Airbnb guest wants to extend stay and pay directly. Allow it?

Question

Airbnb guest is a foreign visitor, and wants to pay directly to save on all their airbnb fees. They want to stay here a few months, so airbnb would take a fairly hefty fee from them.

Guest has been here a little while now, ideal roommate/guest - clean, polite, etc.

When visitor booked, they had a debit card issue so the payment at first didn't work-- supposedly because it was a foreign transaction (they're from outside the USA). They fixed it, payment went through. Airbnb is charging them 10%+ fees., and that adds up when they're staying by the month.

My first reaction--- all levels of no, they could "easily" not pay and try to stick around. Or, it could be some sort of scam-- this would void airbnb's insurance they cover us with, blah blah.

My second reaction... Airbnb is charging them a pretty penny, and this isn't much riskier than the roommate/tenants I've gotten online from other sites-- except the fact that this person doesn't have a deposit here. I've got home insurance, and the lease I could have them sign  has a solid disclaimer (for what it's worth).

I've gotten plenty of online tenants, some short-term (one month or more) before-- and never had a problem. The earlier tenants had small deposits (a few hundred or less), the difference is that this person 1) is from another country 2) no deposit at all 3) already living here (through airbnb).

This person was easily searchable online- somewhat slightly known in their career field, just from another country. Their story added up, no local evictions/felonies, etc.

I thought about making them sign a weekly lease-- if they ever don't pay, it's a 7 day notice to leave.

Or I thought about saying "sorry, airbnb would ban us" and making them always pay through airbnb.

They're already paying $100 more a month than our "long term" roommates, so I like the idea of extending them. Airbnb is adding fees to that for them-- and also charging us fees.

Would you extend through airbnb or accept a "new" tenant from airbnb directly by cash?

Dante Pirouz · Answer

I would NOT do this! I had a tenant in an apartment in Philadelphia that I was subletting that asked for exactly the same thing and I ended up losing $1700 in the end after months of moving the move out date, late payments and complaints. There is no recourse with AirBnB if you go outside of the system and you have to think...why would the tenant be asking for special terms? They probably will start to cut corners on the due date, what they pay, etc. eventually because they know you won't have any way to hold them accountable. Stay within the AirBnB system and at least you can post of poor rating if they don't pay...I wasn't even able to do that and my tenant knew that! Or just tell them thanks but no thanks and find other tenants!!!

Account Closed · Answer

Just say no.  Be smart.  If you didn't have a hinky feeling about this, you wouldn't be here asking.

Ask yourself, if a friend of yours asked you this question, what would you advise them?

Right.  You'd tell them to tell these people AirBNB is a lot cheaper than an Extended Stay Hotel, and if they want an even cheaper deal, they can call the local hostels.

Don't be conned by these con artists.  Sure, you can't blame them for asking, and they can't blame you for saying "no."  Even if they loudly protest doing so.

Jeff B. · Answer

Wife & I travel, international too and we always know

• when we are arriving
• when we are leaving
• where our next venue is located

It's possible your guest is a tourist or visiting to obtain work.  Either way, the sudden request to extend the visit, especially for such a long time is highly suspicious.

Tell him, sorry but the rules don't allow the extension and you will need to report him.

Mindy Jensen · Answer

@Matthew Wyn, I just re-read this, and it sounds mean. I didn't intend it to be mean. Just frank. This isn't going to end well. I hope you take the advice in this thread.

Sol Bergren · Answer

Myself I'd entertain the option to let them pay however they want, but would make a judgement call based on how they've been.  Only benefit I see to going through airbnb is that you get the "airbnb insurance", to offset this you could ask for a damage deposit.  Airbnb service fees are pretty ridiculous on both ends of the transaction.  I am curious if this is a violation of Airbnb's TOS?

Most renters are good people and aren't looking to scam or screw landlords over.  If you did go this route I would make sure you understand the tenant rules for evicting a short term tenant(in your area), so you don't get stuck with a professional tenant(as there have been some posts about tenants taking advantage of airbnb rentals in this way)

Garry C. · Answer

Agreed. This is a bad idea. There are many reasons not to go this route, some already stated by Dante above. There are lots of scammers out there. Even if this person is not one, your rental is obviously in demand. If he cannot afford it under the current terms, someone else can. In fact, it may be an indication that you are undercharging. Don't treat your renters as friends, nor customers, they are employees, their job is to keep your rental in good condition and generate cash flow.

Mindy Jensen · Answer

Account Closed, AirBnB has a guarantee. I think it's $1 million. So if a guest comes and trashes your house, they will pay for the repairs, up to $1 million. Or something like that. I don't have an AirBnB property yet...

Account Closed · Answer

@Jeff Bridges  In many places a two or three day stay would cause them to have to be evicted if they refuse to leave.

Account Closed · Answer

@Matthew Wyn   If the people refuse to pay or leave the eviction process will be the same with or without Airbnb.  What is the difference?

Matthew Wyn · Answer

I politely declined, said it must be through Airbnb. And I declined again and explained airbnb doesn't allow it the second time- saying bookings through airbnb only. This guest has been polite, helpful, ideal- takes out the trash, cleans the counters after cooking, really too polite. That's scary. :D This person has only one previous review recommending him from a popular new host in my city.

We're less than 24 hours away from their airbnb checkout day.They said they would put in another reservation request through airbnb, but haven't done so yet.

What if the airbnb guest won't leave? Or refuses to rebook through Airbnb?  I keep reading airbnb horror stories about long-term 30+ day tenants. It's been well UNDER 30 days, so no long-term tenant's rights.

Airbnb guest wants to extend stay and pay directly. Allow it?

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