Long term cancellation policy

If I make a long term rental, I understand I will pay one month from the day I cancel the place (if I cancel). But can I stay in? Because somewhere I read you need to give 30 days advance notice, so it looks like you pay the one month, but you can stay, but the host has 30 days to find new tenants after you leave. Otherwise it looks like you need to go away right away, pay one full month, and the host could still rent through that month and make double money.
I could not get this fact clear and there is no way to contact airbnb to ask them.
Thanks!

Airbnb is set-up for short-term rental. I don’t know the answer to your question but my policy is – no more than 29 days as local long-term rental laws kick in after 30 days and the renter (guest) has many more rights. I suggest you contact your host to get your answers so that you both have a clear understanding of the terms and expectations (can everyone tell I used to be married to an attorney?).

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I would say that it depends upon your state. In Calif, the renter is not allowed to use the One Month’s security deposit as their last month’s rent. But this is from the Calif Renter’s guide. I don’t know how it would apply to an ABB longer term renter.

I’m a bit confused by the first post but I’ve had one guest long-term and this is how it worked.

She arrived in the middle of September and originally booked until the end of October. In her case, the system charged her one month at the beginning of the booking, then in the middle of October, it charged her until the end.

If she had wanted to stay longer, I’m pretty sure she has to extend the booking in the system before the end of September as she needs to give one months’ notice to the host. She also could have cancelled her booking, say, on the 20th of September, and then she is permitted to pay and stay until the 20th of October - even though she originally said she’d be there until 31st.

As for her she said nothing to me about wanting to extend the stay into November. When the end of September passed it was less than 30 days left, so she had cancelled her right to stay there on an ongoing basis. To “keep” her right to stay there must first be calendar availability, and second she must extend her finish date to more than one month in the future, and that way, Air charges a full month on the next payment day. Once either the remainder is less than 30 days OR a partial-month payment is made, the stay contains a confirmed finish date. So as she’d now indicated twice it was her leaving date (once in original booking, then second payment still only went until the 31st of October) I assumed she planned to leave. Apparently she got annoyed about it, but she didn’t mention anything until the review.

As for getting double the money you should be logically correct. But if the guest leaves early yet doesn’t actually cancel, I am betting that the system prevents them from rebooking the same place. The best option if you have to leave early is to submit a change request and try to negotiate with the host. I can’t speak for others but I would probably accept a 50% fee providing they cancelled asap, as I could probably rebook some of the days. Seems like a fair compromise to me.

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Hi Eliel,
and thank you for your thorough response.
I think the key here is that you wrote: “She also could have cancelled her booking, say, on the 20th of September, and then she is permitted to pay and stay until the 20th of October - even though she originally said she’d be there until 31st”, which means that she has to pay for a month but she is also permitted to stay for that month. This is what I needed clarification about. I know you have to pay a whole month after cancellation, but are you permitted to stay for that whole month as well? It looks like from your post that the answer is YES, and that is what I was not sure about.
Thank you!

Yes :slight_smile: If you pay for accommodation you’ve the right to stay there during that period.

When guests cancell it means they don’t have reservation anymore. I would imagine though that with Airbnb it might be questionable since they want it to be resolved in most humanely possible way.

I would think so. The difference with cancelling a long-term stay is that it’s treated as ongoing, so leaving is more a “giving notice to end the stay” rather than a cancellation, even though we have used the word “cancel”. Air call it an “alteration” (better). So if you wish to leave early, you’d be paying the penalty even if you leave immediately. Here is what they quote:

If the guest books a reservation and decides to cancel the reservation during their stay, the guest must use the online alteration tool in order to agree to a new checkout date. Regardless of the checkout date chosen, the guest is required to pay the host for the 30 days following the cancellation date, or up to the end date of the guest’s original reservation if the remaining portion of the original reservation is less than 30 days.

So the “right” way to cancel is to do it 30+ days in advance, allowing you to choose your actual “last day of stay” to be the same as the last day you pay for, if that makes sense.

Note that here the “cancellation date” is not the day you intend to leave but the day you go into the system to give notice.

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Here is Airbnb Long Term Rental cancellation policy regarding in-progress long term rentals:

If the guest cancels the reservation during their stay, the guest must use the online alteration tool in order to agree to a new checkout date. Regardless of the checkout date chosen, the guest is required to pay the host for the 30 days following the cancellation date, or up to the end date of the guest’s original reservation if the remaining portion is less than 30 days.

My guest was well aware of this and changed/cancelled their checkout date, reducing it by 30 days. Airbnb allowed this alteration automatically (per policy), but did not charge for the 30 days non-fundable per the policy. This is a glitch in their system (or so I believe) and I am currently in contact with support. Anyone else have this happen and how was it resolved?

A guest can’'t cancel their check-out date. They can alter it, but the host needs to approve the alteration. If you approve it, you have agreed to it and the guest is no longer under the long term policy. That’s my understanding, anyway.

You really shouldn’t take long term bookings through Airbnb. There are far too many risks involved and no safeguards.

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No approval is required if more that 30 days prior to checkout. However, they should also pay up to 30 days of the portion of the stay that was reduced. The glitch is that Airbnb is allowing the automatic alteration, but they are not charging for the 30 days non-fundable. I can’t post the link, but it is clear to me.

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Airbnb suggests getting LTR lease agreement with the guest. It will supersede the Airbnb rules including checkout date & payment.

