Short vs long stays

[Laura2592]

We limit our stays. We don't really want any guests for over a week as our Airbnb is our weekend home and we like to use it ourselves. We also worry about squatters, damage and  accidentally becoming landlords in this property so long stays are out of the question. We get a lot of inquiries for them nonetheless. Short stays involve more work for turnover but being newer hosts they have helped us build up our reviews. 

I see a lot of hosts who do long stays and get excited about long term bookings. Do you prefer short or long term guests?  What do you see as the advantages/disadvantages of each?

[Md-Mizanur1]

Hi Laura

As per my personal experience I prefer long stay guest due less maintenance and most of them live in the room or unit and feel as their own home. When a guest come for short stay they feel we are traveler and feel like staying in the hotel.

The short time guest and long time  thinking, behavior are totally different. If guest come for  short stay they don't mind though rubbish here and there or all amenities in the property not organised or taken care properly.  If guest come for long stay they think if we throw rubbish here and there or make dirty the place they have to living in the  same premises and same environment. 

The long stay guest are more organised than short stay guest. So, we prefer welcoming  long stay guest.

Thank you.

Regards

Mizanur

[Jim472]

I just went over my 1 year mark and in that time I've had stays of 61, 51, 41, 31, & 16 night long stays, the rest were under 6 nights. All added up I came in at 91% occupy. I prefer long stays because I don't have to deal with the turnover, guaranteed income, and I know my property will be taken care of, I might feel as you do if I actually used the place. I think the advantage of short stays are purely financial as I get more money with those but have to clean every few days or more often. Disadvantages for long are less money, and for short some guests treat it more like a hotel and don't care about messes left behind (wet towels on floor, trash, unwashed dishes, nothing major only lack of respect.)

[Yadira22]

@Laura2592 

I only do short stays- average at 4 nights, 1-17 days but in our private home up to 2 weeks. 
we apareciste the increased work for turnover but I prefer when a guest is such a traveller vs when they are looking for a permanent residence.

in doing such short stay I avoid having them sign our home address to their bank accounts, National insurance cards etc. Overall it’s easier. With longer stays you need to also consider by law how long it takes for the guest to establish “tenancy status” and it could become a very complicated legal matter if problems arise. Also cancellation terms are more linient for long term bookings on Airbnb!
what you do is up to you but these are my thoughts on the matter. 

[Laura2592]

@Yadira22 yes I feel the same way. I don't want anyone moving into my cottage. I don't think a lot of hosts understand the implications of long term stays with tenancy in many areas. Too many risks. If we had an additional property we didn't use personally we still wouldn't do stays in excess of 2 weeks. Just too much that can go wrong. 

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  I have always had a 3 night minimum and 2 week maximum. My situation is different from yours in that I host a private room in my home. But more similar to yours than a lot of "Entire Place" listings, because you actually use the place yourself, so it would feel more like your home than those places that are solely used to house guests. When I first started hosting, 3 years ago, I figured that if I wasn't that comfortable with a guest in my home, I could stick it out for 2 weeks, but not longer than that. 

It's proved to be a good decision for me. Most of my guests stay anywhere from 4 days to 2 weeks, the average being a week-10 days. I've never really had a guest I felt uncomfortable with in my home, but after 2 weeks, I'm happy to have my place to myself for a day or two (I also have 1 day before and after prep time).

While we certainly want guests to feel "at home" when they stay, what you say is true- we don't really want them to start feeling like it's their home. I started doing Airbnb because my guest room sat empty most of the year, aside from when I had friends or family come to visit. If I wanted a roommate, which is what a long-term booking would feel like, I'd just look for one locally. But I don't want a roommate.

[Kate-Mary0]

@Laura2592 

Hi Laura

I  have hosted both short and long stay guests in the past. I think both come with advantages and disadvantages, to be honest!  I have a friend who rents a private room, rather than an entire place. She's not keen on having long-term house guests - which is better if she's not really comfortable with her guest - she had a very messy female stay recently and was very happy when she packed up to leave!

I like the flexibility of hosting short-term lets. I can have a few guests in quick succession, make a profit, and not feel as though I am a full-on landlord (long-term guests sometimes "make themselves at home" rather a lot)! That said, longer lets do save effort in terms of cleaning / new guest admin etc. 

I do enjoy hosting, and the extra money certainly comes in handy! I guess what I'm trying to say is I will consider both short or long term guests providing I'm making a nice bit of profit. I always keep my eye out for ideas on how to boost my income, I found this post quite interesting if anyone fancies a read:

https://www.igms.com/airbnb-revenue-growth-techniques/?fb=post

[Matt682]

@Laura2592 

I rent rooms in my own home, my husband and I both prefer having longer-term guests for a number of reasons.

Firstly, you’re guaranteeing your income stream, which if you are in an area that books 1-6 days before and you rely on the money, really reduces stress levels. Cancellation policy for 28+ days is also significantly better for the host without you having to hurt your search placement by having a strict cancellation policy.

Secondly, you can learn routines so sharing spaces is easier, everything from a kitchen to a driveway (although granted maybe not applicable to your situation). You can also build rapport with your guests; we’ve gone out on day trips for picnics at castles with previous guests, and just last night we took two long-stay guests (different bookings) to some Guy Fawks Night Fireworks.

Thirdly, it’s significantly less work for whoever does the cleaning. In my place that’s me, and weekly changes of bedding and towels is far less time, effort, cost, and wear & tear, than daily changes of the same.

Some advice I’ve learned from havinglong-stay guests:

Too many long-stay guests will reduce your revenue if you offer discounts, fine-tune your mix of long/short, and the discount you apply over time.

Have a reason to enter the guest-space during the stay, cleaning etc., communicate that you’ll normally give them privacy, but it will happen on this occasion because... Tell them about it in advance, and then there are no nasty surprises for you on check-out.

Let them know you value long-stay guests, and what the positive impact is for you as a host - they love feeling welcome.

Highlight any behaviours that aren’t appropriate early on in the stay. This will make the rest of the stay more pleasant for everyone.