milovany Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 [Original post described airbnb situation with a unit we own for which we've had someone request a two-month, separate rental. I have now edited this post to include my thanks to all who responded instead of leaving the detailed description up.] ETA: Thanks to all. You did give me some good food for thought (both pro and con) which I can use to discuss the situation with my husband, which is what I was after. Your variety of thoughts are much appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kitten18 Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I would rent it to her. I can't imagine turning down a two month rental. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 I would rent it to her. I can't imagine turning down a two month rental. The thing is, I could easily get a six month or year long rental. So it's not the length of time; we just moved to a nightly rental format two months ago because we wanted to go that route (after thinking about it for quite some time) instead of the longer rental format. But in this case, the difference is that she'd pay the nightly (ish) rental price, so maybe that's what you're referring to? It's the negative impacts this could have on our airbnb business that concern me. A lower number of reviews comparatively come spring, when right now we're ahead of the pack in this regard, for example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tita Gidge Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 We have two condos through vrbo, two different states but both are near military bases which means we've had requests like yours coming from military families. For all you know, this might just be your "true" winter - an extended stay guest! Reviews are like watching the scale when you're trying to gain or lose weight - necessary, but also somewhat stressful. Have her leave a single review, and don't sweat it too much about your overall number of reviews for right now. Easy for me to say, right? :biggrinjester: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bibiche Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Just make sure her name isn't "Maksym!" ;) http://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-host-cant-get-squatter-to-leave-2014-7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerileanne99 Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Hhm, I guess I would also consider the cost of repairs/cleaning for a longer-stay tenant versus the weekender. If you know/trust the person it might make a difference I guess, but someone staying that long will probably have guests themselves. If you end up having to paint or replace carpeting then you really would have been better off leaving it open with few or no customers. If you live in a Uni town I would bet you will get some parents at graduation time in Decemember... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Just make sure her name isn't "Maksym!" ;) http://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-host-cant-get-squatter-to-leave-2014-7 What a nightmare! Even though it's highly unlikely you'd be taken advantage of by a con artist, I'd definitely make sure you know your state's laws about long-term rentals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I would think of her as a long time guest not a short term renter. I think you will have a pretty good idea of how your summer goes by this time next year. I know many rental markets are seasonal and make all the $ in one or two seasons; you might have the best of both worlds with a long time guest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Reviews are like watching the scale when you're trying to gain or lose weight ... I have found the most success with weight loss when I weigh myself daily so this comment probably had the opposite effect of what you were hoping. :D Just make sure her name isn't "Maksym!" ;) http://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-host-cant-get-squatter-to-leave-2014-7 What a nightmare! Even though it's highly unlikely you'd be taken advantage of by a con artist, I'd definitely make sure you know your state's laws about long-term rentals. Yes, that is a concern. I've already learned that in our state, yes, I'd want to make sure she didn't have a single reservation last for more than a 28 days. That's something else I need to consider, whether or not I'd be willing to ask her to move out for a weekend in the middle of the stay. And I only entertain this idea as a possibility because one of our first renters in September was a guy who stayed Mon-Thu for several weeks in a row because he worked here during the week and went home on the weekends; he was fully cognizant of how airbnb works so he'd move completely out every Friday morning so we could rent to others. Most people who want a longer term thing probably wouldn't be willing to pack up and leave like that though. I guess a lot just depends on her situation and I'm trying to determine more of that through emails. I am leaning toward not doing it this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LucyStoner Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 You need to have her sign a lease for the 2 month period indicating that she will vacate on x date. I worked for a B&B near a university in our state and the owners had a small apartment building two doors down they used for suite rentals. Whenever they had someone over 28 days, we did a lease. It wasn't uncommon for them to get 1-3 month rentals for the suites from visiting professors. In the winter, the drivers on the interstate who are too tired to press on to Seattle or Spokane or who are trying to wait for pass conditions to improve are going to end up at the motels and not an air bnb. Your