Given that they have been exemplary guests, i’m not sure I would attach too much meaning to wanting to go outside the Airbnb platform for just a couple extra days. It’s not particularly difficult to write up a contract for direct bookings, but I wouldn’t do any sort of off-platform rental without something in writing.
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Ahem, hosts are not excused from collecting and remitting lodging or sales tax when someone books off-platform/pays cash. Lose the Airbnb fees? Yes!! But it is the host who is bearing the legal risk if guests are unwilling to fork over the extra cash to cover taxes. Your local or state revenue office will be more than happy to instruct you on remitting any taxes not automatically collected by Airbnb!!
No its not …guests and host can make another agreement directly after original reservation is over.
(off topic, scroll on if that bothers you) No, we’re not. But it sure is hard to keep paying my fair share when so many with so much more, starting at the pinnacle of society, don’t. Not so much the local taxes but the federal income taxes (a big chunk of which goes to defense spending I disagree with) are hard to swallow sometimes.
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I’d have no problem whatsoever extending many guests past the magic number of days. Trust of the guest would be based on why they rented with me in the first place, are they gainfully employed, what is their reason for extending. A normal, stable person with resources isn’t suddenly going to become a squatter.
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But it’s not over. They’re trying to extend the same reservation.
Airbnb has nothing to do with extending. Its now up to guest and host to decide how they want to proceed. And also not sure why would anyone send their guests to book through Airbnb if physically guest is already there.
Airbnb is not going to be much help in case of squatting and also if something gets damaged go try to get your damage deposit from them .
I treat them like an advertising method and nothing more.
Airbnb or any booking platform doesmt have so much power to do anything how some people think.
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Fair enough. I was offering another reason to justify saying no, if the host determined that the risk was not worth the reward of converting a short term rental to a landlord/tenant situation with no written lease. That is what extending beyond 28 days effectively does where I live. YMMV.
Well that’s another point entirely. In the State of Texas, hotel occupancy tax only applies to stays under 30 days in duration. If every single one of your stays were 31 days, no tax is payable under the plain language of the law.
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That’s not a problem at all, is it? Airbnb don’t ‘own’ the guests. Once a guest has checked in and you’ve been paid, that’s where Airbnb’s remit ends. They’ve done their job by introducing you to each other.
Many hosts have repeat guests who originally found the rental on the Airbnb site but after that they usually book direct. I think that our bottom line would look a lot less happy if every guest had to pay fees again to whatever advertising platform they used!
Before Airbnb started (or started withholding TOT) that didn’t mean that we didn’t pay it! You seem to be implying (sorry if I misunderstood) that only hosts with bookings that originate through Airbnb pay the appropriate taxes. Previously, it was simply a part of the nightly fee, we didn’t even think to mention it to guests. They are paying it no matter where they stay, after all, whether it’s included in the price or not.
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I have guest Larry here who stays for almost 2 years . He originally reserved with Airbnb for 3 days . I can imagine if all this time he would keep reserving through Airbnb
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Same here. Well, similar. I have a few repeat guests who came from various advertising sources mostly before I started using Airbnb. I don’t feel any need whatsoever to give them a fee every time the guests re-book 
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These are all great points. So for those who you’ve met previously that want to return and stay with you, you do off platform with a written lease?
And here’s the update: the first rep at Airbnb says STR ends at 28 days, so they already were over! Ugh! At that point, it did not matter but has been a lesson learned. That same rep though told need to alter the reservation, when clearly the air site says not to do this. Well, it turned out that neither of us could change the reservation (me nor guest) since it was already in process by two weeks. Airbnb had to call the guest to get it changed.
Naw, Jaquo, no implication, I was just responding to Retropet who said the guests wanted to pay off platform for extra days partly in order NOT to pay the the TOT; i.e. it was the GUEST who assumed paying off platform they would get a discount of both the Air fees and the tax. Retropet would either have to correct that misunderstanding and collect it themselves, or eat the expense.
I take LoneStar’s point that by converting to an LTR the TOT disappears, but I don’t know if that would pass muster legally as the original intent was STR (and taxes were indeed paid for the first 28 days).
Got it, thanks
I’d mixed up the Airbnb various fees and add-ons with TOT.
I agree that a long term stay that evolves from a short term stay doesn’t mean that TOT isn’t applicable. In this case, anyway. It’s on record now that they guest originally had a deal with the host to stay for 29 days. If they then extend, then this is a new booking in effect. It’s adding a two day stay and a 29 day stay together.
If it was so easy to avoid guests becoming tenants (i.e. just having them rebook) then everyone would do it and long term stays wouldn’t be an issue.
It really depends on you comfort level with the guest in question. If you think they genuinely need a couple extra nights bc their flight is delayed, or they want to spend a couple more days with family, or they really love your place and have extra time to stay, then sure, add the extra night or two. I’d keep all the changes and transactions on the Airbnb platform. Even if they do end up squatting, you’ve at least got a record of the transaction and communication.
Yes, the laws in most places do technically change your relationship with guests once they stay that 28th to 31st consecutive night, but does it really change the situation? If you already think they’re going to be squatters, after nearly a month I’d think the writing would already be on the wall. Just tell them it’s booked, block the dates if you need to, and tell them they need to find other accommodations. Or, have a friend book a couple nights, and then call Airbnb when they come to check-in and find someone else there. Everyone just needs to coy about it.
We get a lot of one-night stays, three 28-30-night stays, and one 84-night stay. We’ve gotta a handful of guests stay multiple nights, but in order to be considered a tenant, nights must be consecutive.
BTW, when guests book 30+ nights, they’ve already entered their credit card payment and are on the hook for all the nights. Sure, they get certain tenancy rights, but they need to pay rent, too. Without a written contract, even most de facto month-to-month agreements hold only so much water. Without a lease, a 30-notice of eviction ought to be enough. Obviously, that’s never a nice situation to be in, and it seems very rare. As STR hosts, we ought to be prepared, at least mentally, to handle this.
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One could also make it a rule: No stays longer than 28 days. I have a 7-night max. on one room.
I completely agree with hosts who advise no. Flags are there. I know a few landlords who have had professional tenants who stayed a year without paying due to the twists and turns that happen during the eviction process. It costs a lot in fees as well. The worst part is the stress and time you would lose as you navigate the system.
So if they use the platform to extend it would Airbnb refund the taxes already collected? Sounds like they SHOULD.
But the amount differs based on the rate, right? And am I correct that the Airbnb service fee is separate and it included in the taxes amount?