Long term guest?

So I just listed my first Airbnb 4 days ago. I just got a request from someone for 2 months :scream:. So my area is a small town, not many big businesses but has 2 big colleges. Not sure why someone would want my place for 2 months. Is there anything to be concerned about? My gut says something is off, but what do I know, I’m a newbie!

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Did they IB? If they didn’t say why they were coming, ask them. Do they have reviews or are they new to the system?

What are your restrictions on how long someone can stay?
I’d be a little concerned about this and by asking questions you can decide if this is something for you.

For my very first guest I sure wouldn’t want someone for 2 months, but then my limit has always been a week.

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What is IB? He has no reviews, just joined Airbnb this month!

IB–Instant Booking. If you have this on, the guest, if they have all the things you require, can book without asking.

Is this a request to book? Ask why they are coming?

Yes it’s a request to book. I sent him a message. I’ll let you know

Is it a whole house rental? If so, be careful of swatters. Did he indicate how many guests? Are any of the guests children?

Is it a room in your home? Then ask him why he’s coming to town for two months? Try to get his first and last name and google him.

He might be a student working as a TA (teacher assistant) or maybe an internship, he might be waiting for housing and missed the dealine to apply for a dorm. It’s important for you to know why he needs two months.

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Decline it. Right now. Just hit the decline button and send a nice message saying that it’s just too long a stay for you right now.

Even if you don’t mind suddenly becoming a landlord, it’s a waste of the perks you get for being a new host and will keep you from building up reviews.

No matter how high the rate, it will sink you because after 2 months you will only have one, or maybe not even one, review but your new host boost will be over. It will be difficult to climb up the search ranking and it’ll make it difficult to get future bookings.

So decline it and then go into your min and max stay lengths and re-set them so that no one can book more than a week right now. You want to maximize your bookings right now so that you can get a bunch of reviews while your listing is being boosted in the search. And that’s so you can continue booking after the boost is over.

Also, go into your amenity settings and make sure to turn off “long term stays allowed”.

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Will declining it hurt my ratings?

Set you maximum stay setting NOW, and until you have a surfeit of reviews, keep them short.

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One other thing, Air gives discounts to the first 3 new guests, sometimes 20% and unless you changed that setting, it could be a large amount especially for 2 months.

As already said, adjust your settings for how long someone can stay.

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No. Declining doesn’t hurt your ratings. If you do it too much, which is a lot, then you supposedly get a nasty email. But it doesn’t affect your ratings. The whole point of using RTB when starting out is so that you can decline when mistakes like this happen.

However, you do get dinged for superhost in your response rate if you don’t respond at all. And your response time will be slower (and it is displayed on your listing page) if you don’t respond with either a decline or accept within 24 hours. How long has it been?

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Right now as a newbie you need to get reviews. 2 months no ok. After 30 days some communities consider them tenants and the you have to evict them. Also, you don’t get paid for both months only one month at a time an I’m not sure if the 2nd month is charged right away.

My gut says no, no, no,

I personally like having long term guests, as I have a solid knowledge of our local Residential Tenancy Act, and lots of experience (as a landlord, a teacher, a swim official, and a mom!) keeping people in line :laughing:

In your situation, though, I would decline for all the reasons you’ve already read. You can change your policy later if you like!

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Scammers target new hosts, Cyndy. You absolutely do not want to accept a 2 month booking as a new host. Decline. Then I would suggest you snooze your listing until you have gone through all your settings and made sure they are what you want re min and max stay length, discounts, IB, etc.

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Pay great attention to what @JJD said in her first post above. Ask yourself too just why this person is trying to get a long-term let on Airbnb. It might be all above board of course, but it might also be that they know that they wouldn’t be able to satisfy what most landlords need - a sizable deposit, a credit check, a lease to sign


I really recommend that you read a lot here to learn more about various aspects of Airbnb. We’re always happy to answer your questions, of course, but you seem to be lacking in some very basic knowledge. But continue to ask away.

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I agree with everyone and the reasons noted for not making a two month stay your first one. For the future, other questions relate to where you are located. Different cities/town, states/provinces, countries and even neighborhood associations or condo complexes may have rules about short versus long term rentals. For example in my state the two month rental would not require an occupancy tax but the shorter stays do. Staying this long could give the renter LOTS of tenant rights which are very generous in my state. If you get into the longer stays, you should consider a signed agreement in addition to the Airbnb arrangement.

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The only time I would ever accept a guest for that long of a stay is if the guest had stayed with me previously and I already knew what it was like to host them. Or if that guest was already staying and requested an extension and there were no problems. But two months with an unknown entity is like committing to a two month vacation with a blind date.

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This ALWAYS happens to new hosts. Couple of things

  • Do NOT take this reservation. Long term on Air isn’t a great option
  • A new host gets a search listing “bump” to the top of the list for a couple of weeks. This allows you to build your business and gain reviews.
  • If you take a LTR, you lose the bump and business.

Just say no. Tell ABB Customer Service “I’m not comfortable with this guest” and Change your total amount of days to 21 or 28 depending upon when your state/county say they become a tenant instead of an Short Term Renter.

Do NOT turn on Instant Book until you have a bunch of guests under your belt. Read this forum for hours.

Good luck.

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Additionally, I hesitate to accept anyone with no reviews, but I would never accept a guest for two months who wasn’t tried and true with a slew of glowing reviews. After thousands of guests, I am pretty good at sniffing out who is who and can read between the lines like nobody’s business, but as a new host, this is definitely not the time for you to accept this request.

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There’s a chance that they’re getting evicted right now and they think that 2 months gives them a breather and they’ll find something longer in that time.