natural high seasons will be the summer, college visit times, homecoming and parents getting their kids dropped off to college. In your shoes I would market it to the university as a place to stash visiting professors in the winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coralloyd Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 We are in a very similar situation. We have a long term guest in our rental right now. I think long term, off season guests are a huge blessing. We even gave them a break. To us it is more important to have the money to cover those months than to have a certain # of reviews. When we first started out it was the summer and we didn't have any reviews. We booked pretty solid. We had another long term offer also. I think long term might be the "norm" in the off season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Both good POVs and food for thought, thank you. Katie, appreciate the specific information related to knowing where I live. Yes, I would have her sign a 2-month lease with start and end dates clearly spelled out. I agree with the comment about those getting stuck here if they can't get over the pass (that they'll just get a motel). Very true. I'm thinking about developing some advertising to the parents of university students (or to the students so they can tell their parents) with other local airbnb hosts because that is a pretty big market. I do think we have more going for us than just the university -- several large festivals each year that bring hundreds/thousands to town, for example. Case in point, I was easily able to charge almost double what I normally charge for county fair weekend (and may be able to do the same for the western type art show and the jazz festival in the summer, to name two). The town also gets inundated whenever there's a concert at the Gorge. The local KOA is closing from what I hear, so while I'm bummed about that (and hope it reopens), that'll be more people looking online for somewhere to stay. It'll be interesting to see where things go with this endeavor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I would worry more about my personal bottom line than gaming the Airbnb system. I wouldn't want to lose the winter renter by pricing her out of a fair two month lease either. I'd rather risk loosing the jackpot than be stuck with a unit that is empty most of the winter. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okra Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I could ask the gal to leave me a review after each week's stay. I don't know too much about owning a rental. But, I do rent from VRBO. If I saw a person leave a review after each weeks stay, there is NO WAY I would stay in that rental. That would seem too fishy, like the reviews were not real. Then, I wouldn't know which reviews to trust, and would probably not trust any of the reviews on your place. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 I don't have experience...just plenty of opinions! ;) If the income wasn't vital to my family's survival I'd stick to the short term stuff. I think the wear and tear would be totally different. I also think that if you miss even a couple travelers you could miss out on future bookings, kwim? I also think learning the winter season's quirks and trying different strategies is important and this is your chance to try/tweak things given that you and the other rentals are all new. They'll all be working out the kinks this year. If survival is on the line then I'd definitely take the long term guest. Eta: if she's willing to pay the going rate maybe you and the other airbnbs could have her rotate from place to place weekly...maybe y'all could give her a discount and then all your places will show they're being used and have feedback. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Survival is definitely not on the line which is a big reason why I'm leaning toward not taking the two-month reservation. Plus I really enjoy the airbnb type guests and the experience we're having by greeting new people so often. It's been a lot of fun and much less of a headache than managing a rental in the long-term fashion without an online reservation and payment system doing all the related work.Plus we just changed it from a regular rental to an airbnb type just two months ago and basically remodeled the space and put in furnishings. I wouldn't want that investment trashed. I can truly see it both ways but am thinking along the same lines as your post. I don't know too much about owning a rental. But, I do rent from VRBO. If I saw a person leave a review after each weeks stay, there is NO WAY I would stay in that rental. That would seem too fishy, like the reviews were not real. Then, I wouldn't know which reviews to trust, and would probably not trust any of the reviews on your place. Thank you for giving me this to think about. The first guy who did a similar thing with us in September was clear about why there were/would be several reviews from him in one of his early posts ... he works in our town but didn't live there so went home on weekends. Would that satisfy you or would you still think it fishy? So far it doesn't seem to have had an effect as we were booked solid for two during/after that with many detailed, good reviews. But that doesn't mean this next one wouldn't function differently, I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milovany Posted October 26, 2015 Author Share Posted October 26, 2015 Thanks to all. You did give me some good food for thought (both pro and con) which I can use to discuss the situation with my husband, which is what I was after. Your variety of thoughts are much appreciated! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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