For Los Angeles hosts...

[Amy203]

Have other L.A. hosts been receiving an unusually high amount of requests for month- long stays? I never get them, and I've been a host for five years; now I am getting at least one request a day... all wanting to secure my studio for the entire month of February . For February I have put a 5-day maximum but I still get these requests. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with the Super Bowl. Any thoughts Los Angeles hosts?

[Sarah977]

@Amy203  The Superbowl doesn't last for a month, right? 

There seems to be a new guest scam (several hosts have reported here that this has happened to them), whereby guests book for a month to get a discounted rate, yet have no intention of staying for a month, then tell the host some bogus story about why they have to leave after a week or 10 days, and demand a refund. 

I don't know if that's why you are getting these, though. Airbnb has also been promoting long-term stays.

If you have a 5 day maximum setting, guests can't input dates on a request for a period longer than that, so these must be inquiries? If they are inquiries, just create a saved message you can shoot them saying your maximum stay is 5 days. 

You might want to put something at the beginning of your listing description until this rash of requests for a month dries up- "Please note: Our maximum stay is 5 nights. We do not accept longer bookings."