9 Steps to Turning Your Home Into a Hotel

6. Payment Up front. Because you'll be renting to people from out of town, it will be tough to track them down after the event. So, make sure to receive full payment upfront. If your tenants are paying by check, you need to allow enough time for the check to clear your account before their arrival.

7. Security Deposit. Get a security deposit from the tenant to cover potential damage costs. This can be done through a separate check or by obtaining a credit card number from the tenant. Of the two options, Bereano recommends securing a credit card number because "you can also get [additional] information from the credit card in case it's someone who is coming in just to take advantage of the situation and empty your house."

8. Remove Valuables. Remove everything of value from your house before your tenants arrive. If certain items are too heavy to carry out, lock them safely inside the home. Remember, no matter how well you have screened your tenants, you don't know everything about them. Better safe than sorry.

9. Document the Condition. In the event that your tenants leave your home in poor condition, you'll want to have good documentation of the property's condition before they arrived. "Videotape the outside of the house, videotape every room, videotape every closet," Palmieri says. "Also the appliances, the artwork, everything that's [in the house]." Such documentation will help you prove that your home was in good shape before the tenant arrived, should a conflict arise.