Long stays in the short-term rental industry seem to become a new trend in 2023. Longer stays are becoming increasingly popular among travellers, so 28+ nights bookings made up 21% of total nights booked at Airbnb and remained stable during the year 2022.
This shift in guest behaviour presents an opportunity for holiday rental hosts to capitalize on this growing demand by offering their properties as extended stay options.
In this article, we will explore how vacation rental hosts can adopt the long-term rental strategy to their business and gain additional exposure to OTAs.
How monthly stays fit into the host’s Airbnb strategy
Monthly stays on OTAs like Airbnb deserve closer attention from all property managers as this is a ‘new normal’ after-pandemic trend. In the past, monthly stays were only offered by a few property managers. Today, however, the working nomad culture and economic climate as a whole have caused an increased need for long-term accommodations.
Even if you own a non-apartment type of property monthly stays can benefit you in several ways:
- Offering long stays through Airbnb is a great way for hosts to maximize the occupancy of their rental property, especially in the low season. This can become critical in times of growing rent prices while guests cancel their trips or choose a closer or cheaper accommodation.
- Changing to a Monthly stay model can help reduce operational costs for the apartment’s maintenance (cleaning and concierge services). You just don’t need to send a cleaning person to the property after every week’s booking. You don’t need to do a lot of laundry or introduce travellers to the property.
Property managers can also benefit from exposure to alternative types of guests, such as people looking for remote working accommodation. This market has been growing immensely since Covid.
This may be a great way of boosting Airbnb presence for first-time hosts, as well as those listings that have not yet acquired reviews or do not have enough visibility.
Airbnb long-term cancellation policies
According to Airbnb rules, hosts can benefit by choosing specific Airbnb cancellation policies for longer stays (28 nights or more), namely the:
- Strict long-term policy, and
- Firm long-term policy
The strict long-term and firm long-term policies apply to all bookings of 28 days or longer and override the standard cancellation policy for those stays. They offer greater protection against cancellations and provide a longer booking commitment from guests.
With these policies, guests must cancel at least 28 or 30 days before check-in to receive a full refund. If a guest cancels after that, the host will be paid for all nights spent, plus 30 additional nights, even if the reservation was non-refundable. Hosts may also choose to offer an additional refund.
Long-term payouts are beneficial for hosts
Airbnb offers monthly payouts for all long-term reservations, easing the stress and uncertainty that comes with managing multiple payments over extended periods.
The payments start 24 hours after check-in and are released monthly. New hosts’ payouts may be held for 30 days after their first reservation.
As a property manager, you have the opportunity to receive your payment even earlier with Your.Rentals. We individually qualify each host so that you can become eligible for Advance Payout, which allows hosts to receive their payment 7 days before check-in.
