Cancellation for long term stay

Andreea121
Level 2
Dickinson, ND

Cancellation for long term stay

Hi,

 

I am new as a host and I have a guest asking to stay for 3 months. She wants to pay monthly, which is what will happen anyway as far as I understood from the Airbnb rules. She is asking for a flexible cancellation policy, because she is not sure if she will stay for the whole 3 months.
I have selected the Flexible policy for long term and I am willing to refund her if she will need to cancel at some point. I mean, I do not plan on charging her for more days than she will stay.
Now, my question is how can I do that? Will she have to cancel on her side and I will give her a refund?
She wants to book month by month, but I told her that will not be possible, because that doesn't guarantee somebody else will not book in between those 3 months. I know I can take those months off the calendar, but I really don't want to do that.
Any advice in this situation?
Thank you!

5 Replies 5

@Andreea121  It's not possible to apply a Flexible cancellation policy to stays of 28 days or more; for those, the Long Term cancellation policy automatically applies. That means Airbnb collects payment in monthly installments, and if the guest cancels during the stay, the 30 days after cancelling are non-refundable.  You could choose to offer an additional refund, but I would strongly discourage you from making it part of an agreement in advance, before you even know how this person will be as a tenant (let's use the correct word there - this arrangement makes you a landlord rather than a host).

 

Look, this guest is bad news, and it's no good for a brand-new listing to get locked down with someone who has no idea what she's doing. Personally, I would outright decline. But if you want to give this one a chance, and you're not worried about missing out on better guests, hypothetically you can set your maximum stay at 27 days with a Flexible cancellation policy and suggest that the guest pre-book consecutive stays so that this policy applies.

 

Pro tip: it's really, really not worth it. I'd recommend keeping a much shorter maximum stay until your listing no longer stands out as new host = easy prey for scammers.

@Anonymous thanks for your response. I don’t think I will miss on any other good guests. So far we have some bookings for 1 or 2 nights.

she said she is an occupational therapist travelling. 
she just sent her booking for the whole period. 
I’d like to give her a chance, but at the same time I am kind of scared 😁

I will probably tell her we’d have to run a background check and sign a month to month contract…I am not sure. I have to look into this 🤦‍♀️

Karla533
Level 10
Santa Fe, NM

@Andreea121   I agree completely with @Anonymous  .  I would decline this guest, and then change my maximum stay to 21 days or less. 

 

She would probably be a tenant under your local laws after 30 days' residency (you can check this out with your municipality) which means among other things, she can sue you in landlord tenant court (or whatever they call it where you live). As a tenant she would have rights not enjoyed by hotel guests.

 

 If you want to be a landlord, that's your decision, but at least ask her to fill out the free application at LeaseRunner.com. Then follow up with screening on LeaseRunner.com, which she would pay for.

 

In your location perhaps it is difficult to get tourists? If so it would be wise to study how to be a successful landlord instead.

 

The town I live in is small and not a touristic one. 
This is her message : 

“I am a traveling occupational therapist.

I do plan on staying the entire duration of my job assignment, am I able to book one month at a time? While it’s unlikely, my job assignment can get cancelled at anytime and I’d greatly appreciate a flexible policy if possible!”

 

I don’t mind having my calendar booked for 3 months, because we initially wanted a tenant, but my husband changed his mind and we chose Airbnb. 

Now I am kind of scared after reading Andrew’s and your comments.

Thank you for your advice. I will definitely look into LeaseRunner. If I choose to use it, can she still pay through Airbnb? Or will that be something separate? 
I am just looking into being covered in case something happens?

Kamon-Villa0
Level 2
Surat Thani, Thailand

Hi all there 

This is what is happening to me today .

I have a long term booking (6 months).

After 2 months the guest wants to check out. According to Airbnb policy I should be paid out for the next 30 days.

I received a message from resolution centre that they were unable to extract the funds from the guest account and Airbnb would not be eligible. What to do now??