Should I accept 5 college interns for 2.5 months?

[Mitch64]

Just received an inquiry from some college students who want to rent our 2-bedroom basement apartment for the summer from June 1 - August 10. There are five of them, none older than sophomores, moving to DC for summer internships.

I'm concerned about having that many people staying in our basement, especially kids who probably haven't lived anywhere besides their parents' house and dorms. 

We usually aren't able to rent the unit out for that many nights per month, so it would defintely be more lucrative, but of course there's the chance that they trash the place, don't clean, etc. The request was from a verified AirBnb member, with no reviews and the other 4 guests, I have no idea who they are. 

Any recommendations on how to handle this inquiry?

[Noel102]

If it were me, I would take a hard pass.  No way I take anyone with no reviews for that length of time.

[Paul154]

@Mitch64 

You are right to see red flags. 

1. No reviews.

2. Youth

3. Long rental period.

4. Summer is high season and you can make triple $$ on 4th of July week.

However, they might be great youths who are working and out and about.

You also can watch out if you live upstairs.

I would Airbnb to them for 2 weeks and the rent privately for 2 months.

[Zacharias0]

Airbnb doesnt make it easy to feel comfortable about long term guests. The guests have the option to write you, in detail, their intentions but most don't. Airbnb doesnt provide a picture or ask for a minimum number of reliable verifications. This puts host on the defensive and makes us think twice  about a reservation when we didnt before. If you received the inquiry you also received the amount of potential money you would receive. That amount would be enough for me to say yes, but in this day and age with no other information to base my judgement on I either ask more probing questions to see what they will do with their time, tell them to instant book or just decline.  Where will the 5th person sleep? If they are ALL medical students then I would proceed as you know they will at least be focused on school, but be prepared for a loud group of people at all hours if you approve them.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Mitch64 

I've been hosting univeristy exchange students long term for the past 2 yrs.......... and based on my experience I would never rent to 5 of them at once, in a separate private apartment. 

I'm not sure what long-term rent costs in your area, but you should be getting at least x1.5 of what typical monthly rent is if you accept a long-term Airbnb rental - think about all you offer. Your listing is a private home that is fully furnished (inlcuding the kitchen), you provide bedding and towels, cost of utilities & wifi are all included AND there is no real deposit for damages. A monthly payout may seem like a lot of money right now.....but make sure you know what your monthly costs will be too. What if the guests take 2 showers each every single day? What if all the lights in the entire apartment are kept on 24/7? What about the AC? What if the guests do a load of laundry every single day for the entire duration of their stay? What will happen if the 5 interns decide to invite a few friends over to "hang out" on weekends?

The security deposit is not a real deposit. https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140/how-does-airbnb-handle-security-deposits?q=security%20deposi...

If you do a search on the CC for "long term" you will be able to find a lot of good advice about precautions and things to consider. Here are a few links to get you started. Whatever you decide to do....... good luck~!

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Help-Long-term-guest-regrets/m-p/714550#M169234

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Long-term-guest-repeatedly-breaking-smoking-rules/m-p/87...

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/guest-long-term-stay/m-p/952455?advanced=false&collapse_...

[Mark116]

no. no. no.

[Kelly149]

@Mitch64 

do you usually take long term guests?

do you want to take long term guests?

do you have it priced such that it really would be a good reservation for you?

you have next to no rules - fix that in general but certainly before you take on a long term guest.

I personally wouldn't want to spend 10 weeks in that space with 4 other adults : one bath, not enough beds, limited kitchen, small living area...

are they coming with cars?

I personally have a university student who will be away for the summer for a co-op. Housing is always a challenge for these kids. He and his friends would be great residents for a space but many kids probably wouldn't. The key would be setting some really good ground rules and making sure you have the buy in of every single guest.

My ABB space would never work for a long term guest bc I make too much money from the short timers to ever be cost effective for a long term guest, but your setup might be different. Would your summer be better or worse if you didn't have to deal with checkins and change overs?

Good luck!

[Casita-By-The-Texas-Bay0]

@Mitch64 it would be a good idea to rent to them for a week at a time...that will give you the opportunity to see if you decide to do a long term contract for them...or also, you could reply and say that you would not take more than 2 people (or whatever number you really feel comfortable)

[Mitch64]

Thank you all for your insightful responses. We are quite accustomed to having longterm renters in our basement, but have never had more than 2 longterm tenants in the space at once. Five just seems crazy to me, but I don't have to live there. The money would be much better than what we could get renting it outside of Airbnb longterm. We also would prefer longterm tenants and not having to deal with change-overs of guests etc. 

Does anyone have some suggested rules to post on our listing in general as well as rules for longterm guests? 

We will probably reject them and move on, but it would be good to improve our listing. 

Thanks!

[Kelly149]

@Mitch64 there are several CC threads with rules suggestions. Reading thru those would serve you well.

You might suggest to these kids that you would be comfortable hosting some number less than 5 of them. (rather than outright rejecting them, if the group size is more your concern than the length)

[Mark116]

No parties.

Give a quiet hours period from 10pm-7am.

Consider a limit on how many guests they can have without getting your permission.

*I would also consider offering or doing some kind of weekly or biweekly 'light cleaning' 'refresh' so you can get inside the unit and make sure everything is as it should be.

*No alcohol, since you say they are sophmores in college which means they're probably not 21 years old.

*Make it very clear what their responsibilities are around cleaning and garbage.  You could even consider some type of signed agreement, but you want to be careful that if you that you aren't giving them rights as actual legal tenants, in which case, it would be a nightmare to get them removed.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Mitch64 

As I mentioned above, I host long-term exchange student guests with my single occupancy private room listing. My description and house rules are very very long, wordy and detailed. Please feel free to take a look. 

I know that my description/rules are a bit extreme, but it is also intentional - so we can weed out the types who "don't like rules" and think they can do whatever they want. We want the type of guests who are a bit picky and concerned about their living arrangements. That care about having a quality stay and are willing to pay a little bit more for quiet and privacy. So far, we've done okay 🙂