I m a first timer host have a large house near tourist lake
but hesitate cause wonder if there will be porno parties and mass destruction just fixed house nice I lean towards monthly guest cause have to go out o town lots no time to check on things furnished finders says they only get professionals have advice 4 me?
Why do you think hosts would be interested in this? If we can get more over AirBnB, why would we want to settle for less?
Also - I’m not sure that working remotely is going to be as huge as the media makes it out to be. Sure, there will be a few - but there were before the pandemic. Employees like it, but I don’t think employers do.
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Exactly. If the OP thinks that Airbnbs are too expensive even when they have a monthly discount, why would he think hosts would sign up to his proposed site? While it would eliminate the Airbnb service fees, I’m sure he doesn’t plan to do this for free, so unless he only charged the guests a fee, why would a host be interested?
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Buying a doorbell camera is a must
If you can afford it, also buy a POE CCTV system
Guests that like to get up to no good, look for places with no cameras, so make sure you disclose this on your Airbnb listing
Bad guests often try to book for 1 night on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. So look for these red flags
Also until you get comfortable with the platform and hosting, turn off instant book and only accept requests from guests that have verified ID, contact details and sent you details on the purpose of their visit.
If they just signed up to the platform or if something seems off, be weary or decline
Good luck with your Airbnb journey
One night bookings are annoying.
The only benefit is if you’re desperate to for the cash or if you want to get reviews quickly.
Monthly bookings are complicated because of the uncertainty eg do you have a slob of a guest that’s trashing your place? Certain guests will expect weekly cleans, fresh sheets etc. While others will want to do everything themselves
The sweet spot for me is 4-10 days
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You need CCTV to monitor your listing and a co-host if you’re not local and often away.
Don’t accept one night stays. Don’t accept bookings from one person at a property that accommodates many more.
That plus carefully vetting your guest is the best way to minimise your risk.
I prefer shorter stays, 2 to 4 days is perfect. I like it best when they leave, I smile and wave and think oh dog I hope they did not cook.
RR
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I just had to switch from short term to long term due to city regulations. It’s different. Long term guests have more questions. Some want video or physical tours which I never got with short term.
Money is less. But less work overall too which is nice.
And I don’t know if it’s just me, looking at other places it seems it happens to others too, I am getting more 4* reviews. It was rare with short term for me, but not uncommon with the longer term.
Long termers would be hanging out at home more. Gives them more time to notice every imperfection, maybe. And because it starts to feel like home, rather than just a vacation spot or a stopover, I’d imagine they start thinking about all the stuff they wish they had there. As if it’s their place and lacking something.
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I have been thinking about this and trying to figure out my rates. Recently I raised my nightly rate to include cleaning and called it the “Covid Cleaning Tax” in my tiny blonde head. But I’ve used that when I have responded to people who say “This other place is cheaper.” Yes, they are. Go with dog as @RiverRock might say.
I’d also like to make Friday/Saturday a fixed rental period. I’ve had a request for Easter Sunday night, messing up my entire weekend because I didn’t edit my listing quickly enough.
If I were to do a 2 night minimum, how do I charge? My area does get a lot of 1 nighters and it was good money, but very hard work. So lower my nightly rate? How does that work for 2 week stays? Say I’m charging $75 a night now up from $60 last year before the flu hit the fan. If I do a 2 night minimum, that takes me to local hotel/resort rates. But if I lower it to $50/night then I’m losing money on the longer stays, which are usually easier but I’ve made friends because they’re new neighbors.
Maybe I need a new thread on this one…
I don’t know what type of rental you have, how many guests, average length of stay, etc. For me, I have a economically-priced home share listing for one guest and do my own cleaning. It takes me about an hour and a half to do the cleaning, so with a three day minimum, that works out to a half hour per night. I have never charged a cleaning fee.
I also have never varied my rate depending on length of stay. Most guests come here on vacation, so my average length booking is a week-2 weeks anyway- I don’t have to discount in order to attract those longer bookings.
None of this may work for you, as your guest demographic, the competition, and the average stay length in your area may be quite different.
I have a 1br private bath home share listing in an area that is in Florida near tourist attractions and the area is booming with people moving here. I charged a cleaning fee for the first 6 months and then got rid of it thanks to this forum and just raised my rates $10/night. I used to get a lot of 1 night on the way to somewhere guests but last year before the shut down I was getting stays of 5 - 14 days and loved it.
