Long term stay

[Joe4041]

I got a message from a potential guest for a 7 month stay that wants me to call them to discuss the long term rental. Once they understand the situation of the house they will go back to Airbnb to make the reservation. Does anyone have experience with this type of  request on how to know if this is leigitimate , how to proceed and advice to prevent myself from being scammed. Thanks. 

[Helen3]

Do you want to take such a long term booking? Would it give the guest tenancy rights? @Joe4041 

quite often guests who want to negotiate off platform ask you to contact them directLy

just confirm to the guests it's against Airbnb's T&C to communicate off platform before there is a confirmed booking.

say you're happy to answer any questions they might have on Airbnb and that the information they need to decide whether to book is available on your listing .

make sure you ask any vetting questions  you need to before deciding whether to accept the booking.

[Joan2709 · Accepted solution]

@Joe4041 

It's never a good idea to communicate off platform prior to a guest booking a stay as @Helen3 states, as this is against Airbnb's terms of service. Airbnb could suspend your listing for doing so.

The guest can ask all the questions they want about the listing through the Airbnb messaging system and you can remind them that both Hosts and guests are required to communicate on the platform only before booking a stay. I also suggest Hosts keep their communication after booking on the platform as much as possible for documentation reasons in case of a conflict or issue:

Off Platform Policies

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2799

Here is a Guide to Monthly Stays on Airbnb - suggest you read through it and review the Airbnb Help articles as there are a lot of potential pitfalls for Hosts who offer long term stays - @Helen3 mentions some commonly seen ones:

Guide to Monthly Stays

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-guides/Monthly-Stays-on-Airbnb-Guide-Revised/m-p/2066547#M2...

[Alex]

Hello @Joe4041, 👋

Thank you for sharing this situation with us. It’s always important to ask for advice in these types of situations to ensure you have all the information you need. I noticed you’ve already received some comments from Joan and Helen, thank you for that! 🤗 Have you had a chance to review their responses?