Longer stays of around 1 week or long allow you to step back a bit from the quick turn around of shorter stays. Despite this there’s still a few things you can do which will apply to longer stays at your full rental property.
I don’t offer long stays at my Airbnb myself for several reasons and mainly because of my personal schedule and because short stays tend to be more profitable for me. You can find the pros and cons I’ve discussed here.
I can appreciate that most Airbnb and VRBO hosts prefer longer stays as they are an easier lump sum of money and can be less hassle in the long run but there are a few things to consider before hosting.
Decide how hands on you’ll be.
I’d make it clear on your listing what is and isn’t included. As a general rule and particularly for rentals of entire properties, guests expect to be left alone during bookings and will expect to only contact the host of they encounter any issues or have any questions.
If you have a washing machine and dryer in your rental, guests can wash and dry soiled towels or replace bedding as they wish. However, you might want to offer replacements of fresh bedding and towels in the middle of their stay, particularly if it’s a 2-week booking for example.
You can decide with the guest if they’d like you to let yourself in and replacing these for guests yourself or if they’d prefer you dropping them off for the guests to sort themselves so as not to intrude.
Let the guests know what you will supply in the listing information.
For long stays be clear on what items will be provided, particularly items such as toilet paper, shower gel and shampoo for example. You can offer to keep topping it up or drop in new ones with new towels if you offer this.
Every host has a different style of hosting and there is no wrong way to provide a rental. Some hosts only offer an initial amount of toilet paper and shampoos or enough to get by for a few days so that the guests can purchase more of what they need.
Some hosts don’t offer anything at all other than the property so make sure this is mentioned clearly to the guest before they arrive to prevent any disappointment or you can expect messages by guests during their booking or mentioned in the subsequent review.
Believe me when I say that guests often don’t read the listing fully, so if you don’t offer things like towels or toilet roll, be sure to message this to the guest specifically before each booking.
Some hosts offer a weekly housekeeping option, to come in make the beds, wipe over the surfaces and take any rubbish bags out. This can be combined with the above service of topping up with whatever the guest needs.
By doing this you can keep an eye on the property to see if it’s being looked after properly and this can help cut down the turnaround time when it comes to the guests leaving.
Decide on your communication structure.
Depending on the length of booking, it’s worth dropping a message to guests periodically over the course of their stay to ask how they are getting on and if they need anything. It’s about finding a balance between making guests comfortable without interfering or being too overbearing.
Often guests won’t bother you with asking questions but if you actively reach out, they’ll be more likely to ask a quick question which can help make their stay more comfortable and increase your change of a better review.
Usually, your active communication could include the check in message, a message a few days in asking how the guests are settling in and lastly a polite message on the morning of departure reminding the guest of the check-out time.
It’s important to let the guest know they can reach out to you if they have any issues, however minor. More often than not the problems that guests have can be fixed really easily and some guests may not be vocal during their stay if not prompted but leave a poorer review when they leave which is really frustrating. Being a bit hands on and bringing light to your availability to assist with help alleviate this risk.
Make sure the beds are comfortable.
Nothing ruins a stay for guests like a bad night sleep, let alone if its more than one night.
If the mattresses on the beds are uncomfortable your guest will likely let you know and there isn’t really much you can do. This can really dampen a guests experience which will be reflected in a bad review.
Make sure the listing is clear.
Make sure your listing description and images are up to date and clear. Let guests know beforehand if they can expect any street noise for example.
You’d be amazed at how many guests will book a property in a central location and complain afterwards about the noise within the hustle and bustle of a city.
Bringing attention to what your guest can expect from the offset can help guests make more informed decisions. It’s frustrating how often things like this aren’t the fault of the hosts and are more about common sense but that ultimately damages the hosts online metrics.
Offer suggestions and recommendations.
You can offer this for both long term and short term stays but these are particularly useful for long stays and can help guests get the most out of their visit and ease boredom.
Another plus is that nights that days and evenings that guests spend out of the property reduces the mess and clean up required from cooking, reduces your electricity expenditure and less time in the apartment means less risk of wear, tear, and damages.
I love the bookings where guests come to stay and spend the whole time out and about – when it comes to turnover time, the property stays almost exactly as I left it and cleaning takes no time at all.
Supplying flyers and leaflets or discount vouchers for local tourism attractions can help guests make plans and enjoy your local area.
If you can’t get vouchers or make deals with local attractions, just creating a laminated document of places or restaurants you’d recommend will be appreciated by guests. They won’t know the local area and as their trip time is limited, will be grateful to avoid wasting an evening out at a poor or unnoteworthy restaurant.
A guest who is going out and exploring and having a good time is going to be more likely to leave a glowing review of their whole trip as well as your property so the two-go hand in hand.
Make sure the property is given a deep clean afterwards.
After a one or two week stay (or even for longer stays) you’ll need to give your property a more substantial clean. The kind of clean you give your property after a one or two night booking won’t be enough so make sure the whole property is deep cleaned throughout with a proper dust in order to stay at a suitable standard.
You may wish to pay more and get a professional cleaning company or an independent professional cleaner to do it for you to ensure it’s done properly.
Always keep it via the App
Occasionally as guest circumstances change, a guest may wish to extend their stay – particularly for stays of a few weeks or more. They may ask to just pay cash to continue living in the property. As they’ve already moved in and your calendar has availability anyway, it can see like a simple way to earn a bit more from the booking.
However, make sure the extension is done through the Airbnb platform to ensure that you are covered and protected by the contracts of the booking. Guests can send requests to change their reservation and bring back the checkout date which you can approve or deny depending on your schedule.