I frequently do LTR in my off season & require a lease agreement

Hi Annet, Is your LTR totally outside of Airbnb and how does that work? Do you advertise your property outside of Airbnb for LTR? I kind of like using Airbnb mainly for simplicity and insurance. However, in this case they simply have a glitch in their system (not applying their own alteration/cancel policy) and are having a difficult time admitting and correcting it. Here is the basics of the LTR cancellation policy:
“Regardless of the checkout date chosen, the guest is required to pay the host for the 30 days following the cancellation date, or up to the end date of the guest’s original reservation if the remaining portion is less than 30 days.”
Thanks for your response,
Randy

If you think Airbnb has “insurance” that will cover you, you are under a big misconception.

And that long term policy wording you quoted won’t help you at all if the guest reneges on payment or cancels their credit card, or it’s maxed out.

Or if the guest makes up some bogus story about bedbugs or safety or any of the other myriad schemes scammer guests come up with.

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Let’s put an example with dates:
8/1/21 reservation requested & accepted begin 9/1-end12/31 @$900/mo

Occupancy starts 9/1.

Situation 1
9/25guest notifies Airbnb of intent to cancel to 10/31. Host will be paid to 10/31 by guest via Airbnb payment system

Situation 2
10/6 guest notifies Airbnb of intent to cancel 10/31. Host will be paid to 11/6 by Guest via Airbnb payment system

Host can voluntarily chose to refund 11/1-11/6 ($900/30=$30 daily. $30x6=$180.

Regardless of lease, host cannot force payment to 12/31 via Airbnb because Reservation was booked on Airbnb & Airbnb collects payments so their policies rule.

Where it gets uncertain & I have no idea legally what is allowed: is if the lease differs from Airbnb processed. If host & guest sign lease agreement requiring 1 month ($900) deposit to be used for damages and/or any lease payments not made to 12/31, if the partial November & December lease payment isn’t made, regardless of reason, the host keeps the money.

Airbnb will not collect rent for days conflicting with their policy.

My leases reflect the same 30 day cancellation policy as Airbnb & deposits can be used for unmade lease payments & damages.

The 30 day notice for cancellation is a bit self-serving too. It is mutual meaning guest can give 30 day notice to cancel and I can give the renter 30 day notice to vacate.

As long as the rental is going as expected, I’m not going to cancel (I want the $$) but it helps me to evict early if the person violates rules.

In the 2nd situation, my lease would allow the guest to cancel 11/6 and I would receive payment via Airbnb. The deposit would be damages only. The lease clearly states rules for occupancy & allows immediate eviction if rules not followed. This is helps if something wasn’t covered.

Most of my bookings over 30 days elect to change to direct bookings so the lease is the ultimately binding agreement.

I hope this helps.

Thanks for the info! I’ll share my recent experience with the system. Booking 8/1 - 11/30. Guest altered on 9/24 to 10/31 checkout. Alteration was automatic and we will only be paid to 10/31.

"The change will happen automatically if:

  • It’s before the trip and the reservation is still 30 days or longer
  • The trip has started, but it’s 30 days or more before the checkout date"
    (I don’t think you would have the option to refund the 11/1-11-6 via an approved alteration request from your example since alteration was made 30 days before checkout, but I guess you still could do it manually.)

When I read the cancellation policy I thought the guest would pay 30 days after their new checkout date or less if new checkout is less than 30 days. However, it looks like they are only on the hook for the 30 days from when they initiate the alteration.
“Regardless of the checkout date chosen, the guest is required to pay the host for the 30 days following the cancellation date, or up to the end date of the guest’s original reservation if the remaining portion is less than 30 days.”

I interpreted checkout date and cancellation date as being the same (I would get paid up to 30 days after new checkout date); however, it looks like Airbnb interprets the cancellation date as the date the alteration is made. So that is not very good since most guests are vacationing and plan far in advance and you only get 30 days to book the gap that was created. Anyway, I think the language in their policy is confusing and I’m disputing it. Unless I can find a detailed definition of what a “cancellation date” is.

I will take your advice to include a lease on LTRs. Do you include this in your listing? i.e. If booking is a LTR a separate lease agreement will be required.

Thanks so much for your time and advice!
Randy

Hi Muddy,
I’m relatively new to the Airbnb world and it has been all milk and honey, except for a few damages/filthy guests. Or the guy that just let a toilet run full blast (small house) for 3 days. Luckily I get water use notifications!

Where can I find more info on how I fill the insurance gap that you think exists with the Airbnb policy? And can you point me to any advice on how to implement a LTR strategy that offers more protection?

You have put a scare into me and I’m ready an willing to take whatever corrective action I can.

Thanks,
Randy

They do and that is what I described. Based upon the dates you provided Airbnb applied their cancellation policy correctly.

You are getting >30 days notice on a cancellation. 30 day notice is the standard notice for any LTR cancellation.

Cancellation date is the date someone cancels. How can that be anything else?

SMH-it isn’t confusing. You don’t like what it says.

https://www.airbnb.com/home/cancellation_policies#long-term
.

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Well the Airbnb support people kept telling me it wasn’t a cancellation, it was an alteration!? Even though they effectively cancelled 30 days of their stay. Then they said a Cancellation would only occur if they cancelled immediately? The way I thought it read was that the Cancellation Date was the revised Checkout Date; effectively that’s the date they stop paying. In that scenario host would be paid Up To 30 days after the revised Checkout Date and it certainly could be interpreted that way. It should include the definition that the Cancelation Date is the date that the revised checkout date was entered on the alteration tool.

And no I didn’t like the way it worked. But I did know that my guest wanted to reduce that stay for a good reason. And I thought per the policy they would not get a refund so I offered to reimburse them up to their loss of unused rental payments if we booked enough revenue to cover it.