through a separate link, you will not earn a referral reward.

6. Encourage your referrals to receive their first $1,000 in payments so you both can earn the $25 reward. For more information, check out this blog: How to Receive and Access Funds with Payoneer.

7. Be open and available to answering your friend’s questions regarding Payoneer. For loads of great articles on Payoneer services, check out the How To section of our blog.

8. Access your Refer A Friend stats on a regular basis to learn which referral method is most effective for your circle of friends.

9. Use the Sent Emails list to track the emails that you have sent. Sort the emails according to Referral Status and look for those emails whose status is Shared. Follow up with these friends to encourage them to sign up for Payoneer.

10. Make sure to read the official Terms & Conditions.

The digital economy — built on the ability to sell and purchase products and services online — has had a profound impact on businesses around the world. Among the most noticeable changes are an almost instantaneous access to a gigantic market, and, inevitably, an intensification of global competitive pressures.

As a key enabler of the digital economy, Payoneer took a closer look at how the digital economy has affected countries and people in the world. Here are some of the unique insights into the careers, lives, and aspirations of some of our most experienced and successful customers in 11 countries in Asia — Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The Big Equalizer

From Pakistan to The Philippines, the digital economy has ignited the entrepreneurial spirit everywhere, helping people generate extra income, often replacing traditional sources of income in places where local jobs were lacking. It has been a big equalizer for people who have been able to pursue their dream jobs, no matter where they live in the world. Goodbye 8 to 5; hello freedom!

Is this opportunity available to everyone? Barriers still exist, whether it is language, marketing skills, or access to capital. But for the most part, the internet and marketplace platforms have alleviated these challenges. Fear of change might be the only real barrier left. Anybody with a fire in their belly and a good idea can participate. The digital economy has opened the doors to a world market from the comfort of one’s home.

Money, Money, Money

Many digital workers have become very successful financially. Money is far from being the most important benefit though. Freedom and independence are even more valuable to them, especially when it comes to managing their own time. Successful digital entrepreneurs have been able to enjoy their new financial resources. This means they can travel to places they wanted to visit, or live in a country they love — where life is more affordable — while working on their business. Of course, what has made this win-win situation possible for buyers and sellers is the creation of highly efficient online marketplaces that have opened global markets to entrepreneurs like never before.

A New World View

Participants in the digital economy say their world has become bigger and smaller at the same time. Bigger because business opportunities are larger; smaller because the world is so much more accessible. Participants have been able to build successful relationships, even friendships, with buyers and clients all over the world. With this has come a deeper sense of trust between people.

Although in many cases the digital component of the new economy has eliminated human interactions, this new economic system has allowed the best of human nature to shine in new ways. Overall, participants feel confident about the future of their country and of the world. They are sharing their recipe for success with friends and family, and are supporting each other through online and offline communities.

Wish List

Optimism runs high among digital workers in Asia. Most of them feel that there is so much more to do, starting with separating business and politics, giving equal opportunities to everyone in all countries, but also the ability to be paid instantly, website pages that get translated automatically, and backend systems that communicate seamlessly with each other.

Read our full ebook here for more facts and insights, and feel free to share your comments or questions.

CES 2016 united technology and electronics enthusiasts in Las Vegas from January 6-9, 2016. The event debuted new technology, started conversations about the future of electronics, and allowed consumers to try out interesting gadgets. Aside from all the flash, however, you can use these four takeaways from CES 2016 to guide your selling efforts.

1. The “Internet of Things” Is All the Rage

From wearable tech to smart appliances, CES 2016 introduced numerous new examples of the Internet of Things at work. Retailers and e-commerce professionals will benefit greatly from this technology in the future.

For instance, machine-to-machine communication allows e-commerce sellers to keep better track of inventory and to provide customers with more accurate delivery dates. With each piece of technology connected to all the others, the Internet of Things promises to transform the ways in which eCommerce sellers interact with buyers as well as the products they sell.

