Long Term hosting, 1 month +

[Monty0]

It seems more and more cities making short term rental complicated.     What are the ins and outs of the long term rental?  Beside the fact we need to reduce the nighly rate by 30% or so.   Where do long term renter like corporate renter look for their housing?

[Cheryl389]

The reason I stick with short-term rental is that after 30 days, your guests have tenancy rights. This means that you would have to formally evict them if they decide to not leave. I am really scared of this happening, and to prevent it at all costs, I am only willing to rent up to 10 days. I want to make sure that I don't hit the point where I need to hire a lawyer or tend to the eviction proceedings myself. I also find that short-term rental makes more income. On the other hand, a longer-term rental could lead to a higher occupancy rate, which could be more profitable in some cases. 

[Grant61]

Hi @Monty0 

I completely focus my listing (its a 3 bedroom/2 bath house) to get longer-term, month+ stays. As you say, its not easy with AirBnB, but here's what I do (to get long term stays and avoid short-term "weekend" visits)

1. set high daily price 
2. require minimum length stay (I currently have it set at 14 days)
3. discount month long stays 45- 50% off daily rate (I work backwards to determine the monthly rate I want, adjust daily price (high, to discourage shorter-term stays) and discount the daily rate x 30 days to get what I want (I also monitor the local extended stay/corporate apartments monthly price to be competitve yet with premium over them due to single-family house I provide)
4. I do offer a 2 week discount of 20-25%, but almost get same monthly income for that type of stay if someone decided to actually book for just 2 weeks (no one has yet)
5. specifically message in my overview that I'm targeting corporate housing and temporary accommodation of month+ stays
6. indicate in rules that a supplementary lease agreement is required for stays longer than 30 days (to cover any tenancy issues).
7. allow pets (since most of the guests who want house for longer term stays have pets). Additional pet agreement and fee required

Beyone those basic process, I work to ensure communication is quick and clear with inquiries. Also work to provide an "exceed the guest expectations" when they arrive with how house looks/welcome kit.

My house is in north Dallas suburb and area does have lots of relocation and movement into the city. Kinda need that to make the longer term work.

Experience thus far:

1. turnaround hasle for me has dramatically reduced compared to past when permitted weekend stays
2. quality of guests is better 
3. quantity of inquiries is much less (not surprising) since the platform is not exactly targeting these longer term, corporate housing stays (although I have seen AirBnB running adword campaigns on that keyword... so seems they want to appeal to this market -- good)

I'm an advocate of this type of longer term stay. Good luck with your efforts!

[Becky242]

Hi Grant,  

We currently have a request for an engaged couple to stay for one month and possibly more days into the second month.  I am very concerned about the tenancy rights and having to evict them.  Where did you get the supplementary lease agreement?  Does that keep them from having to be evicted if they stay longer?  

Thank you!  

Becky

Lebanon, TN

[Grant61]

Hi Becky, the supplementary lease agreement is based on a normal real estate lease agreement. It's the one used for traditional 1-year unfurnished leases that a real estate agent in Texas would use. These agreements abide by local, state laws and setup appropriate protection and procedures for both owner and lessee. I'd recommend getting a standard real estate lease for Tennessee and make adjustments. Be smart to get the help of a local real estate attorney as well.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Monty0 

I am also a host that focuses on longer-term guests - I have a single occupancy private room listing in my residence. Personally I'm not concerned about tenancy rights (laws in Korea are different) but I had a separate list of concerns regarding "local" guests so I state in my listing description that I do not host locals (locals meaning fellow Koreans).

I target international exchange students coming to Korea for 1 semester (= 4 months) which has worked out great. We set our nightly rate high, and apply a 20% monthly discount and make it so that the monthly payout adds up to be what we think is appropriate. I am lucky that my home is near several universities that have active exchange programs 🙂