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Okay, I’m sure most hosts say no all the time, for whatever reasons, right? I’ve only declined a request once, from a man who wanted to “stop by and see the place” before booking. Today I got a request for a long term stay, November - July, from someone who has already messaged me twice about payment options and asking me to call her (she wrote out her number in words when I explained that phone numbers are hidden). Not only do I not want a ROOMMATE, my long-term rate is listed with a 40% monthly discount because I often get month-long guests… but for nine months I’d be losing money on nightly and weekly bookings!
It’s possible to set a limit to lengths of stays within the Airbnb system itself. If you have not already done so, I suggest you do. The relevant setting is “Maximum stay” under “Availablity settings”.
And for your current inquiry, why not tell her what you said here?
Oh, and a 40% discount for a month is a big discount.
Everything this guest is asking and doing is against the TOS. Just decline. And yes set your maximum stay to 30 days or less. And don’t offer such a large discount. Also read the other threads here on squatters. Long stays encourage that kind of guest. Airbnb warns against longer stays of 30 days as the guest can get tenants rights. Search airs website.
OK, I declined her request and told her I’m no longer taking long term guests, changed my maximum nights to 30 (though I’ve had some great visitors here for internships and such, I could accommodate if they ask in the future!), and lowered my monthly discount to 25%… Airbnb recommends a 49% discount, what the heck! I’m definitely not set up to make the income I could be making, I think, though I do get a lot of visitors because of my low prices…
Thank you for getting back to us with your decision, it’s very gratifying to know that our advice has been helpful. Airbnb’s recommendations help only Airbnb not us hosts!
$50 per night for a room with a queen bed and a semi-private bathroom, $45 for a twin bed and shared bathroom (again, Airbnb recommends lower than that base prices for both rooms!)… I don’t live in the best location, aesthetically speaking, a lot of very close together multifamily homes and shady looking corner stores; I have a steady stream of visitors, but am probably cheating myself somehow!
I don’t know much about US prices, but that’s definitely on the low side. I would compare with your competitors. I don’t think a 25% monthly discount is necessary. And probably there are people here who can advise better. Do you have a cleaning fee?
Sure! Any advice would be helpful, although I’ve been doing it for a while I’m very isolated as I don’t know anyone else and have never used the message boards!
It looks like you are doing quite well. You didn’t mention you are a Superhost!
Slight confusion - you say you have a 25% monthly discount. But you are currently showing a 15% weekly discount, and no additional monthly discount. Or maybe you just changed it.
It doesn’t look like you have a cleaning fee. I’d add one, especially if you get a lot of short term visitors.
Oh, and that’s an impressive number of very sincere-sounding rave reviews. I’m not surprised you get a lot of business.
Thanks for the input, I wasn’t sure if I was doing well according to the standards that good hosts have, and the Superhost seems to be just for show, LOL! I did just change the discount (again!), because if my limit is 30 days I figured a weekly discount was enough… I’ve always wondered about the cleaning fee option, especially since my guests are allowed to use my laundry while they are here… I certainly can’t afford to hire someone to come and clean, ha ha, so it seems weird no?
As has been pointed out to me here, e.g. by @cabinhost, the cleaning fee is poorly named. It’s really a turnover fee. It’s a way of compensating for the extra work of short term guests. I think you’ll agree that 7 one day stays is much more work than one person who stays for 7 days, right?
And Superhost does mean something. People use it to filter, for example.
Your home looks lovely! I see you you don’t charge for extra guests. I would add at least $10 for the second guest. It makes it a nicer deal for single guests. You are very generous with allowing use of the kitchen and laundry, I don’t allow either. I’m guessing only your longer term guests use them.
What is the typical reason a guest stays in your area?
Thanks for that input! My guests are almost always just traveling through the area or here for business… nothing touristy or super fun to do around here, ha!
As for use of the kitchen, this is so random lol… I have a young girl from China staying with me right now for a month while she’s doing an internship nearby… I had surgery the other day and am mostly in bed for a week, and she keeps cooking extra food for me (even though I insisted my frozen meals are fine!), so that’s certainly working to my benefit.
When it comes to the extra person fee, is that per night? I assume it is but I have never looked into it… and if the room is $50 Per night, what’s a reasonable amount for a guest?
Regarding the cleaning fee: I have a fairly low nightly rate for what I offer, $55 for an apartment and $10/guest over 2. But then I charge $20 as a cleaning fee for my time washing sheets and making beds. Once I have a few more ratings I do plan to up my fees a bit more. Think about your time vs. income. If you charge more, you may have a slightly lower booking rate, but you’ll make the same amount of money for the work!
Very excellent point Sarah! I raised my rates slowly over 6 months from 68 to now over 100 and we are getting quality bookings but not over booked! And it’s only a br and bath in our home. But it is NYC
Try some non-trivial fraction of your nightly rate. Maybe start low. See if it affects your bookings. And move it up gradually. I started with a cleaning fee of USD 5. Actually, I first tried to put in USD 3, but the site said that was too low. I’ve now increased it to the staggering sum of USD 7…
