Questions on Starting Long Term Stays

[Lawrence-and-Joan0]

Hi Joan and Larry Here,  We are new to Airbnb and have a few questions that you may be able to help us with.  Thanks for your help.  

How often do you have cleaning service during long term stays?  How do you charge guests for this service.  

How do you ensure that guests leave the keys to the airbnb before they leave?

[Huma0]

@Lawrence-and-Joan0 

I trust that you are already aware of local regulations, tenants' rights etc. in your area in terms of hosting long term, so I won't go into all of that, but you might have a few other hosts commenting on it!

As to your questions, I am a home stay host, so things will be a bit different for someone renting out an entire unit, but I have cleaners come in weekly to do the communal areas and I don't charge extra for this, just factor it into the nightly rate and expense it in my accounts.

For the guest bedrooms (I rent private rooms in a shared house), the guests are given the option to have me clean the room and change and wash their linens and towels for a fee, which of course I mention on my listing (in my house rules) and again on check in. How often this happens varies depending on the length of stay and the guest's preferences, but it's usually about one a fortnight. I would recommend more often in hotter climates because of the linens, but you can always separate the cleaning of the room from the washing of the linens and do the latter more often. I send this via the resolution centre as a request for 'extra services' as they is no way to set a recurring cleaning fee on Airbnb, just a one off one.

Alternatively, my guests have the option of cleaning their own room and washing their own linens/towels and are provided with extra sets. I provide them with equipment and materials for this (other than laundry detergent/softener, which they are requested to buy themselves). However, I do stress on check in that if they go for this option, they do actually need to do it. As I am a live in host, I can usually tell because the guest will be asking for the cleaning materials, vacuum cleaner etc, bringing their sheets down to wash etc. If, after some time, I notice that isn't happening, I would gently remind them.

[Lorna170]

@Lawrence-and-Joan0  For long term stays, I require bathroom cleaning and linen exchange every two weeks at a cost of x dollars.  You need to include this information in your listing description if you are going to entertain long term rentals.  If you have already accepted a rental and you did not have this described, you may have to negotiate with your guest to allow the extra cleaning, but the guest is not required to pay more.  As Airbnb only has a one time cleaning fee, you either need to describe that the fee will be paid via the resolution center, or you need to figure out how to roll the fee into your long term rate, I.e., decrease the discount for long term stays to account for the housekeeper fee.

As to keys, install keyless entry locks.