Long term stay advice

[Martin-and-Emelyn0]

Hi all.

I am a host on airbnb for about a year now. I have an inquiry from a potential guest who want to stay for about 6 weeks.

My question for hosts who have had experience in hosting guests long term is is there anything I need to watch out for or anything I should ask the guest? He has no reviews but has been on airbnb since 2015. Just don't want to make a mistake. The money is good but I don't want any problems.

Oh and I don't live on the property. 

Would appreciate any advice and suggestions you may have.

Thank you  

[Sarah977 · Accepted solution]

Someone who has been a member for 3 years, yet has no reviews, is a red flag. Ask him why he has no reviews? 

Also, when you take a booking for over 28 days, the guest can be viewed as a tenant, getting you into landlord/tenant laws. Be cautious, especially since you don't live at the property. I'd say someone with no reviews is risky to consider taking a 6 week booking from.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Martin-and-Emelyn0

Agree with @Sarah977 and also, you may think the monthly payout is good money but you need to think about utilities, internet, towels & sheets and total cost of stay. What is the typical rent for a similar unit (1 yr rental contract)? 

If you are off-site, how will you check/make sure the guests are respecting and following your house rules? Will you drop in once a week for a laundry pick up? What about amenities? Most people do not 'clean' other people's homes and damage accumulated for 1 week vs. 6 weeks will be different. What will you do if the guest goes crazy with the AC and you get a huge electricity bill?

Please check out the following links before you make a decision. Of course, to be honest, when done right longer-term hosting can be very profitable and easier 🙂 I usually host longer stays (private room in my home) which are 1 to 4 months long and I prefer this style of hosting but it is very different from short term hosting. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Tips-for-long-term-hosting/m-p/369579

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/frustrating-long-term-guest/m-p/756547

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Long-term-guests/m-p/161107

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Long-term-hosting-how-to-behave/m-p/223278#M23107

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Bad-review-from-a-long-term-guest-followed-by-refund-and...

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Long-term-guests-daily-complaint-and-demands/m-p/447996

[Sarah977]

@Jessica-and-Henry0  Your long-term hosting is totally different, of course, from someone who hosts a property where they don't live- you host students in your home and seems like you guys can play "Mom and Dad" as far as enforcing the rules, although I realize you probably get some who just don't really pay attention and have to be reminded over and over again.

[Indrek3]

I have hosted 4 times guests longer than 3 weeks and there was always strange smell atthe apartment, the apartment was left usually in a quite mess plus I have found something broken. Based on that I'm avoiding long-term stays.  

[Martin-and-Emelyn0]

Thank you, everyone, so much for your great feedback and insight. I've decided to deny the request to stay. It really isn't worth it.

[Fred13]

Good for you Martin. Not being on the premises, for long-term and no reviews is the trifecta for 'The Perfect Hosting Storm'.

[Martin-and-Emelyn0]

You are right, @Fred13 and I have no intention of wading into such a storm. Thank you! 

[Cynthia62]

I too have received several similar inquiries over the past 12 monthscor so, and like you, I'm justifiably suspicious. None of them have panned out. Just today, I received another inquiry to stay for 29 days. Yes, good money, but she's been a member since 2015, has only a phone number for verification, no pictures on her profile, not a single reference and she's asking for my exact address .... no, she's not yet confirmed.  Hellllooo000ooo. Something stinks.  Another pattern I have noticed is a few of these inquiries seemed to attempt to distract by asking if they can bring their adorable little pets and can they see my place before they confirm.  I'm grateful air BNB has rules and recommendations that we can fall back on to protect ourselves.

[Alexander993]

Thank you very much for your kind answer @Cynthia62. This week I got the same pattern question about pets and they asking to see the property in advance. Honestly, I didn't know what to do, but should I let them come to visit it? 

[Sarah977]

@Alexander993 It really isn't advisable to let guests "preview" the property. Many guests ask to do this because they want to try to make a private deal outside of Airbnb, bypassing the service fees. They can also be people who are criminal types who want to scope out the property so they can come back and rob you.

 Guests should be able to ascertain whether the place is suitable for them by looking at the photo gallery, reading through your listing description, and asking any questions they might have before booking. If they are looking for a place long-term, it's more understandable that they might want to have a look first, but in that case, you could suggest that they just book one night before deciding to book long-term to make sure they like it.

[Alexandra316]

@Alexander993Everything that @Sarah977 Sarah said, plus I find they're time wasters. I showed my place to a few people when I was newer, and none of them ever booked. People who want to book just book. 

[Mike1034]

@Martin-and-Emelyn0 @Cynthia62 I have to host long-term guests because of the HOA rules which prohibits of shorter than 30 days rental. But my guests are mostly interns or some people who are looking for long-term housing after moving here. I have had little issues with them because they are mostly young people studing in the college or just graduated. I live in the house as well. I also have had guests who are travel nurses that need 2-3 months of rental as well.

[Jonathan519]

Hi Mike, I was reading this thread on longer term stays and I have a question I hope you don't mind helping out with since you seem to have a similar situation: 

I have a condo that won't allow anything under 2 week stays. So anything 14 days and above is fair game. Is  Airbnb the best way to book this condo? Or is there a better platform to do this? 

Any help is much appreciated. jonnytetu@gmail.com

[Alice595]

@Jonathan519 Hi there, I believe that you still could get bookings from Airbnb for >14 days. Most of my long-term guests were from Airbnb. I also post on Zillow.com to get long-term renters. One issue I have are the dates between bookings shorter than 30 days. I have to leave those dates vacant.

Just make sure that your listing are set up to have minimum of 13 nights. Therefore, no bookings shorter than 14 days can be booked. 

If your listing is close to a college, you may be able to get long-term renters from students.