Big Data and eCommerce expert Gagan Mehra also highlights the benefits of real-time promotions for e-commerce professionals. Tracking customers’ locations and capitalizing on sudden surges in search traffic will allow you to market more precisely and effectively to your audience.

2. Every Seller Needs a Security Policy

Reporting for Time magazine, John Patrick Pullen highlighted the intense security measures that CES 2016 adopted for this year’s event. Pullen discusses the need to protect consumers against the loss and theft of their personal information, especially with regard to eCommerce transactions.

Of course, identity theft isn’t only a concern for big events like CES 2016. As an eCommerce seller, you must develop your own security policy to encrypt customers’ data and to safeguard your records from outside intrusion.

3. Wearable Tech Has Penetrated Nearly Every Industry

Many of the panels and conversations that took place at CES 2016 dealt with wearable technology and its myriad applications. For instance, wearable tech will continue to grow in the healthcare industry, which presents unique opportunities for e-commerce sellers, especially if you like to specialize in niche markets.

From devices that check blood-sugar levels for diabetes patients to fitness trackers that help consumers track their weight-loss goals, eCommerce professionals can capitalize on these emerging markets to great financial advantage. This is especially true for sellers who already work in the health-care field.

4. Old Doesn’t Mean Obsolete

According to Don Reisinger of eWeek, CES 2016 proves that marketers, manufacturers, and eCommerce sellers shouldn’t shift their focus entirely to shiny and new gadgets. Reisinger reports that plenty of “old tech” was on display, including desktop computers and their peripherals. These products aren’t going away anytime soon. This means that e-commerce professionals can still generate revenue by selling tried-and-true technology. If you’re not ready to experiment with products that sit on the cutting edge of the industry, feel free to stick with what you know.

Every year, CES 2016 dominates headlines and generates buzz about the latest and greatest in electronics. Are you a seller working on marketplaces or selling internationally? Sign up for Payoneer today!

Beyonce Knowles — the famous singer who performed at Super Bowl 50 on February 7 with Coldplay and Bruno Mars — stayed in an Airbnb home after her performance. This news has caught the attention of the public as well as the media, igniting a firestorm of blog posts about the home she stayed in and the implications of her decision to mention it on social media.

Her Airbnb Cost $10,000 Per Night

After she finished her remarkable performance at the Super Bowl, Beyonce relaxed in an Airbnb house that costs $10,000 per night, according to The Verge. The spacious property features five bedrooms, a bar, a gym, a game room, and a host of other luxurious amenities. It sits on 11 acres in the trendy Los Altos Hills neighborhood of California.

Image via Mashable.com

Of course, most Airbnbs don’t cost $10,000 per night. In fact, many of the listings on the popular website, which promotes the sharing economy, are less expensive than a budget motel room. Some feature single rooms (or even just a couch in the living room), while others are larger and more opulent.

Regardless, Beyonce is apparently a supporter of Airbnb. After her stay, she posted a Facebook status that tagged Airbnb and said “It was a Super weekend.”

Millions of People Looking for Alternative Accommodations

Beyonce isn’t the only person — celebrity or otherwise — to avail themselves of Airbnb. The website connects homeowners and renters with out-of-town guests all over the world. Visitors get the comfort of a home while traveling, and hosts make money off the deal.

Other vacation rental websites have also created ways for people to save money while traveling for personal or business purposes. HomeAway, PandaBed, and others allow people to generate income from their homes without accepting long-term roommates.

The Jury’s Out on Endorsement

The Washington Post reports that Beyonce’s camp hasn’t confirmed or denied an endorsement deal. It’s possible that Beyonce simply wanted a change of pace from hotels and other formal rentals, so she hopped on Airbnb and found the opulent home in which she stayed after the Super Bowl. It’s equally possible that she was compensated for her Facebook mention.

Either way, Airbnb has received a significant amount of exposure following Beyonce’s Facebook post. Celebrity mentions can catapult brands to the top of their fields in a matter of hours as their followers check out those companies — and, of course, make purchases.You might not have a home worthy of $10,000 per night, but it’s clear that more and more people are looking for alternatives to expensive hotels in addition to a more authentic experience when traveling. 

