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When you rent your home through Air BnB and VRBO do you HAVE to provide maid service?
And is that what the "cleaning fee" is for?
Can you do guest background check screening (example on sites like accudatainc.net)?
I have been the renter on VRBO units for multi-month agreements and never has the landlord sent a maid/cleaner over during our tenancy. The cleaning fee related to the cleaning done after we left. I have seen some units advertised which offered (at additional cost) cleaning during your stay but that is targeted towards people who really want a "vacation" experience without having to scrub the toilet or change the sheets. Or who have Housekeepers at their "real" homes and they don't ever do their own housework.
I have been the renter on VRBO units for multi-month agreements and never has the landlord sent a maid/cleaner over during our tenancy. The cleaning fee related to the cleaning done after we left. I have seen some units advertised which offered (at additional cost) cleaning during your stay but that is targeted towards people who really want a "vacation" experience without having to scrub the toilet or change the sheets. Or who have Housekeepers at their "real" homes and they don't ever do their own housework.
You can set up your ad as you like. I create vrbo ads for all our clients, and we like to list everything separately so that people know what they're paying for. So, it's room rate, cleaning fee, taxes, security deposit (refundable) along with our cancellation and payment policy. Do not expect your guests to clean. Everyone's different - some will clean quite a bit before they leave, and others not. That's why they paid a cleaning fee. I don't want to clean much if I'm on vacation, either!
No, you don't run a background check on guests. Do the hotels run a background check on you when you stay there? Same difference. I doubt you'd get many bookings if you want to run everyone's credit and get references on them!
Housekeeping service can be obtained by our guests during their stay. They call the cleaning co that takes care of that property and pays them directly while they are here.
AirBnb and VRBO are a little different here. Airbnb is chiefly about reputation. You may not 'have' to do things but if other people in your area are doing them and you're not, you may well get dinged in your review, and that can hurt you a lot more than some cash for extra cleaning.
Airbnb expects that their hosts will have clean rental units. If somebody rents from you for weeks at a time, you are not required to offer them maid service while they're there, but you certainly could ... I've seen places add a note like 'call so and so if you need mid-week service'.
I will screen Airbnb guests with the tools Airbnb gives me - we are less likely to take someone who has zero reviews and is a brand new account. We'll ask them many more questions. But we've never had reasons to run outside checks. I guess if your property is super high end you could, but even then, Airbnb's insurance is pretty good.
AirBnb and VRBO are a little different here. Airbnb is chiefly about reputation. You may not 'have' to do things but if other people in your area are doing them and you're not, you may well get dinged in your review, and that can hurt you a lot more than some cash for extra cleaning.
Airbnb expects that their hosts will have clean rental units. If somebody rents from you for weeks at a time, you are not required to offer them maid service while they're there, but you certainly could ... I've seen places add a note like 'call so and so if you need mid-week service'.
I will screen Airbnb guests with the tools Airbnb gives me - we are less likely to take someone who has zero reviews and is a brand new account. We'll ask them many more questions. But we've never had reasons to run outside checks. I guess if your property is super high end you could, but even then, Airbnb's insurance is pretty good.
With short-term rentals (less than 28 or 30 days) you don't have to deal with tenant eviction laws. Just call the Sheriff.
With short-term rentals (less than 28 or 30 days) you don't have to deal with tenant eviction laws. Just call the Sheriff.
the same applies to your 30+ day guests as well. Just being in the unit over 30 days does not automatically qualify them as a 'resident'. There are other factors involved.
Have you looked at the laws regarding vacation rentals in your state? You're looking at this from a landlord's point of view...you're not a landlord.
the same applies to your 30+ day guests as well. Just being in the unit over 30 days does not automatically qualify them as a 'resident'. There are other factors involved.
Have you looked at the laws regarding vacation rentals in your state? You're looking at this from a landlord's point of view...you're not a landlord.
Good point but a better term than "resident" is "tenant". Our laws here are, if you have less than a 6 month lease then it is a "vacation rental". That's where they draw the line for a tax issue that we have here. Transient Accomodations tax is levied on those types of rentals. Also, a vacation rental booking is NOT a lease. All funds are paid up front, it's just like a hotel booking. You can stay in a hotel for 3 or 4 months but that doesn't mean you have a lease under LL/Tenant law (depending on your state's laws of course).
Good point but a better term than "resident" is "tenant". Our laws here are, if you have less than a 6 month lease then it is a "vacation rental". That's where they draw the line for a tax issue that we have here. Transient Accomodations tax is levied on those types of rentals. Also, a vacation rental booking is NOT a lease. All funds are paid up front, it's just like a hotel booking. You can stay in a hotel for 3 or 4 months but that doesn't mean you have a lease under LL/Tenant law (depending on your state's laws of course).
Exactly! And as I said before, no one is going to want hard inquiry for a vacation rental. It's just not done.
I don't think the OP quite understands the difference of being in the rental business and being in the vacation rental business.
Good point but a better term than "resident" is "tenant". Our laws here are, if you have less than a 6 month lease then it is a "vacation rental". That's where they draw the line for a tax issue that we have here. Transient Accomodations tax is levied on those types of rentals. Also, a vacation rental booking is NOT a lease. All funds are paid up front, it's just like a hotel booking. You can stay in a hotel for 3 or 4 months but that doesn't mean you have a lease under LL/Tenant law (depending on your state's laws of course).
I'm in California. I hope the laws here are the same as HI. If so that will make life a lot easier if 1) I can collect 3 months of rent and 2) I don't have to worry about potentially having to take someone to court for 3 to 6 months to get them out if they play that squatting game.
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