[POLL] What is the average length of your bookings?

[Sybe]

Hey everyone,

As we’re slowly coming closer to the end of spring and the start of summer, lots of people are finalising plans and making preparations to take a small break away from their everyday lives. While some might go away on a short break, others could be planning a few weeks' holidays or even take their work and laptop away somewhere for a longer stay and a change of scenery.

The type of guests and length of stays you get depends on many different aspects, such as your listing type, location, amenities or even local legislation.

What is the average length of stay for your guests and why do you think that is? Was what you expected when you started hosting, something you were aiming for or perhaps that changed over time? Fill out the poll and let us know more about your experience in the comments!

Thanks!

Sybe

[Amy94]

Also, I’m on a small island.  We are all beach locations. Not all beach front but you can see the ocean from my street.  The only category I show up in when I search is shared listings.  If I search incognito, I can’t even find my listing.  I’m at my wits end.  

[Ted307]

@Sybe  We have had only a couple of renters for the 2 weeks maximum time that we offer. Most are for the weekends. We have had zero bookings since the new "Summer Release", only one booking for a returning guest who comes for work as a travel nurse.

Chris

[Jenny]

Hi @Ted307 

I'm really sorry to hear that you've not had the bookings you were expecting, now that the latest release is in place.

I've added your comment to our feedback list, which will be seen by the product team.  Thanks for making us aware.

Jenny

[Ted307]

@Jenny 

Last summer we were booked every weekend. Most book the week before -- they want to get out of the heat in Phoenix in the summer. Our area is a traditional mountain get a way from the desert! There are cabins here over 100 years old that have been summer cabins all that time.

Chris

[Jenny]

The bunkhouse looks absolutely wonderful, @Ted307! A perfect getaway.  I have friends in Tempe, which I think is a couple of hours from Prescott (I'm Scottish so I'm not 100% on US geography!) so I'll need to show them your listing in case they are in need of a vacation!

[Ted307]

Thanks @Jenny !

We are just about 2 hours from Tempe, unless it is Friday night! The freeway out of Phoenix is a bear sometimes. We let people check in as early as noon so they can drive up in the cooler, less traffic time of Friday mornings. Scottish would never survive Tempe, I would think!

Chris

[Jenny]

You are absolutely right, @Ted307, while some Scottish would love the heat (my Mum is an enthusiastic sun seeker)... I have the very fair Celtic skin and would no doubt have to hide in the shade!

[Ted307]

@Jenny 

You will have to visit your Tempe friends in the cool & shady Prescott pines someday, then!

[Ruth492]

My guests are professionals (medical workers, contract workers), students, retirees, or people needing a place while they recover from some sort of trauma, so my stays are usually over a month, and so far, one of my guests has stayed with me for two years and counting.  I think my average stay works out to about 6 months.

[Jenny]

Your listings are really lovely, @Ruth492, and it's wonderful that you have a place where people can come for a while and feel safe while they recover.

Would you consider short term stays for the right person or do you feel that the purpose of your listing is better suited to the longer stays you currently offer?

[Suzanne302]

My average stay is 1-2 nights and that's just the way I like it! I limit stays to 3 nights maximum. I'm a homeshare host and I learned early on that after 2-3 days I am just ready to have my house back to myself! Guests that stay longer than 3 days also tend to linger more at the house. Those making quick trips are usually just here to sleep and out and about the rest of the time.

It works out great for my area as I get a lot of people simply stopping for the night to break up their travel. I live close to a major concert venue, so some people come from a couple hours away and just want a place to stay after the show so they don't have to drive home so late. My area is also a popular day trip destination so I get a lot of people that live 2-3 hours inland coming to the coast for a quick break and they will stay 1-2 nights.

[Sherilee-and-Doug0]

We just bumped our minimum stay to 3 nights.  We did that because of all the laundry for only 2 nights seems wasteful.  We live in the high desert & are in a mega drought.  However, we really don’t want month long bookings.  Our experience is that longer stays tend to treat our casita like their new home instead of a place to stay while on vacation.  They move furniture, rearrange the cabinets.  When they leave, it feels like a game of hide n seek to put everything back together.  Too much work for us!