I don’t discount for stays and don’t believe in the rush to the bottom on pricing that Air tries to get you to do.
I’m just thinking about the 1 night people and if a 2 night minimum would cost me money.
I think I’ll keep my rates and make Friday/Saturday a 2 night minimum. That way, with all the cleaning times for Covid I won’t lose a weekend with a Thursday booking.
I temporarily went to a 3 night minimum to accommodate 72 hour vacancies between reservations for airing out/cleaning until post-pandemic, but I’m getting bookings so I think I’ll keep it. Looks like I might end up close to my 2019 average monthly gross with fewer turnovers.
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This. The 1 nighters are higher maintenance and a lot of work. It takes me 1.5 hours to clean the room and bathroom and then there’s the laundry and tidying up the rest of the house as mine is a shared listing.
I’ve opened up through June with a 2 night minimum so we’ll see what happens.
I have a six-night minimum. Around the time my Airbnb opened up I also started working full time, so I’m just not interested in the work of turning over more than that. I also keep three days between bookings. My unit is attached to the house but the living areas are completely separated, so I can hear the comings and goings but we are not sharing space. We also have a limit of 2 adults plus kids and pets.
Most of my stays this year have been 2-week quarantines for people entering the country, and occasionally longer, with the most recent one being 3 months.
Ths for input to my quest. Do u know any property management company in Flowery Branch area ? Does Airbnb vet their guest as check I D and credit ? What do they suggest for noise controll ? Thanks again!!
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Why would I @Homiehomestead . I have no clue where that is
. I don’t even know what country you are in . -
If you go to the Airbnb Help site you can use the search function to find out answers to your questions on how Airbnb works. They do basic ID checks. Of course they don’t credit check guests. Up to you as the business owner to put whatever checks you want in place
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Don’t understand the question . You are the business owner it’s up to you to put your own measures in place
Look for local host groups to find a manager or co-host. Or, you say it’s a tourist area; just google vacation rentals to ID management companies. You may want to list with one of them and skip Airbnb if it’s an active seasonal rental vacation area.
Assume Airbnb guest check is minimal, I am guessing it’s running names against national criminal database names in whatever location.
Airbnb makes sure they get paid initially, but are not set up to ensure you continue to be paid for longer term rentals.
You need a long term lease to protect yourself for month long rentals, and educate yourself on the risks. (Worse case scenario $10,000 in legal costs to evict in U.S. city with robust tenant protection.) You want to do your own background and credit check for longer term rentals. Unless you are with a vacation professional management company; they will take on some of that risk for a hefty fee.
Are you talking about controlling noise of guests or for guests? You can put quiet hours in your rules for the former, and buy a white noise machine for the latter. Be sure to disclose noisy conditions in your neighborhood in the listing so that no refunds can be demanded.
I’ve just ended a 3 month closed period with one of my bread and butter one nighters. It felt like a lot of work getting it ready but I realized as I went along that some of that was the long lay off. When I am in a groove I can clean the 230 sq ft in about 30 minutes (not counting running the laundry cycle). It will take a little longer now because I’ve expanded the coffee bar area and added a small dining nook but I figure an hour most days. However, I’ve made the mental adjustment to think of it as a way of staying fit, mentally and physically. @jaquo has this same mindset.
During the worst of the pandemic I sat in front of the computer, reading science journals, news and eating. Dog biz was down, Airbnb closed half the year and little reason to get up and get going many days.
I love that the guest arrives after 3, sometimes not until 8 or 9 at night and usually leaves fairly early in the morning. Last night’s guest was here 16 hours. Guests who book multiple days are sometimes in the room nearly the entire time. Once you start having longer staying guests in your shared space you may find that you do prefer the one nighters.
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Just chiming in…
We have a 2 night minimum with a day’s space in-between bookings. The max is 14 days. I have had request for longer (2-3 month) bookings but have refused. I see no reason to take that chance…I like the opportunity to get into the houses on a regular basis, being able to clean often means cleaning less. And I can see if anything needs maintenance and stay on top of things generally.
Plus everyone that requests a long stay wants a discount…but by having 2-3 night stays constantly throughout that period there is no discount.
Get 'em in and get 'em out, I say.