Now that holiday season has faded into history, affiliate marketers can examine the results of the shopping feast and look for trends that might help them succeed this year. In fact, understanding the nuts and bolts of the holidays can help you increase your affiliate marketing results all year long.

E-Commerce Continues its Upward Trajectory

The recent holiday season has brought good news for affiliate marketers and e-commerce business owners. According to IPWatchDog, e-commerce transactions dominated Black Friday and Cyber Monday, with many shoppers who might have otherwise braved long lines turning to their online browsers instead.

This was Cyber Monday’s tenth anniversary, and a decade of online shopping has made a significant dent in in-person shopping. In fact, Cyber Monday generated an unprecedented $3.1 billion in revenue for online retailers, with nearly $1 billion of those transactions originating on a mobile device.

What does this mean for affiliate marketers? There’s no reason to fear the death of e-commerce sales. If this trend continues, consumers will increasingly turn to the Internet when they want to make a purchase, whether they’re shopping for handbags or health products.

Big Brands Dominated the Sales

A VigLink infographic reveals that some of the world’s most well-known brands fared the best during the the holiday rush. Big box stores like Walmart and Target generated significant profits, but so did online giant Amazon and deal-buster Groupon.

Brands like Nike and Microsoft performed extremely well. Unsurprisingly, Best Buy outdid itself in the electronics market, though Newegg also held its own. Etsy, the handcrafted online marketplace, also placed among the top earners over Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Apparel Outperformed Electronics

VigLink’s infographic ranks the products that attracted the most purchases on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. If you think that consumers bought more flat screen televisions and gaming systems than anything else, you’d be wrong. Apparel items sold the most products, from sneakers and outerwear to gloves and boots. In the electronics market, however, many items still flew off the shelves, including Samsung televisions, Apple tablets, and gaming systems.

Studying the best sellers can give you an idea of what you might want to seek in affiliate partnerships. High-dollar items and smaller products that sell well can vastly increase your profits.

In Conclusion

Media pundits and skeptical bloggers predicted record sales lows in the weeks leading up to Black Friday and Cyber Monday. However, Black Friday actually beat projections by more than two percent.

It’s important for affiliates to remember that predictions don’t mean everything. Instead of following the media forecasts, trust your own research and data to make decisions about your business. This is especially true over the holidays because even the smallest detail can make a big difference in the outcome.

For e-commerce businesses, the holidays often bring a rush of last-minute orders that leave business owners struggling to get them all fulfilled. Since most customers want to receive their packages in plenty of time to get them wrapped and delivered to the recipients, it becomes even more important to nail down an efficient fulfillment strategy. To achieve this, follow these tips:

Bring On More Staff

Sometimes, the best way to increase your fulfillment speed is to bring on more people to help you meet the demand. Recruit friends, family members, former associates, and anyone else who might be willing to label packages and stuff boxes. If you can’t find volunteer help, consider looking for extra help on marketplaces like Fiverr, Upwork or Freelancer.

Adding more staff during the holidays allows you to process more orders, and ensure that order arrive on time, which generates good review and more return business.

Create an Organized Workflow

Don’t let the holidays steamroll over your e-commerce business. Instead, prepare for the flood of orders and get your workflow organized for maximum time savings. Store packing materials and supplies together so they’re within easy reach and label your products clearly so you don’t have to hunt them down to fulfill an order.

Organization will not only speed up your workflow, but it’ll also make it more accurate. The holiday rush can lead to mistakes if you’re not careful, and the only thing worse than sending a package late is sending the wrong thing to your customer.

Put Technology to Work

Modern e-commerce tools allow you to automate certain steps in the fulfillment process, such as email confirmations and shipping address organization. When you automate part of the fulfillment process, you eliminate a manual step that would otherwise cost you time.

Experiment with different tools to see which work best for your e-commerce ventures. It’s best to do this a couple months before the holiday season so you’re fully prepared as the rush orders start flooding in.