[Sherri176]

@Quincy I get bookings that are typically for 1 to 3 months with a few in between guests that stay for  1 or two weeks. Several guests have extended to stay more than 6 months, 1 guest stayed over a year. Both rooms have always been booked on the holidays and I do not raise rates for holidays or events. This helps my income stay steady. Occasionally if there is a 2 week lull in bookings I will lower my rate temporarily to get it booked again.  Then I will check the market on what other rooms with my same amenities are booking at.  My rooms are rarely empty. I'm very lucky. I just treat this as if I am the one staying there. I ask myself, If I was in a strangers house sharing the home and renting a private room what would I want in my room? Especially If I am new to renting space when someone is living in the home. With this in mind, I feel those looking to save money from hotel living or those avoiding long term apartment contracts or huge deposits on a rental house they are "giving airbnb a try" . I have a 3 day minimum. I only charge $40 to clean, I do that myself. I stock the rooms with FREE dry good snacks, instant rice, ramen noodles, canned food, can OPENER, coffee tea sugar, and more. The rooms also come with tall narrow fridges and a  microwave, wall mounted streaming TV, & occasional chair. I provide a mini dinner table big enough for two people that includes two chairs...so it doubles as a work station and a dining table. I provide a mini kitchen cart/Island with granite counter for their food prep. I provide a wall mounted mini pantry shelf with the free food so they see how to use the shelf.  All of this really helps my rooms stay booked, along with PUNCTUAL replies to all their needs, and timely communication if anything is out of the ordinary, like if am having house maintenance, I let my renters know ahead of time.

My title helps me with long term stays. I rent two rooms, one is small and the other is Large, so to simply state them: "Small Private Room! Long term stay discount!" and respectively, "Large Private Room! Long Term Stay Discount."  After that I give 40% off for those who book 7 days and up to 27 days. I give 53% off for those who book 28 days or more, then 55% off for those who book 2 month or more. I properly guide them that cell phones are good for bookings of around 30 days but to book longer they need to be on a platform such a laptop or desktop/pc. .........p.s. I saw a host the other day reply to a guest that she does not wash her comforter after every guest , that is gross. I saved her listing as a place not to go! Thank you @Quincy for inviting me to join the conversation! I hope it helped a little.

[Custodia0]

Hi everyone, as a new member of the community and Host on RBNB, I haven't received any reservation till now. So I can't give any comments or  informations regarding the length of the stay...Regards,Custodia

[Huma0]

@Sybe 

I currently almost only host long term stays (exceptions made for returning guests) with a minimum of 28 days, simply because I prefer it.

Looking at my bookings for the past year (excluding a couple of cancellations), the average stay seems to be around 50 days. If you factor in direct bookings, of which I have had a handful in the past year, I would say in reality the average stay is longer, but it gives you an idea.

No, it's not what I expected when I started hosting. I accepted both short and long term guests and initially had both, but because the listings were very popular from the get go, the calendar soon filled up and there weren't gaps long enough for long term guests unless they booked very far in advance. 

Having three rooms with short term guests in and out while I had two jobs and was constantly travelling for work but had no co-host and no cleaner turned into a recipe for a nervous breakdown! So, I took the conscious decision to focus on long term guests and increased my minimum stay. 

For quite some time, when I had a longish gap between two long term guests I would open up those dates for shorter stays. So, it was very rare that I had a room sitting empty. However, towards the end of last year, I realised that I was getting more and more problematic bookings/guests for those shorter stays, so now I would rather just leave the room empty. It's not worth the money!

This month I had one room empty for around 10 days and another for a couple of weeks and that was fine by me. It was nice to have a bit of a breather with just one quiet guest staying and far less cleaning to do.

I also recently turned off IB for all my listings. I do not want long term guests to instant book. I want to get a real sense of who they are and for them to also carefully consider their needs before booking. They will be staying with me for quite a while after all, so it's even more important to ensure a good fit.