Sale of property - transferring Airbnb guests

[Mark330]

I am about to purchase a property - I already host another long term listing - the new property is currently listed and will be listed by me once we close the sale. 

there are bookings on the calendar of the new place that will be for after closing date. 

can I set up the new listing in my Airbnb account and then request current owner to co-host the new listing and invite all guests to be changed to the new listing at no cost to them? 

maybe this type of booking change from one host to a different host May not be possible?

if this is not possible how have others managed this situation so previous host and guests have a hassle free transition?

[Pat271]

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[Pat271]

This is how it could be handled if agreeable to all:

1) Specify in the purchase contract how existing bookings with stays after the closing date will be handled, e.g. who will host or co-host, who will get the payments, how any payments to the seller will be transferred, if applicable.

2) The seller snoozes the listing to avoid future bookings, or blocks off dates after the scheduled closing

3) Upon closing, the buyer sets up and activates a new listing, blocking off all dates booked before closing. I would only set up the new listing after closing, because if the sale falls through, it would get really messy with new bookings.

4) The seller notifies the guests about any new arrangements, e.g. whether there is now a co-host, whether there is a change in guest communications, etc. Give the guests the option of rebooking with the new owner, if the arrangement can accommodate it. I believe Airbnb will help them do this without penalty to either host or guest. Alternatively, the guest can leave the booking as-is.

5) When all of the guests booked before closing have completed their stay, the seller deactivates the old listing. The payments are handled as indicated in the purchase contract in 1) above. 

This obviously isn’t “hassle-free” as you requested, but it’s important to have clear-cut, written agreements in real estate transactions, and disclosure of changes to the booked guests.

I also recommend you not take legal advice from hosts on this forum. 🙂  Buy an hour or two of an attorney’s time to make sure you cover all the bases legally.

[Lorna170]

@Mark330   I agree with what @Pat271  says:   "Buy an hour or two of an attorney’s time to make sure you cover all the bases legally."

Here in North Carolina (USA), if we sell a rental property that has outstanding rentals on the calendar, BY LAW we have to honor the rentals that are within a certain number of days.  The policy is to send letters to the affected guests advising them of the sale and their rental status; the guests then have the right to arrive and stay or cancel their booking for a full refund (even if an OTA is involved).  

Many USA hosts will close their listing when under a sales contract, go through with the sale and then "rent back" for the period of time that they have to honor bookings.  The new owner will delay taking control until that period has passed.  

The seller should have snoozed their listing when they decided to sell.

[Louise-And-Leon0]

Hi @Mark330 

How did you end up solving this?

I have just bought an apartment and need to do the same.  Would really appreciate any advice.

Thank you!

Kind regards,

Louise

[Helen3]

What arrangement did the owner make with you regarding this. Normally Airbnb will not allow you to transfer bookings from one owner to another.

The owner would need to cancel bookings on their end and guests be invited to book with the new owner once you have set up your listing @Louise-And-Leon0