Airbnb – get more bookings of 30+ days [full guide]

Get more bookings, have fewer guests – the Airbnb monthly rentals model

Airbnb is a hospitality business. But vacation rentals and short term guests are not the only way for a host to run an airbnb business. Did you know Airbnb has a platform for month long rentals? Google “airbnb sublets” and you’ll see.

The signs are here. Airbnb in changing. Most hosts have seen more and more listings going up in their area, and a different kind of guest coming in (or simply fewer guest altogether).

This has created a new set of challenges for all hosts, new and experienced.

• Some hosts are finding that the number of reservations has really dropped off.

• New hosts who are thinking about Airbnb for the future or just finding their feet are looking for guidance in a difficult marketplace

• Experienced hosts are looking for a more passive model (that has been buried under the increasing professionalisation of the business) so they can choose how involved they are in the day-to-day

At the same time, Airbnb as a platform is adapting to a different kind of guest. These guests are freelancers, remote workers, people in between permanent homes. They are people looking to book for a month or more.

This type of guest can be really attractive for airbnb hosts.

• Fewer guests means less work and more passive income for hosts

• Long-term guests are more careful with your property, and in their relationship with you

• They book for the off-season

• It’s win-win; you can offer them a steep discount and still make a great profit

But long-term airbnb guests are risk averse. Put yourself in their position. They are booking for a month or more. They won’t just look and book. Where they stay will determine a lot of their life experience for the months that they are there.

They have different needs to short term rentals or vacation rentals. They want to see that their needs are met. And that the price is fair.

If you’re going to attract them, the fundamental challenge for you as a host is this:

Developing an inside-out knowledge of how long-term rentals work, in your particular case, with the property you have and the guests you can attract.  

It takes work to do this. There are some important changes to implement in your airbnb business. With this course you can break the challenge down into 5 parts. Each part relates to an already familiar part of your work as a host.

You’ll learn more about:

• Guests – Who long-term guests are and what they want

• Hospitality – How to make them feel at home in your property (true hospitality!)

• Pricing – How to set a win-win price

• Listing – how to optimise your listing for increased conversions

• Marketing – how to get the word out about the great offer you’re making

I was ready to be among the first to make these changes in my native Italy. I think this was for 2 reasons:

1. I’ve travelled the world working remotely – I’ve experienced long-term rentals as a guest

2. I’ve worked in apartment rentals for the last 17 years and I’ve had an airbnb business for the past 3

Over the years, I’ve collected this mix of experience as both guest and host. This is something that lead Wired to write about me and my work, and the TTG International Hotel Exhibition to invite me to speak on the topic of “hacking Airbnb”.

I’ve been teaching hosts in Italy how to adapt for month-long bookings and now, with this English language version of the course, hosts everywhere can learn what I’ve found to work.

Here’s what you’ll do in this course so you see more 30+ day bookings come in:

1. You’ll perform a quick check to see if the opportunity is right for you. It’s free in the videos below. It’ll take max. 10 minutes and will give you an idea if it’s worth spending more time doing a proper assessment of your pricing (which is also free to you).

2. You’ll understand why long-term rentals are a good deal for you, for your guests and for the future of your business

3. You’ll follow a step-by-step process for setting a win-win price that’ll provide you a decent passive income and offer a great deal to your guest. (Also free, for a limited period of time.)

4. You’ll discover everything you need to know about how to make long-term guests feel truly at home in your property (which is so important for those 5* reviews)

5. You’ll find out the most cost-effective ways to get your property ready for long-term guests

6. You’ll optimise your listing so potential guests can see everything they need to know and actually click “Book”

7. You’ll decide if you want to try one of our suggested optional strategies for actively marketing your property.

You can see what the hosts I’ve worked with in Italy have to say:

Luisa – I followed Luca’s courses despite having worked in the sector for 10 years and I find them useful – some parts are illuminating even! Luca explains so clearly…

Annalisa – I took several of Luca’s courses and honestly, right now, I’m doing pretty well […] There’s so much information that I would have had trouble finding myself, and here it’s all together which is a huge advantage! […] For me his courses have been extremely useful!

So if you’re curious about what this course can do for you then try the quick check. It’s worth 10 minutes of your time to see if this idea can really change your business.

If that works out, then skip the module on why long-term rentals are a good deal for you. It’s important to understand, but you can do it later. First check that you have a good chance of making more money with long-term rentals. Do the module on Setting a Win-Win price.

If that works out, then I know I’ll be seeing you in the course soon enough.

Good luck with the work!

Luca