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I’m hoping some of the more experienced hosts on here can guide me in the right direction. I just got a booking inquiry today from an oncology travel nurse who would like to stay from late January through mid-April. She has 1 review and it’s very complimentary. I’m open to hosting her but not sure how to respond to her last e-mail which states:
“Also, I wanted to see what your thoughts of monthly payments? Kind of like rent? I would pay for the first month up front and then pay you directly or through air b&b ( whichever you prefer) for months 2 & 3? I get paid through a housing stipend and would be getting paid weekly after my start date and it would be easier instead of putting everything on credit up front.”
Should I accept all payments through Air? Would you request all the money upfront?
If I do monthly payments, then I will need to tell her that I can’t block off the calendar until the payment is received, and therefore, can’t guarantee the room will be available.
Any suggestions on how you would proceed? Thanks in advance!
Well she can’t do this without going outside the platform and that is a violation that could get you both terminated. I would never consider a long term booking due to the tenants’ rights which kick in in most places after 30 days. But if you are OK with that, what I would do is say that sorry, the platform won’t allow outside payments. You could try booking just one month at a time with her (making sure she signs a long term agreement before arrival, one that outlines the terms of her stay) and then renew via the platform monthly, or if you want to take a chance, outside the platform. Mind you, that benefits her more than you. If you go outside the platform, you are not protected by any of the host guarantees. It only costs you 3%, so this is why there is very little benefit to you going outside it.
It’s not your worry how she is paid. My opinion? I wouldn’t do it.
Hmmm…This is sounding oddly familiar. Can I ask where you are hosting? I just recently received an almost identical inquiry - traveling nurse, Feb-April, guest had good reviews, etc. She didn’t ask me to book outside the platform, but did ask for special pricing. I almost said yes, but in the end decided against it. Could it be the same person, or just a bizarre coincidence? She also said she’d be bringing her Yorkie…
This is actually very typical for Travel Nurses. They have a forum where they discuss how to find housing for their 3 month contracts. A number of nurses are giving advice to try to find a place on Airbnb and see if they can negotiate for a 3 month term off platform. Others recommend asking for a discount as they have been successful doing that in the past etc etc. A very common suggestion is to book the first week or so on Airbnb and then go to a lease for the remaining time - all prearranged with the host of course… Some love Airbnb and book 3 months completely on platform. I’m a member of this forum (as a landlord) and chime in when I can to highlight the host/landlord perspective. For example - the question that she asked about paying monthly - if you do a 3 month contract on Air you only pay monthly. Air’s platform breaks up the payment. A different long term booking cancellation policy also applies which overrides the cancellation policy you set for your listing…
I recently decided to switch to longer term stays. My first guest is a traveling nurse and she is absolute lovely. Staying for 3 months. She didn’t ask for a discount or to pay off Airbnb. The money arrives monthly at beginning of month through Airbnb.
@Karen when you say you switched to long term stays what do you mean? Did you make a month your minimum or do you list in a different way on the air site? I am considering same also.
I do long term stays since June, so its been 7 months. All went well so far. Only once one guest ran on me with 1 week rent. I had one guy through air for a week, who then rented for almost 3 months and paid me directly. This is not a vioaltion of anything. Airbnb can not prevent this from happening. Its the same as with other sites. I book through booking.com or hotels.com all the time and if i want to prolong my stay i always negotiate with hotels and they give me discount most of the time.
I think what this nurse is saying is legitimate. I take weekly pays on a regular basis and at times i adjust even days according to when a guest is paid by his/her company.
One guy just booked one room from Airbnb for a month and paid for it. Now he is asking if he can pay me directly until end of April. I will take the offer, i dont see why i have to refer him to Airbnb again.
If you operate out of AirBNB then you’re not covered by their protection, so just make sure you have an alternative arrangement in place (e.g. contract, insurance, etc.) like any other rental.
Their protection is very questionable. Though i do like guests that come from Airbnb better than any other site but to fight with Air when it comes to hold damage deposit is difficult. I would rather hold deposit myself, and return it or not to my discretion. I have a very simple lease in place when a person wants to rent for a month. With weekly rentals there is no lease as they can leave any time. I just ask guests to tell me a week ahead.
Sometimes they do , sometimes they dont and leave the last minute.
The best policy is to rely on yourself, not on any rental site. Make your own judgements about people and situations and learn how to handle both using your experience.
A lady who stays here now from the end of October found me through Craigs list. She pays weekly. We have no lease, and she heavily depends on her paycheck to give me weekly rent. Here i have no assurance from any rental sites. She is staying for now but looking for appartment. She can tell me any minute that she is leaving.
This is just how this business is. Like any other. We do our best but noone is 100% protected from certain situations.
I think people who are so hang up on the idea that its better to let Airbnb to handle everything are talking out of fear and lack of experience on how to deal with difficult guests. With time this fear dissapears. I am doing it for almost 2 years and at first i went through quite a bit of drama with certain guests and mostly it was my fault to begin with.
I was a poor communicator, had no idea what i expected and was not clear and specific. My friend Kona here who is teacher advised once to talk to guests like she talks to her little students. Lay out expectations first minute you meet them, and this works wonders.
Thats interesting that nurses have a forum. I would love to have guests like these. I once had travelling nurse and she was the best guest ever. @Emily, i switched to longer term guests in June and for me it works much better that renting day by day. Its much less work, more money overall since i dont have empty days. The only thing is that you have guests all the time, there is no break. But it also has its good part. I learn their schedule, and its easier than with short stays when you dont know when they wake up or how much time they will spend in the house. All my guests are working people, so i dont really see them that much. They leave early in a morning, come home late and go to their room to rest. Its only weekends when i see them for a few moments when they come out do their laundry.
Is it common to charge full nightly price fir a month stay? I have just booked a 28 day stay and this was discounted the 40% as per my listing which is fine. But now I’m wondering g what others do.
Thanks
It all depends on the host. We might give a 5% discount, but not more than that. Don’t forget that if someone rents short term for a job it’s a tax deductible expense so they are already getting a discount. It’s nice to not have to clean every day, but we’re in this to make money.
Be careful that with the 40% discount, you aren’t charging less than you could get for a tenant on Craigslist. As someone who has rented rooms to roommate-tenants and to AirBnB travelers, I don’t think AirBnB is the best way to find renters who want to stay 30 days or more. AirBnB doesn’t do enough to protect you from squatters (as we have seen from horror stories here), and there are plenty of other ways to find roommates, so why give AirBnB a cut?
Wow 40% that sounds super generous to me but I don’t know what your base price is. I give 10% for weekly, it seems to encourage 7 day stays rather than 5 which works better for me with cleaning and 15% for monthly. I love monthly stays as its usually workers or people resettling here so they are busy and out and about. Usually single travellers too which I like.
Thanks Emily well we are new at this I’ve reduced the monthly discount to 25% I charge 80 per night small studio w kitchenette. Like you I like the idea of single travelers who are very busy. So far so good. May I ask what do you do about insurance?
How can you possibly afford a 40% discount? My fixed costs would never allow me to offer a discount of this size. Perhaps your profit margin is way more than mine, but once I calculate the cost of electricity, water, and heat, plus my time to keep the whole house in pristine condition, I might actually loose money at that level of a discount.
