In May 2021, Airbnb released an update enabling the hosts to host long term rentals. Before the update, long term rentals were a possibility, but it’s served as a regulated feature. As Airbnb themselves put it, in 2020, more travelers started looking for says for longer than 28 days, and up to 80% of the hosts started offering long term rentals.
On Airbnb, hosts can now list their homes for long term rentals with both limitations and minimums. Discount options are also significant tools to attract more people to choose you off of the listing! All and all, it’s a perfect harvesting season for Airbnb hosts!
Before You Start, You Should Know:
We’ve been reading Airbnb forums, comments, and all that, to take a closer look at what people think of long term rentals. It’s been all very positive in actuality, but you should know a few things before hosting:
- According to Airbnb, generally any reservation of a month or longer counts as long term reservation. Nevertheless the number of days varies by jurisdiction. Therefore, there might be local laws and limitations for the long term reservations in your area. So please do ask around before proceeding.
- In some jurisdictions, guests may legally establish rights as a tenant after a month of stay, so once again, Airbnb itself encourages hosts to be knowledgeable of their local laws.
- Airbnb supports rental agreements. Therefore, it is entirely understandable and normalized if you wish to handle the situation using contracts. Smart move.
- Discounts do not apply to any extra fees. If you’re familiar with how service fees, cleaning fees, transportation fees, and all the similar extra payments work, you’d know that discounts do not apply to these extra payments.
Traditional Renters VS. Airbnb Long Term Rentals
Legalities: traditional renting generally has way more paperwork. We’ve all been there, the amount of energy and time you need to put into going back to the office and back to your home and all that. It’s just a mess. Luckily, Airbnb is set for success on this matter. So in legalities, Airbnb is probably the winner absolutely. However, as Airbnb long term rentals have just been announced, we’re pretty much still unsure as to how well it may compete with traditional renters and landlords/landladies.
Financial: It’s a valid question to ask, is it even worth it to go for Airbnb long-term instead of traditional rental? The answer depends on what it is that you’re going after. For example, if you’re going on a trip and you want to make a profit out of renting your home ~ a smart move!~ well, renters are out of the question in this scenario, as you want to list your home quickly and hit the road.
Additionally, as briefly mentioned before, Airbnb is also very flexible with discounts and pricing. So you do have a lot more space to work with in terms of pricing on Airbnb rather than traditional renting.
Another thing worth mentioning is the payment not being upfront. So if a traveler books a reservation, they will pay for the first month as a downpayment, and the rest is paid monthly.
Cancellation Policies
In my grand journey through Airbnb long term rentals, I saw many people wondering about cancellation policies. Well, that’s totally understandable. Anyway, here’s how it works:
- Users can only apply for a full refund for up to 48 hours after booking.
- After the short window of 48 hours, users can still refund their reservation. However, they will need to pay for the first 30 days of the reservation plus the service fee.
In summary, there’s not a lot of room to play around for travelers in Airbnb long term rentals. Make sure you make up your mind before booking!
Tips For Airbnb Long Term Hosting
Assuming you are already done researching your local laws – and everything is all set – here are some tips for hosting long term Airbnb rentals: (You can find more Airbnb hosting tips here!)
1. Make The House Rules Clear & Understandable
The first thing to take into consideration is that rules are not only for the guest. As an Airbnb host, you will also need to follow a certain set of rules and moral standards to prevent hardships. Let the guest(s) know about your availability, ways of communication, generic house rules, and pretty much all that’s needed for the guest to settle in.
Especially since long-term stays are ~well, long term~ there’s a need to establish a friendly atmosphere and maintain good communications with your guests.
Also, if there are any specific rules, let them know why they are there. For example, if smoking is prohibited inside, let your guests know it’s for the well-being of themselves and future guests. This simple bit of communication will make them feel more responsible, but it will also help you start on the right foot to keep a friendly atmosphere.
2. Offer a Helping Hand if Needed
If you happen to live on the property, help your guests with anything if they needed help. If there’s a hardware malfunction at your place and they’re asking for help, the least you could do is to give them the number of the repairman! You get the point. ~ help me help you~.
If you don’t live close to the property, you could consider having a local contact. If you have a friend or a family member who lives nearby, you can offer to pay them to assist your guests. It’s a good deal, especially if you don’t want your guest to message you about their issues constantly.
3. Present Your Property Well
Some things matter much more for long term rentals. For example, if you’re staying at an Airbnb for 5 days, you can order food every day, and it’s that big of a deal. For long term rentals, however, the same thing can not be said. Take good photos of the kitchen area, take screenshots of Wi-Fi speed, and even take screenshots of the neighborhood. Share these pictures with your guests. These three are the things that are most important in long term Airbnb rentals.
Also, inform your guests about transportation options, especially if they are coming from a foreign country. You could provide a link to mass transportation options in your city/area. Little things like this matter a lot.
4. Look for Smart Technologies
Why? Because according to Airbnb themselves, many of the long-term guests are remote workers. Plus, emphasizing security is very heartwarming to your guests! Consider going contactless, setting up Smart Locks, or using brand new technologies for your property. Not only will these blow a fun wind into the atmosphere of your property, but they will also enable your guests to live an easier smarter life within your property.
