Long term enquiry

[Dmitriy55]

Hello,

I'm very new in hosting and just posted a property. Literally next day I'm receiving an enquiry from a person who is new on Airbnb and wants to check an opportunity to book my property for a half-year. The guy has questions and wants us discuss on phone. Is this a normal thing or does it sound suspicious? 

Thanks a lot for your experienced advices in advance. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Dmitriy55 

This would raise a lot of red flags for me, you are wise to ask the community. 

Please, for your own protection, do not take any conversations with this or any guest/prospective guest off the platform. 

This person has no record with the platform, and you are just starting out. Half a year is a very long time, right? There is a chance, imho,  that this unknown person might be looking to take advantage of you as a new host. Such a  situation is not unknown in this business, per my reading. You don't yet know this person's reason for wanting to rent from you for this duration, or their reason for coming to Toronto. Why did they select your place out of all of the city? I would ask these questions in writing on the platform. I would be very careful. I think that you would not be out of line to ask the police about any history of scams or unlawful activity. 

If this came to me, I would decline. My Airbnb listing is not available for long term guests. In my state, anyone staying 30 days has legal rights as a tenant, which puts me at a legal disadvantage. That is definitely not what I am looking for. There are many locations where this law exists, so hosts, be informed. 

I have a couple of long term rentals, with well written leases. If I wanted to rent to someone for half a year, I would do a credit check, a background check, employment verification, get a signed rental agreement (if all the investigations went perfectly) and a hefty security/damage deposit plus additional for any pets. 

I hope and expect that other hosts will respond to your excellent question. Some may have more experience than I do. 

Welcome Aboard, and much success to you! Do please let us all know how this works out for you.

[Dmitriy55]

Thank you for taking time and helping me out. I'm sure you are right. As a matter of fact, this user was already removed from Airbnb and I received a worming email about it.

Thanks again and all the best!  

[Joan2709 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Dmitriy55 

I agree with @Kitty-and-Creek0. Many scammers look for the *New* callout on a listing as they know the Host is properly inexperienced and could be a likely target. We never recommend new hosts accept long term bookings; especially not on Airbnb. Some of the Hosts I have consulted for have had the exact same scenario you describe and it's always a scam. Even after you have some experience under your belt, long term bookings carry risks. Money is only collected by Airbnb and paid to you monthly...not for the entire rental period. Many scammers ask for huge discounts, knowing they do not intend to stay for the entire rental period. Meanwhile your calendar has been blocked for the entire period. Additionally, the cancellation policy is different for long term stays and guests can sometimes alter the reservation period without your consent. For the Hosts I consult with that do accept long-term bookings, one criteria is the guest must have at least (2) five star reviews and not new to the platform.

As a new Host, it's best to get as many shorter term bookings as quickly as possible so you can get your star rating to appear on your listing in search (3 bookings) and obtain Guest Favorite while you still have the "New" boost in search results from Airbnb. 

There are lots of Airbnb Help articles on long term stays. If you plan on considering them, you can review the information and decide if you are willing to take the risks:

Getting Started with Monthly Stays

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2729

Tenant Rights

In most states, if a guest stay is more than 28 days, they are now legally considered a “tenant” and not a guest. If they refuse to leave after their stay, you will have to go through court proceedings to get them evicted.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/805

Cancellations

Cancellations for long term stays override your standard cancellation policy.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/475

Guest Reservation Alterations

Guests can alter a long-term stay reservation without Host approval in some circumstances.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1361

Payouts

Payouts for long term stays are different than short-term stays.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/285

Price Calculation Errors

Price errors occur more often with long-term stays. This requires the host to verify each one for accuracy (sometimes weekly or other discounts you have set are incorrectly applied to a long term stay).

[Dmitriy55]

@Joan2709 ,

Thank you so much for a lot of helpful info. Your help is extremely valuable. 

[Bhumika]

Hi @Dmitriy55 , Thank you so much for marking the best answer on this topic and am so glad to read that the support from @Joan2709 and @Kitty-and-Creek0 has been invaluable to you! Joan has shared some really helpful resource links. It would be really great to get familiar with them if you're looking into hosting long term stays.

I noticed your reply from below that the user was removed from the platform. How are you thinking of dealing with such inquiries for long stays in future? 🌻