I let out my spare room during Wimbledon - and could make a fortune

If you have a spare room, and live within a reasonable distance of Wimbledon, then you could make £1,000 during the tournament. Airbnb claims this is what their hosts in the area typically pull in during the tournament - which isn't bad for giving up one room for a fortnight.

Airbnb says that nearly 30,000 guests will arrive in London over the Wimbledon weeks, with a total income for hosts across the capital coming in at over £20 million. Wimbledon alone will see around £200,000 of this sum.

One relatively new host, who will see her share of this money is Jenny Villar, a 36-year-old technical project manager from Southfields near Wimbledon, who will be welcoming several people to her home during Wimbledon fortnight - and profiting handsomely from it.

She has a two-bedroom flat about 13 minutes' walk from the courts. She says: "We renovated the flat, and had a spare double room with an en-suite, so we decided to give it a go." She has been overwhelmed by the interest, explaining: "A few months ago we started receiving requests for the Wimbledon season, and we have a number of people booked. We could easily fill the whole of June and July, but have chosen to take some time to ourselves because I am pregnant."

She says the money is a nice bonus, but for her, the best part of the experience has been the guests themselves. She says: "We have been really happy with the guests. I have learned quite a lot from them, and they have been very nice. Because I am pregnant I have received gifts and warm wishes from them, and I will stay in touch with some of them."

She has also purposely chosen to keep the price low, because "This isn't my main job, and I don't want to increase the price to the point where people have high expectations and I feel the pressure. For now, we are taking it easy, and learning and improving."

James McClure, Country Manager of Airbnb UK says that this is a great time of year to give it a go. He says: "London is bursting with demand for places to stay and events like Wimbledon highlight that hosts are promoting a cultural boom."

But what do you think? Would you fancy letting out your spare room for a special event like this? And would you reconsider if there was £1,000 in it for you? Let us know in the comments.