What if short term guest wants to stay longer term?

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Margaret Lesley10 months ago

What if they want to stay on and on and...



Hi, I just started hosting and received my first "guest" . Had read through many posts on this site before I saw the button that allowed me to join, and found it useful. One of the questions I had was if anyone had had experience with people signing on to be temporary guests and then expressed an interest in turning it into a long term rental; and how this was handled? With the long term rental units diminishing, has this been anyone's experience? Reading on I saw that basically Airbnb is not responsible for agreements between the parties. They just provide the platform for this to take place.

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whitlow

whitlow10 months ago



I usually ask them to go thru Airbnb and I don't offer a discount except rarely. If I am tired of them I say, "No."



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Margaret Lesley

Margaret Lesley10 months ago

So you never have had a problem with people refusing to leave, then.



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Margaret Lesley

Margaret Lesley10 months ago

Thanks for responding



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Amy

Amy10 months ago

We've never come close to having any issues with people refusing to leave. Sometimes they need to stay a few extra days while they find an apartment or something, if they're just moving here, but aside from that, it's been smooth sailing and we've been hosting for a few years now.



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Rene

Rene10 months ago

Just got rid of my first guest. Had to call airBnb 5 times to get her out. She didn't leave till after midnight the next day. I'll never rent to locals again unless they have many good reviews.



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Margaret Lesley

Margaret Lesley10 months ago

Well, I am glad to know someone who shares my experience. I had to call Airbnb as well, to get the message across. And then the day after they left, when I pulled the sheets, I discovered they had walked off with my good mattress pads! I knew they were really in need of a permanent home after I had accepted them, but asked for more information. That's another thing I will never do - never rent to anyone who writes nothing about themselves, or the reason they need the place, or who has no reviews. Now I am going to get a bad review because I asked them where the pads are (they took two of them) and didn't just let it go. In retrospect I should have. I honestly thought they might have bundled it up in their mattress, because they had told me how they had their own mattress when they moved in. Live and learn.



Cathya

Cathya10 months ago

Margaret, I didn't know all this happened. I am sorry to hear that. The only tricky situation that I've been plus a not perfect review was from someone that stayed in my place for a week and was relocating to the area. I felt like she was taking too much advantage of us and I was lucky that she left, she did mention at the beginning that wanted long term and I had a 30 day limit so that was not an option. How sad that they took something from you. Please report that to airbnb because they take note of those guest so they don't do it to anyone else. Also the reviews, the way they work now is they only give you one if you give them one. Airbnb won't show their review if you don't review them



whitlow

whitlow10 months ago

Margaret, I am sorry. It wasn't clear to me until just now that your question was for me. This is a big group and I spend little time here. I did have a guest who wanted to stay longer. I told her, "No." I had to say it several times but I made it clear. She was kind of a bad guest, anyway. Maybe I've been lucky but I screen my guests and make it clear that my home is my home. I'll tell them when I think they need a motel.



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Rene

Rene10 months ago

There is a segment of society of people who ordinary landlords wont rent to because of substance or mental health issues. These people, when they have financial resources will gravitate to AirBnb because there is little background checks. Then once they get in they don't want to go, because the alternative is being homeless. So beware of local guests!



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Deborah

Deborah10 months ago

I think this is a really good point, Rene. There are some hosts who make it a firm policy not to rent to locals. I don't do that, but I do scrutinize such folks more closely.



Margaret Lesley

Margaret Lesley10 months ago

Also, the people who have very bad credit ratings will gravitate to Airbnb for the same reason, so I ditto your warning.



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Amy

Amy10 months ago

When I posted my comment I forgot to mention that I NEVER take guests without profiles, recommendations and verifications. Sometimes they don't have profiles when they contact me, and I let them know that hosts feel more comfortable sharing their spaces with people when they know something about them or why they're in town. I've never had a local person ask to stay with us. Sorry to hear of all of these bad experiences. My advice is follow your gut and only share space with people you get a good feeling about.



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Margaret Lesley

Margaret Lesley10 months ago

Cathya, Thank you for the response. The worst was having to go today in the crowds to get another pad when i needed to be cooking. Are you sure about the reviews? I thought I understood that each person has 14 days to give a review and if one does not write one , then only the review that is written is published for view. I am definitely writing one in such a way that I instruct readers on how to protect themselves. Amy writes very good advice!



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Cathya

Cathya10 months ago

Hi Margaret I was wrong ! Sorry about that. This is what happens :

What if I don't leave a review for a guest?



We encourage everyone to leave a review. If you don’t leave one, your guest's review will appear on your listing at the end of the 14-day review period.



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Deborah