Guests Who Request to Rent Outside of AirBnB

Maria730
Level 3
Ashland, OR

Guests Who Request to Rent Outside of AirBnB

We recently had an elderly couple rent our beach home. They initially stated that they could not open the directions emailed to them through the AirBnB

website. We ended up having to email from our personal email before they could open the attachment. They were very complementary about the accomodations when they arrived, left things tidy, overall ideal guests. Then, the evening of the day they checked out, they contacted us by email stating they were having trouble booking another stay through the website. The next day, I sent a "Special Offer" through AirBnB with the dates they requested. Today, they responded with a request to rent our home on a consistent basis, one week every other month. However, they do NOT want to rent through AirBnB, but us directly, as it would be "more convenient". Of course it's appealing to have a consistent renter throughout the year, who was gentle on your home, but it feels very odd that they would approach things this way. Obviously, AirBnB wasn't so inconvenient that they couldn't rent previously. They have good feedback with other properties on AirBnB. It just doesn't sit well with us...why would they want to bypass AirBnB? They even mentioned offering the rental full price, including all the taxes &  AirBnB fees to compensate for our "extra trouble." Has anyone else dealt with this? 

31 Replies 31

@Helen350 Ah, thanks for clarifying! Much appreciated. 

@Hugo550 Many hosts list on multiple platforms, rent through their own private website, etc. There is nothing "against the TOS" about this. 

 

What is against the TOS is having a guest contact you through the Airbnb platform, and then surreptitiously directing them to a way to contact you directly, thereby circumventing paying the Airbnb fees. And I wouldn't trust a guest who asked me to do that, either.

 

Most hosts would never agree to this anyway, because we don't want to have some random stranger in our homes we know nothing about, with no possible support from Airbnb, nor do we want to do something unethical.

 

In my case, as a home-share host, I have quite a bit of interaction with my guests- it usually ends up feeling like I have a friend staying, or a long lost relative. If they've been here for a week, I have a pretty good sense of what kind of person they are. So if the day before the booking comes to an end, a guest were to say "You know, I'm really enjoying my time here and there's nothing I have to rush home for, so if you aren't already booked, I'd love to stay another couple days", I would have no qualms about them just paying me cash. Not particularly to avoid Airbnb fees, but because it's so much less hassle than having to spend time on the site extending the booking, encountering frustrating tech glitches, etc. And when guests finish an Airbnb stay and are ready to check out, I always tell them they can just contact me directly if they ever want to come back.

 

It's like if you met your wife or husband through a mutual friend who introduced you by inviting you both over for dinner. Once that event is over, you don't have to invite that friend to have dinner with you and your new partner forevermore to show how much you appreciate the facilitation of your first meeting.

 

If I had an entire house listing, where guests did self-check-in, and I never really got to know them, I would likely not so easily be willing to book off- platform, because I really wouldn't know if I went outside the platform, if they might take advantage of that by leaving the place a mess, or sneaking in more people, or not paying me after I've held the space for them. And they wouldn't have a bad review to worry about.

 

 

@Sarah977 Thanks for clarifying! Much appreciated.

I have been renting entire house properties for more than 15 years through various platforms.  As a result, I have had many repeat guests.  I do not take a guest off the platform that they have inquired from, as my contract with the platform forbids it.  However, once the guest has completed the stay through the platform, they are able to book a future date with me directly.  

 

One advantage to booking directly is that I have the guest payment information and I have a contract that requires full payment at booking and a pre-paid refundable damage deposit.  .  IMO, repeat guests with direct bookings are better for my peace of mind than the unknown guests coming through an OTA.  

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Hugo550,

I offer long-term stays in my spaces, but limit the maximum duration to 30 days.  If a guest requests to stay for multiple months, I usually manage those types of bookings through my own website, and not Airbnb, because they only guarantee the first month's payment, and do not take a true security deposit.  In event that a guest wants to book through Airbnb, I will approve an extension of the reservation only after the 25th night of the existing reservation.  This will have given me time to see how the guest behaves before I accept the request.

This is worrisome to me,  I have a renter who wants to stay at my rental for at least 8 months.  If Air BNb only guarantees the first month (Tho I am sure they will get their fee up front for the 8 months)  what guarenteed to I have that the person doesn't pay another dime?  I could ask for a security deposit of 1 month but that only covers 1 month.  I am new to hosting and this 30 day minimum required rental is nothing but q PIA.  i just bought it last year and am ready to sell it!  So frustration!

@Mary4822  You absolutely don't want to rent for 8 months through Airbnb. That's a long term lease landlord/tenant situation. You need references, a real security deposit, all the safeguards landlords normally use for tenants.

Thank you so much Sarah for your help!

So can I legally do this through airbnb since the renter contacted me through this site.  She also contacted my through vrbo.  I believe VRBO charges everything up front?  Or can I do this on my own?  Do I find the contract through the state in which I am renting?   And with VRBO, there is an allowable insurance policy for 3000 for damage paid by the tenant.

 

 

 

@Mary4822  I can't tell you anything about VRBO, I have no experience with them. 

 

No, you can't exchange contact info with guests who contact you on Airbnb until they have a confirmed booking. 

 

Basically, you need to decide if  you want tenants or guests. I understand you live where you can't rent for less than 30 days or a month, so Airbnb really isn't the right platform for that unless you don't rent through them for more than a month, as the first month's payment is supposedly guaranteed. 

 

Not sure what you mean by "find the contract". I imagine there are some standard legal landlord/tenant contracts you can find, but rental contracts are generally tailored to  the individual circumstances. I know I just wrote up my own rental contract when I rented my previous house out on year-long leases.

 

 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

If you want to do longer term rentals than listing on short term rental platforms  isn't the right approach.

 

I presume in your country longer term renters have tenancy rights. So check what the legal requirements are. Make sure you take a deposit, carry out credit checks, issue a contract, take up references  etc  @Mary4822 

Absolutely right

The airbnb fees is some places is outrageous. My supposed pay out was 3,700 and I only got 2,500 from airbnb after all the fees took place and I’m sure the guests paid 4,000+

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

Unlike most species of salmons who are imprinted at week-6 of age and must return to the very same waters they were born in to spawn (and even die), humans are a bit more imaginative and a bit less loyal to follow the same script.

 

/As a fisherman I couldn't resist the analogy. LoL

Helen350
Level 10
Whitehaven, United Kingdom

You are obviously unfamiliar with West Cumbria, UK @Fred13 !!! 😅

Hahaha. Good one @Helen350  😉