Hosting long term 6mo

[Debi54]

I have a couple that is asking about renting one of rooms. The one they inquired about is my bunkbed room. I have told them that I have a queen bed room available and that they may want to inquire about that room. There are pictures of the room and house .They are wanting to come see the room without reserving it. They are not verified and don't have a picture.  I just have a gut feeling that something is off. What do I do???

[Paul1255]

Hi @Debi54 I hope you are well!

Go with your gut- if something doesn't feel right, it often isn't!

If this is a 6 month booking, with any guest staying that long you need to be 100% sure the reservation will work.

Never entertain a guest who wants to visit for a viewing before booking- as you say, there are pictures of the room and house so a guest can understand from the listing if it will be a good fit for them or not.

If the guest only sent an inquiry, you should respond to it to maintain your response rate, but you can just leave it at that.

Paul.

[Mark1412]

It is not an uncommon request. When I worked in the hospitality business, people would often ask to see a hotel room before booking or registering. The guest is looking for a place they will be comfortable with since they plan on living there for six months.

I think the red flag is why do they want to rent a room for six months if they are local? You might be inviting problems if they are local with friends coming over, the guest getting to comfortable with the rules and pushing the limits. If they are going to be your housemates for six months, you might want to meet them first and see if they might be people you would enjoy sharing your living space with.

Meeting and going over the rules in person, might be in your best interest.

Good Luck

[Gregory87]

Hello @Debi54 :

I agree with the comments made by @Paul1255.  You definitely need to be cautious about inviting a potential guest into your home without verification/photo or a reservation.  Should you decide to do so, I would either ask a friend/relative to be present at the showing OR work out a plan to contact the friend/relative immediately following the viewing to guarantee that you are safe.

Also, I would be hesitant about a 6 mo. rental.  That is a long time to host a stranger.  

This topic was discussed recently in another post:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Concerns-about-long-term-guests/m-p/975587#M201898

You might want to review this.

Let us know how you decide to proceed.