I have property in Melb but I don't live there, is it possible to rent out as an Airbnb long term?

[Colleen9]

My husband and I live in Canberra and have been hosting out our spare room sucessfully since February 2016,mostly back to back; which we love.

We have a 1 bedroom property in a great position in Melbourne which has been rented out 'normally' but I am not happy with the agents!!

I would like to rent this app out with Airbnb but alas we live in Canberra..how can I do it?

If I could Airbnb this apartment out for long term rental I could fly to Melb eg monthly, welcome the guests,tidy up, change sheets,leave clean linen etc. Even arrange a cleaner if necessary. But I would need at least $100 per night but this would have to be on a regulary basis?

Does any one have any ideas. We are on a tight budget.

Thanks

Colleen.

[Ed-and-Hugh0]

You'll want to take some time looking at the Airbnb market in the area. What do similar properties go for? Are monthly rentals common? I see there is an Airbnb Melbourne group on the Meetup website. Maybe you can team up with another local host that can help with turnovers or recommend a service.

[Colleen9]

Thanks for the imput..I will check it all out  

Colleen x

[Victoria69]

Hi Colleen!

We actually do something similar, in that we have a home in Ohio that we rent out although we're currently living in San Diego. I actually rent ours short term since we come back on a regular basis and stay in our home. However, I've found it's actually worked out great even though we're so far away. Personally I feel the key is to have a really good service or person you trust to help take care of it. We personally have neighbors we have known forever, and she cleans homes for a living so we pay to have her clean and monitor the space. Our home has a lockbox on the back door so guests can enter without us being there, and along with our neighbors we also have family in the area who could help out if an issue arose. All in all I think renting from afar has worked great and would recommend so long as you have a good system in place.

[Debi4]

I actually rent my property out using Airbnb. I don't live in Melbourne and have a cleaner who re-stocks and cleans ( $85 per clean). Can you fly back and forth to Melbourne for that price?

I have a keyless entry system so I don't incur an extra charge for face to face check ins. That way guests can self check in which makes it simpler.

I have a number of tradies that I use if anything goes wrong.  I think that you might be a bit too optimistic in your pricing. There is a lot of competition in Melbourne. My own pricing is $119 per night for a one bed in Toorak and I have difficulty filling my calendar. 

There are a lot of companies which you can use to manage your apartment in Melbourne. They charge  a managment fee of  12% which does not include cleaning, linen, supplies. I used one of them but was very unhappy with their cleaning services ( as were my guests ) as well as their ability to meet and greet the guests in a timely manner. It was a waste of my money , from my own very limited anecdotal experience.

In the end , you might be better off sticking with a property manager for a long term rental if pricing is an issue.