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!

[Samantha147]

Whoa, sorry about that!  Thanks for the heads up.

[Heather64]

Not very fun to think you're gonna wake up to $XYZ in your bank account only to find out ... nope.

Zero advanced warning.

[Lisa723]

@Heather64 that's a cautionary tale! Have you asked Airbnb customer support to cancel the reservation for you without penalty? They definitely should.

[Heather64]

I have spoken to numerous people about this issue at AirBnB. At this point, I understand the long-term rental policy better than their customer support team does. I am afraid to have them cancel and unblock my calendar until I speak to the collections department. Sure as heck as soon as I cancel / unblock the collections department will tell me there isn't anything they can do because I cancelled. 

[Laura2592]

I agree. Long term hosts need to understand what tenancy laws are in their area. Booking long term with Airbnb provides very little protection to hosts should something go amiss. We are landlords in addition to Airbnb hosts  (two different properties) and we limit stays to 5-7 nights depending on the season. Airbnb should not be a tenancy platform as it is a complicated legal situation. Hosts have no lease, no recourse for nonpayment and can end up with squatters they have to evict. 

[Kaylee18]

@Laura2592  Totally agree with you. We don't rent long term because our tenancy law kicks in if someone stays more than 30 days... then they fall under our Residential Tenancy Act making it impossible to kick them out if they decide they don't want to leave. 

Plus I love the short term renting! 

[Laura2592]

Most places in the US are like that after 30 days...hosts have no idea. They get excited for a bigger payout and don't understand that they open themselves up to huge risk. Short term stays might be more work if you have to personally clean and turn over each time, but they 1. help with your reviews because you have more of them and a so so rating can easily be eaten up by more good ratings 2. arguably people can do less damage in two nights than 30 (exceptions exist I am sure!) and 3. you get to interact with more people which can be really fun and interesting. We get so many inquiries about long term rentals but I would never do them through Airbnb. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Heather64 

As he stayed 20 days I assume you got paid for the first month, right? He checked out and your apartment is free but blocked by this reservation.

His bank account is empty because he doesn't want to pay. He can delete his Airbnb account and open a new one with a different credit card, name, and email. You will never be paid for the next 2 months.

At your place, I would contact Airbnb and let them cancel his stay because he doesn't have founds on his credit card. Then my calendar would reopen and I would be able to rebook at least some days. It is better than nothing.

I would never rent long term through Airbnb but not only for this reason.

[Heather64]

That's where we are but I don't want to do that until I speak to the collections department. 

[Sarah977]

@Heather64 Well, you could be waiting to talk to the collections department until you're old and feeble and can no longer host 🙂

I do hope it works out for you, but I'd go ahead and get Airbnb to cancel the rest of the booking so you can rebook if possible.

And I would never even consider renting long-term. I joined Airbnb because my guest room sat empty most of the year, unless friends or family came to visit. I certainly never wanted a long-term roommate, or I would have looked for someone I knew was responsible. I have a 2 week maximum stay.

[Zacharias0]

You were paid for the first 31 days according to AIrBnB policy. You could have simply left it at that and sent the guest an adjustment request knocking off the last two months. Its whats reasonable and fair especially since they only stayed for 20 days. Why they booked 92 days and then left early is beside the point.

I only book long term guests and have had much success with it. Sometimes guests have to leave early and I adjust accordingly. Most times I just charge them a fee  like a day or two for leaving early and they accept my modification request and life goes on.

[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