Just asked this Q buy prospective new AirBnB Host. Community response please?

Jann3
Level 10
Santa Rosa, CA

Just asked this Q buy prospective new AirBnB Host. Community response please?

Hi all. A friend of mine that wishes to begin hosting just asked me a good question that I didn't have an immediate answer for. I would like community input on what to tell her. Here goes:

Terri (that's what I'll call her) wants to rent her home. She rents but has full subletting rights itemized in her lease. (lucky lady!)

She wants to know what happens if she has future bookings but ends up having to move in a year?

ie: Say she puts up her property on AirBnB but gets told in 2 mos, 4 mos, etc that she gets transferred. She will have to cancel bookings. BUT does AirBnB hit her for $100/reservation (or whatever the then-active cancellation fee is). Is there anything in AirBnB's guidelines that allows for them to waive those fees if she gets transferred?

She would like to become host but is scared of a transfer and what she would be required to pay.

 

Personally I think she should not host if she is *that* scared of being transferred...but many people's jobs are in that position nowadays. People have to be open to being transferred if they want good jobs in the Bay Area.

8 Replies 8
Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Jann3 most bookings are made max 2 months in advance so she can open her calendar for next 3 months and block later dates

Does the calendar still "accidentally" unblock future blocked dates or is that "bug" fixed?

@Jann3 I don't know, I have 6 months availability and never had any problems. She can do the same and then block/unblock manually those 3-4 months 

Zacharias0
Level 10
Las Vegas, NV

Why not just allow bookings within 30 days. Surely her job will give a 30 notice to transfer? Lastly, If shes getting paid enough that shes in high demand I question her need to do short term rentals.

Wow! Judgemental much @Zacharias0? You don't really get to question her "need."

I said nowhere what her salary was...she could've wanted to do this for companionship or fun - as @Farah has stated in other posts on these boards. Some people don't do this out of need, they do it out of wanting to contribute to the AirBnB community and get her feet wet with short-term renting. She also wanted to see if it was feasable to (in the longer term) buy a property to do the rentals but for now wanted to do "room booking."

It may be better not to judge the "need" of someone you don't know...and instead if you choose to answer at *all*, just answer the question asked. I know this sounds mean but WOW that judgement just struck me the wrong way.

Farah1
Level 10
Seattle, WA

@Jann3 I started my hosting experience on Airbnb platform back when I lived in New York. For some unfortunate reason, I could not continue running airbnb back then. However, I already have confirmed reservation for the next 2 months at that time. I called airbnb right away and explained the situation. Since it was out of my control and I was being proactive and was willing to help these future guest find a new place to stay + give 100% refund obviously, airbnb was really helpful in handling the process and I did not get any penalty. My last guest from that listing was coming in a  week, so I host them and it was the last airbnb guest I have until I moved to Seattle and start hosting again here. So, I think that the best solution is for her to limit the reservation window as @Branka-and-Silvia0 mentioned. Currently I have a 3 months window, so people can only see my listings and book for available dates in the next 3 months. As long as she has her hands on the calendar and do not have any open dates for months in the future, I think she will be fine. As a host, we are in charge of our calendar, so that is really awesome! She can alter it based on her schedule if at some point she needs to transfer.

@Jann3 I would also like to add that she can even open the calendar only for the next 2 weeks at a time. This can work depending on where she is and the *culture* of the airbnb customer for that area. Back in New York, people booked 6 months in advance or even more because most of my guests were international tourists, so they planned ahead of time. In Seattle, most of my guests are last minute... the best maybe 1-2 months in advance because most of them are traveling through Washington betwee Canada and California or Oregon for example. So, even if I do not have my calendar open for the next 3 months, I might do just fine. So, this is just a homework for her to figure out how it is in her city.

This is what I will tell her to do! @Branka-and-Silvia0 & @Farah1 thanks for all your help!

I will have her keep her availablility window short in the future as (during the summer at least) Sonoma County is very tourist-y and seems to do well last-minute-wise. If that works, she can open it up more in the future.