We have a really nice guest who is staying in one of our rooms for a little over 3 months. She officially checked in last Monday and all is going just fine. However, there was no payout on her reservation (it is listed as a furture payment in the Airbnb app), so I went trolling the Airbnb site to find out why.
As far as I can tell, Airbnb is considering us a “new” host, though we have been hosting since February and have had over 200 guests. This is the only explanation I can see–they hold the payment of long term stays for 30 days if you are a “new” host.
I find this outrageous, as we are not particularly new and Airbnb has already long since charged my guest for the stay–they are collecting interest for 30 days on that money and keeping it for themselves? As well as their fees? Freaking highway robbery. And does that mean next month’s payment will be delayed 30 days as well? I feel like we are eating the cost of the stay (which, by the way, includes breakfast that we have to pay for every morning) while Airbnb reaps the reward for the first 30 days. Yes, we will (I hope!) eventually get paid, but I’ve never heard of a rental where the landlord/hotel/etc gets paid 30 days AFTER the guest checks in. That’s insane. I can understand them holding it for a few days (not really, but I’m trying to be generous) to make sure everyone is a good fit, but a MONTH?? Really?
I would simply call AirBNB to find out what policy they are using for this payout and to get an estimated payout date.
Airbnb is not a good platform for long term rentals. They offer hosts little to no protection against squatters. They only collect month one and if the subsequent payment doesn’t go through they can’t be of much if any help.
I would call them asap and find out what’s going on. You might consider a standard month to month lease for the following two months and cancel the Airbnb booking.
There are many posts in other threads on this subject. Keep us posted.
Yeah it’s never a good idea to accept a reservation over 28 days. Air pays up to 28 days at a time and no more.
We changed our maximum stay to 28 days after this same thing happened to us a few times. And what happened did make us begin to worry about squatters - it’s a real worry.
But Air is supposed to pay you for 28 days at a time and they’re supposed to do it in advance.
Not if they deem you a new host.
As you are not a new host you should have been paid in line with their long stay policy. No reason for them to consider you a new host - why do you think they would have considered you as such?
Rather than being ‘outraged of Airbnb’ just give them a quick call either there is a problem with the guest’s payment or a technical glitch with their payment system. The quicker you call the quicker you get things resolved.
But the OP says they have had over 200 guests since Feb - (must have a huge house or multiple properties to get that many through)
Aha! Therein lies the rub! How does Airbnb define new host? Hosting less than a year? I can’t find a definition but I agree, call them asap for the reason for holding the payment.
I think I read somewhere hosts within the first month - but could have imagined it 
Ah no I was wrong - it’s only for your first reservation
‘If you’re a new host, we may hold your payouts for 30 days after your first reservation is confirmed. If your first reservation is more than 30 days away, your payout will be released 24 hours after your guest’s scheduled check-in. This will apply to any payouts scheduled to be released during those 30 days’.
So clearly doesn’t apply to @corvidae who seems to be getting their knickers in a twist for little reason. As I mentioned above likely to be a problem with the guest payment or one of Airbnb’s many payment glitches.
I think that not getting paid for a guest’s stay is big reason to be upset.
Of course not being paid out on time is a reason to be upset @EllenN
But I don’t understand why someone who has hosted over 200 guests and has been hosting since May would consider this is because they are being treated as a new host as the only explanation.
As I mentioned the two much more likely reasons are a) there is a problem with the guest payment or b) there is a technical glitch with Airbnb’s payment system
Rather than assuming they are being treated as a new host, why aren’t they on the phone to Airbnb to get things sorted out?
When I talked about getting their knickers in a twist I was referring to the assumption that they were being treated as a new host and therefore payment being with-held for 30 days.
You are saying you did not get paid 24 hours after check in??? I would have thought even on a long term booking you still would get paid for the first month. How can they expect you to work for free for a month? That’s nuts.
It’s the second month that we have heard stories about. Guest is there, card gets charged, there’s no money, and bang, you got yourself a long term squatter.
I would never ever use Air for long term bookings. And if I did, I would just have someone stay 21 days first to see if I liked them, then check their credit, take a deposit payable to me and make them sign a traditional month to month lease. Get it in writing!!!
If not, you could be stepping into a real minefield.
If you ever had to go to court and prove this guest was squatting, all you would have to show the judge about your arrangement was “Air.”
The full context of the airbnb policy can be read quite easily as referring only to long-term reservations rather than reservations overall, meaning they consider your first long term reservation as a different animal all together. Nonethless, I will call them when I have the chance (not as easy as it sounds when one works 12 hour night shifts) to clarify the matter.
My knickers don’t twist, though I might occasionally get a wedgie.
Not true - For long-term guests, if a guest is staying for a month or more, Airbnb pays a month at a time, not just 28-days - that would mean that they are holding back part of a month and they don’t do that. I’ve been accepting long term guests for almost 4-years, in fact I prefer them. Occasionally, there may an issue with the guest’s payment, but Airbnb doesn’t necessarily notify the host. If I don’t see a transaction processed within 48-hours, I call Airbnb.