Turn to a Third Party

If you know you can’t manage the fulfillment arm of your e-commerce business during the holidays, outsource the work. Services like Fulfillment by Amazon take the shipping and receiving tasks out of your hands. You don’t have to worry about loading boxes or generating shipping labels because the third party handles it for you.

Additionally, if you partner with a retail giant like Amazon, your business earns instant clout. You get access to perks that only fulfillment customers receive and you’ll gain exposure to markets you might not yet have tapped.

While the holiday season almost always introduces stress to e-commerce business owners’ lives, it’s important to prepare for it and to minimize it as much as possible. It’s also a good idea to nail down an effective cross-border payment strategy. Need fast, low-cost payments from international marketplaces like Amazon, Lazada, or Wish? Sign up for Payoneer – it’s free!

>>Sign Up Now!

Earlier last month we announced a special raffle, where Payoneer account holders using the Payment Request service had a chance to win $100. After receiving thousands of submissions we are excited to announce the 3 lucky winners!

• Achu from Cameroon

• Neeraj from Nepal

• Mauricio from New Zealand

We would like to congratulate all of you and thank everyone for participating! Don’t worry if you missed this raffle, we have many more coming up : )

Have you liked us on Facebook yet? Are you following us on Twitter and Google+? Join us on the Payoneer Community Forums and on LinkedIn!

In today’s mobile world, information is at our fingertips and it’s not surprising that more and more companies are choosing to invest in mobile advertising to capture the attention of mobile users. According to eMarketer, mobile advertising is the key driver of growth around the world.  In fact, advertisers will spend $64.25 billion worldwide on mobile in 2015, an increase of nearly 60% from 2014.

Thousands of advertisers select Mobusi as their mobile advertising platform and now Mobusi users have the option to receive their online earnings directly to their Payoneer account.

Alberto Cenalmor, CEO of Mobusi says, “Mobusi is a mobile performance advertising agency. We work with hundreds of advertisers and publishers to help monetize their traffic and exceed their performance goals. Because we pay our users weekly, we were looking for a quick , simple and safe solution to transfer funds. Several of our publishers suggested Payoneer because of the varied solutions offered and we are pleased to offer Payoneer payment solutions to our users.”

If you are a member and wish to receive Mobusi profits through Payoneer, simply login to your Mobusi account and select Payoneer as your payment option.

Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world  online or via mobile devices. It allows apartment owners to earn money by renting their extra space to more than 20 million global community guests. Whether you are thinking of listing a room in your home or the entire house , Airbnb is a perfect solution to monetize your extra space and Airbnb meetups are a great way to swap hosting or traveling tips and share experiences with the global community.

Airbnb organizes local seminars all over the Japan, offering a great opportunity for new hosts and also even experienced hosts to improve and to develop their business by meeting the Airbnb Japan team and veteran hosts directly. Whether you’re looking to get to know folks in your home city or discovering a new destination Airbnb meetups allows new or potential  listers and vacationers to get the latest tips & tricks and share best practices. Since November, Payoneer has joined the local seminars as one of the local payout options for local Japanese listers.

Have you attended the seminar? Please share your feedback in the comments below or send us an email to community@payoneer.com.

For etailers, it’s the height of the selling season, and November/ December retail sales are expected to climb 5% over last year, the largest increase in holiday season sales in several years. And marketplaces like Amazon, ebay and even niche sites are opening the door for sellers from around the world to take a piece of the pie.

Scott Galit, CEO of Payoneer says, “E-Commerce is growing faster than physical retail, but marketplaces are growing faster than e-Commerce.”  There are more than two million third-party sellers on the Amazon platform and while Amazon had an approximate 20% growth of year-over-year net sales in Q4 2013, the sales growth of third-party sellers over this same time period averaged between 40% and 50%. At Payoneer, we’ve seen for the past three years that the volume of sales increases 400% from June to December, and this year is even expected to surpass this growth rate.  Moreover, the impact of online sellers from countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, Pakistan, Australia on Amazon sales continues to rise, with payouts volume to Asia tripling over the past 12 months.

