New member requests an entire month?

[J-R-11]

Been a host for about 5 years (one property). Longest rental to date is about two weeks.  3 season vacation home in Michigan. New member requests to book an entire month. No previous rentals- no reviews.  I understand that we shouldn't immediately decline people based on being new members, but it's hard to fill an entire month if they cancel at the 30 day limit for refunds. If they had more of a positive history of reviews, I'd be less leery.  What do the rest of you think about a first timer reserving a whole month 9 months in advance?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@J-R-11 what long term cancellation policy do you have? If it is Strict-long term then you will be fine.

[J-R-11]

I updated the cancellation policy accordingly. It had been awhile since I looked at the options and I believe they have drastically improved things since I originally signed on. My listing was originally set up by my "property manager" who we later fired. I genuinely appreciate your help.  We're not new to Airbnb, but we're new to the Community pages. Thank you for welcoming us 

 I know this is a copy from my response to Paula, but it's just as honest and appreciated. Thank you!!

[Bob297]

@J-R-11 @Mike-And-Jane0 
I wonder what cancellation policy would be valid if you accept the request.
The policy at the time of the request seems fair, because based on that they did the request

[Paula]

Hello @J-R-11, welcome to the Airbnb community,

Have you had the chance to read Mike's question? It can be important to review the cancellation policy for long-term stays.

I am reaching out to some of our lovely Hosts to ask for their advice on your question: @Patricia2526 @Debra300 @Lorina14 

All the best,

[J-R-11 · Accepted solution]

I did!  Thank you for reaching out to others as well.  I updated the cancellation policy accordingly. It had been awhile since I looked at the options and I believe they have drastically improved things since I originally signed on. My listing was originally set up by my "property manager" who we later fired. I genuinely appreciate your help.  We're not new to Airbnb, but we're new to the Community pages. Thank you for welcoming us 🙂

[Paula]

Thanks for the update, @J-R-11  It's amazing to hear that the advice from our wonderful Host @Mike-And-Jane0  helped. 😊

Looking forward to reading more posts from you in the future. 

[Niccole2]

I like long term guests. I usually rent for a month or more. Less cleaning, washing bedding etc. They become more like roommates since I live at my home. The part that is hard is when a guest has to cancel for issues unrelated to my ABB. My last guest was supposed to stay for three months. She stayed a month. I only got paid for that month and had to really scramble to fill my spot in two weeks! I was forced to drop my rate. That was a big pain. I did get a great new guest in about 2.5 weeks so luckily it worked out.

this is my third Airbnb and I have met wonderful people. The woman who just started staying with me is supposed to stay with me for three months and I really wish she wasn’t.

i lowered my rate after a month of nothing and I’m convinced that’s when the crazies book my room. Has anyone else had this issue?

[Lorina14]

Hi @J-R-11!

Welcome to the community boards! People are really helpful here and it’s been fun getting to know some hosts. I’m glad you looked at the cancellation policies. I had a long term renter and in the messaging we clarified about cancellation as she had read my policy and I believe I did the recommended cancellation policy for long term renting which was 30 day notice prior to arrival date free cancellation. I just did what Airbnb recommended for long term renters. 

Since you have not checked the settings recently, you may want to revisit the following:

1) Cleaning fees - there are currently two settings one for 1-2 days and one for 3 or more days. Some longer term rentals have a flat high fee and this tends to deter short bookings as it doesn’t make sense to pay a high cleaning fee for a 1-3 day stay.

I’ve asked Airbnb several times about considering a third cleaning fee for greater than 28 days as it takes more to clean when someone has stayed for a while. I have not heard back. Maybe if more hosts say something it will gain traction.

2) Revisiting your cancellation policies regularly - check what other hosts in the area are offering for comparable listings, consider adjusting them for high season and low season. 

3) Setting a requirement for allowing auto booking only for profiles with good ratings. I remember this was an option when I set up my listing in the summer. 

Many hosts who do longer term rentals or rent larger places do not allow instant booking as they like to prescreen their potential guests. I have a smaller space and allow it and have not had an issue.

4) Having a few questions when they contact you for a potential trial booking:

A) What brings you to our area?

B) How many guests?

C) What attracted you to our place? 
D) Pointing out any special features of your place they may not be aware of (i.e. we just wanted to make sure you know that there are 20 steps downstairs to get to the unit, is this OK with you?)l

Or something similar to weed out the people who are not sincere. I can’t remember the exact questions I’ve read that hosts ask to help get an idea of the kind of person you may be renting to. 

5) You may want to check with your city on if you need to sign a lease if the renter is there more than 28 days.  Certain cities give long term renters more rights and require you to sign a lease if someone stays beyond 28 or 30 days. It may be good to double check for your area.