Renting bedrooms 30+ days on AirBnB

[Joseph Weisenbloom]

I’ve been tinkering with the correct approach to renting bedrooms in Austin. First I tried to rent unfurnished rooms on a year lease but didn’t get much interest. I then furnished the rooms and offered shorter term leases and got a little more interest but no serious prospects. I have been advertising on craigslist, facebook marketplace, zillow and trulia.

A few days ago I decided to give AirBnB a try with minimum stay set at 30+ days. Within 24 hours I booked the 2 rooms for April at prices higher than anticipated (smart pricing feature).

Anyone out there rent bedrooms for 30+ days on AirBnB? Any downsides I should be aware of? I know that this is outside of the regulations of what the city of Austin considers a short term rental which is less than 30 days.

Im concerned that it might be foolish to rent 30+ days without a traditional deposit and lease. On the other hand this model could be the best of both worlds, higher monthly premium but lower hassle of turnover.

Thoughts?