minimum stays ?

Sean375
Level 3
Jersey City, NJ

minimum stays ?

What is your experience re: minimum stays fro weekends ?

9 Replies 9
Barry-and-Lera0
Level 10
Sarasota, FL

@Sean375: Peak season (Jan-May) we do 7 night minimums. During the off-season we do two night minimums unless they request to book on a Thursday or Friday, then it automatically goes to a 3 night minimum.

Pete69
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

I don't want to be a "maid" all the time so I don't accept one night bookings.

Ian-And-Anne-Marie0
Level 10
Kendal, United Kingdom

@Sean375 @Barry-and-Lera0 @Pete69 

When we first set up our letting we seta 3 night minimum. This only because the income from a 2 night stay didn't justify the effort involved in preparation for the next guests. It seems strange that we have a 3 night minimum stay as most people getting away would want to book a 2 night break over a weekend. We're pretty much consistantly booked with 3 nights for the peak season times.

 

We have reduced to 2 night minimums off peak and have booked maybe 3-4 of these. The norm is for 3 nights.

 

@Barry-and-Lera0 Can you set your calendars to automatically change 2/3/5 night minimums on Airbnb? I've only found one place to do the 3-night thing. Do you have to use booking rules or something? Longer breaks during peak season would be a better idea.

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0: Yes all of those controls are in "Listing" > "Availability" > "Trip Length" > "Edit a Requirement". Then you can set custom minimums and maximum stays. You can set different minumums for every week if you'd like.

Pete69
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

I raised my cleaning fee while lowering my nightly rates in order to encourage longer stays and discourage shorter stays.

Deborah527
Level 2
Amherst, MA

Do people have opinions on one-night minimums -vs- two-night minimums? Locally the homeowners insurance I'm considering does allow short-term rentals but wants a minimum of two nights.  Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Deborah

Ian-And-Anne-Marie0
Level 10
Kendal, United Kingdom

@Deborah527 

I'd rather have longer stays than shorter ones. Shorter stays means more work, communication, cleaning etc...

 

We stayed at a really nice ABB last year for one night. Knowing the work that goes into preparation we discussed with the owners the viability of one nighters and they were inclined to agree that longer stays would be a better option.

 

It would ultimately depend on your local market and your listing. If there were lots of one night transients then it might be beneficial to streamline your listing to make accomodation easier to turn around. It would also be easier for one nighters if you rent a room instead of an apartment so the answer would need to relate to your circumstances.

Thank you for your answer.  I really appreciate it.

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Sean375 

Weekends- 2 nights min, people often book Friday- Sunday regardless of the destination.