DO NOT RENT LONG TERM

[Heather64]

I have a current guest who rented my home four months before his arrival. He stayed 20 of his 92 day booking before asking if he could cancel the remainder of his stay. It is low season so I rejected his change request. Today, his credit card was rejected. AirBnB contacted him and he said he has left the property and he's not paying. 

My calendar is still blocked because if I cancel I incur host cancellation penalties. I have requested AirBnB collections department engage but I don't have much hope. My only other alternative is small claims court.

DO NOT BOOK LONG TERM GUESTS until AirBnB changes their policies to better protect homeowners. At a minimum they need to collect the entire amount upfront from the guest so owners aren't surprised by no income on the day they expected it!

[Paul154]

@Zacharias0 

Please create a new thread and inform us all about your change from str to long-term renting.

I believe your city had forced you into LTR. Or is it by choice?

Do you fill your LTR through Airbnb? or Craigslist? or...?

I ask because Seattle will be forcing me into some LTR and I am afraid of life after this regulation. (I hate Long term rentals - there's always a divorce at the end .)

Please illuminate us with your experience.

[Sean433]

@Paul154 

Hi Paul, I am not sure what the law will stipulate in Seattle but I assume it's similar to what is happening all around the world. Every major city has, is undergoing or looking to tighten their laws up on STR. Fortunately, in many cases they allow STR if it is your principle or primary residence. If you live in any part of the home, you can still rent it STR. In our city, the law will soon change where you can rent out your spare rooms or your home for 180 days a year as STR.

What to do for the other 180 days, I presume a couple of 30 day rentals if you can bare the risk and just open up the 180 days for the busy season.

Also, other Major Cities in Canada such as Montreal have had this law in effect for a while but have had zero to very little fines issued, just warnings. Seems to be a hard law to enforce due to the volume of STR's these days

[Helen427]

hello @Heather64 

Sorry to read of your unfortunate situations that have arisen.

I had a challenging guest who booked around 12 days when I 1st joined ABB and quickly learnt that not all are of the same clothe.

Please make sure you read through my now somewhat lengthy listing how I now circumnavigate and do my best to prevent longer term guests who may pose issues.

I appreciate yours is a money issue & it does tend to crop up where guests are perhaps on working holiday visa stays & jobs may not be so easy to obtain or their funds for whatever reason are inaccessible due to Bank / debit cards not working in another country.

There can be personality clash issues, misunderstandings, need for personal space if a person, either Host or Guest may not be working at the best of times, and when one is living under the same roof longer term all to consider with Hosting or staying long term.

All the best

[Pete69]

In jurisdictions like California, once you go over 30 days, if you have a squatter on your hands you will have to go through the slow, expensive court system to get them out. Apparently California patched up the laws. Now, simply by virtue of guests paying a transient occupancy tax, you can call the sheriff to haul them out immediately. Adios!

In the real world of renting, you do some sort of background check, credit check, and most importantly take a CASHIER'S CHECK, including the security deposit -- not a 50% credit card payment (as Airbnb does) which could turn out to be fraudulent.

Personally I wouldn't book someone beyond 10 days. I think of the worst guests I've had. Fortunately they only stayed 2 or 3 days.

[Nina75]

Not after 30 days.... After 30days all  tenants have residency and if you are not registered they will throw your court case out. I don't know where you are getting your information.

[Pete69]

After 30 days you have to go through the court process to get the Sheriff to kick them out.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/805/what-are-some-things-i-should-consider-before-hosting-longte...

Less than 30 and the Sheriff will come out immediately, assuming your guest paid the transient occupancy tax for their stay. Simply by virtue of paying that 14% tax makes them a transient occupant for stays of 30 days or less -- no waiting for a judge to decide.

[Nina75]

This sounds fishy.... I hate to say it but something here just doesn't add up... 

Your Calendars do not seem blocked for 3 Months.

This is a cautionary tale for being greedy, if someone doesn't want to stay just let them go. Agree to a cancellation fee and call it a day, move on with your life. Now you are talking about going to small claims court suing each other over someone who didn't want to stay at your place. 

Some of the hosts here I swear you would think that they are 2 seconds from being homeless, and this is there last dollar. Hosting is a risk on both sides.

[Shelley424]

You are so right! I'm dealing with one of "those" hosts right now. It's a nightmare! She has been paid $20,000 for our stay. We walked into the nastiest, broken down place we have ever stayed. I had to clean, reline sleeves. There were dead bugs, live bug casings and droppings, everything was disgusting. I had to even go out and buy a new Keurig, and new pots and pans. Nothing worked. Missing racks in both the fridge AND oven! Oven was so filthy, I cleaned it by hand bc I was scared that if I tried to use the self clean option on the stove it would catch fire. The garbage disposal literally cut my pinky finger off! I mean OFF! I am on my third surgery. I mean, this has been a total nightmare, and this woman, whom we have watched bully her own husband relentlessly, acts like she has provided a palace that we should be on knees thanking her for even allowing us to enter. Forget the $20,000 she's been paid for us to be here. This woman is just absolutely delusional. ***

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[Emiel1]

Airbnb can only collect the first installment, to make it a confirmed reservation. If the guests do not pay subsequent installments, Airbnb has no tools to force them to pay. It is a known issue. The host just receives a message saying: sorry, we could not collect... etc. Airbnb suggests to create a lease for long term stays: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/465/can-hosts-ask-guests-to-sign-a-contract 

I do regurarly long term stays, if somebody wants to leave earlier i shorten the stay and make a reasonable deal with the guest. The  "long term stay" cancellation policy is too much based on normal renting contract rules  (1 month notice/payment). For real long term stays (for example more then 6 months) Airbnb is not a suitable option, just create a normal renting contract with the tenant (it's not a "guest|" anymore and also does not need to be treated that way)

[Gsdfhds0]

AIRBNB stole me $ 650 and there is no one to talk to just cheaters hiding behind a keyboard

[Stephanie]

Hiya @Gsdfhds0 ,

Sorry to hear you are having trouble. Can you please share some more information about this issue you are facing?

Thanks

[Alon1]

@Stephanie @Gsdfhds0 

Stephanie,

Please note there is no listing and no reviews attached to Gsdfhds profile.

Therefore, without the poster's response, it remains a matter of speculation as to what exactly the issue is.

Per chance it was a new listing, given the dates of the booking confirmations, 27th August, there is normally a 30 Days delay prior to Airbnb releasing payment.

[Stephanie]

@Alon1 ,

Thanks for sharing your insights. Hopefully @Gsdfhds0 can come back to share more details with us.

Thanks

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

I host mostly long-term guests but I am very picky about the "type" of guest, specifically only international exchange students coming to Korea for 1 semester. While I can't do detailed background checks, I do what I can to secure basic information about potential guests, screen them, and make sure they are a good fit with what I provide. It's a bit of a niche market but I've found a way to make it work for me. 

Imo, it is also the host's responsibility to be knowledgeable of local tenancy laws, Airbnb terms and conditions, and the risks associated to hosting (regardless of duration) - while there are many things that Airbnb could/should do better, they are not to blame for EVERYTHING that goes wrong. 

[Gsdfhds0]

Where's my $ 650?
27/08/2019 18:40 AIRBNB * HMAFTNTNQM
$ 350.74
27/08/2019 18:40 AIRBNB * HMAQTP49BF
$ 304.07

You cheated and stole $ 650 after you got the visa you can talk to walls