With the holiday season being the most important time of year for etailers, let’s take a look at some growing trends:

1. Singles Day is a Game Changer

Singles’ Day has become the largest online shopping day of the year, surpassing Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales figures by leaps and bounds. This year, online retail giant, Alibaba, reported $9.3 billion in sales, up from $5.75 billion from 2013…that’s 60% year over year growth! To help put Singles’ Day’s economic impact into perspective, “Cyber Week,” in the U.S., which combines Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, generated $2.9 billion in 2013, according to ComScore.  If you missed Singles Day, be sure to put it on your 2015 to-do list!

2. China’s Consumer Potential

The record sales of ‘Singles Day’ are indicative of changes in consumer habits…specifically Chinese consumers. The Internet, for instance, attracts people within China’s second- and third-tier cities that aren’t well serviced by traditional retailers. Online shopping has drastically lowered costs and will continue to grow at a rapid pace, even boosting China’s future economy. As the world’s second-largest economy and world’s largest manufacturer, we are starting to see more Chinese beginning to consume the items they produce.

3.  No More Big Spenders

According to CFI Group, shoppers are planning on spending less money this year and purchasing for fewer people. We can see from Alibaba that the average order on Singles Day was only $33.50. Emarketer states that “forty percent of 25- to 34-year-olds will be motivated most by sales and coupons, compared to just 29% of the population on the whole. As shoppers age into the bracket of those with young families, discounts and deals dictate their holiday shopping habits more. Forty percent of 25- to 34-year-olds will be motivated most by sales and coupons, compared to just 29% of the population on the whole.” As shoppers continue to work smarter with smaller budgets, they turn to discounts and promotions, which means etailers need to run targeted campaigns to attract shoppers looking to save.

4. Mobile Commerce = Mobile Marketplaces

With discounts and deals top of mind, research-savvy shoppers will use mobile devices to find the best promotions for the season. And what better way to find great deals than mobile first marketplaces like Fancy, Wanelo, Polyvore, or Fresh, woo savvy mobile users. Designed as a mobile-first application, Wish uses matching technology to deliver a visually engaging, entertaining, and individualized shopping experience, which drives a very high engagement rate among its users: repeat customers make up approximately half of all purchases.  Business Insider states, “purchases made using a smartphone or tablet rose 48% year-over-year (YoY) in the second quarter of 2014, to about $8 billion. That’s three times faster than desktop-based e-commerce, and the fastest increase in mobile commerce spending since the first quarter of 2012.”

5. Improvement of shipping networks

For those unwilling to buy online, shipping costs seem to be the hang up. Nearly half of consumers who said they’re spending less online this year cite the cost of shipping caused they to abandon card. Large marketplaces like Amazon and their Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) offer advanced fulfillment networks with free shipping and world class customer service . eBay recently announced that it is partnering with major retailers to offer same-day delivery for the holiday season by sourcing products from local brick & mortar retailers.

Online shopping — and more broadly, online engagement — is becoming increasingly important to the strategy of online sellers. With ecommerce becoming a truly global market, we’ll see a shift in buying patterns, how people choose to engage, the desire for more feasibility, and of course, mobile friendly solutions. What predictions do you have for the holiday season and beyond?

Following the launch of the new Payoneer brand, we received a lot of comments from our Community expressing how much you liked our new look.

We want to thank you – our Community – so much for all your words of encouragement following the launch of the new Payoneer brand. You are always an amazing source of support and keep our eye at all times on our mission: to empower global commerce through connecting businesses, professionals, countries and currencies.

As a way of thanks, we are thrilled to bring you an exciting new contest to bring the amazing Payoneer Community even closer together.  So get those creative wheels turning for a chance to win some fantastic prizes!

This time around we’ve decided to drop a few clues so you can guess what the contest will be about. Below is the first clue. Check our  Instagram page for a new clue each day and guess what the contest is about. Good luck!

Have you liked us on Facebook yet? Are you following us on Twitter and Google+? Join us on the Payoneer Community Forums and on LinkedIn!