You might be curious about how mid-term stays operate and how they can affect your business if you’ve been running your vacation rental primarily with short-term rentals. Families no longer use vacation properties exclusively when traveling for a week or two. More and more people are selecting vacation homes for business travel and as a transitional accommodation when moving to a new place as they become aware of the advantages of vacation rentals compared to hotels. This indicates that people are staying longer and searching for convenient, safe, and inexpensive locations to stay in during this time of transition.
Check out this thorough guide to extended stays for vacation rentals if you’ve ever wondered how implementing them in your company could assist lower vacancies, boosting revenues, and broadening your marketing reach:
What Are Mid-Term Rentals or Extended Stays?
Extended stays go beyond the typical vacation or quick business trip. Mid-term leases often relate to agreements that start at 28 days and can last for one to nine months.
To fill calendars during unsure times, off-seasons, and other low-occupancy cycles, extended stays offer incentives.
Longer stays versus shorter stays
Mid-term rentals and short-term stays have many things in common, but they also differ in interesting ways. Both have identical booking procedures, but the price approaches could be different.
It’s typical to charge by the day for short-term rentals, but for longer stays, it can make more sense to provide a weekly or even monthly fee. Some owners of vacation homes opt to continue using the per-day calculation while reducing the standard daily charge.
Additionally, visitors searching for a mid-term rental have different requirements and goals than those searching for a conventional short-term rental. Families and individuals in need of a short-term rental will search for indulgences like BBQ grills and swimming pools, but mid-term renters will search for more useful amenities to make a longer stay more comfortable, such as dependable WiFi and a fully equipped kitchen.
Your short-term rental agreement might need to be modified in some places to provide room for mid-term guests. To better service guests staying for longer periods, you might, for instance, offer mid-stay cleans, alter your security deposit policy, and revise some clauses in your contract. When developing your pricing approach, remember to account for factors like regular water and electricity use for visitors staying in your house for a month or longer.
Who Is Looking to Rent a Mid-Term Property?
Most visitors looking for mid-term accommodations are not on vacation. Some of the several traveler types include:
- Traveling on business who don’t want to spend weeks in a hotel when gone on extended business trips.
- Families need somewhere to remain while waiting for the construction of their new home in a new city after selling their old one.
- Internships are completed by students.
- Travelers relocating near their elderly parents to assist them following a serious procedure or diagnosis.
- Travelers want to spend a month on a nice vacation and have planned lengthy trips.
In general, people seeking a mid-term rental tend to be in their 30s to 40s and are frequent business travelers or other professionals. They are visitors who are aware that their stay in the area will only last a short while, but who nevertheless don’t want to sign a lease for six or twelve months or shell out more money for a short-term rental.
While there is no assurance that this type of renter will be trouble-free, they do have a tendency to handle minor concerns on their own rather than phoning you or management for everything and show respect for the property. They are more inclined to take good care of it since they have the mentality that this will be their home for a very long time. This category of tourists is also prepared to pay more for a secure, cozy, spotless, and equipped residence.
When promoting extended stays, who should you target?
There are many different sorts of tourists interested in monthly rentals, as discussed above, but who you choose to target will depend on the property you own or manage and the services you provide.
Several instances include:
- Domestic tourists seek out extra rooms and features like BBQ grills, swimming pools, and anything else that would enable them to unwind and have a staycation.
- Furnished accommodations with nice office setups and reliable WiFi would be ideal for business visitors.
- Families from adjacent urban areas will be searching for quirky, rural residences with lots of outdoor and family-friendly settings.
Just remember to stay in touch with your previous visitors! They might not be considering traveling, but if it meant they could stay at a vacation rental they adore and trust, they might change their minds.
Benefits of Long-Term Rentals for Your Properties
There are many advantages to incorporating lengthier stays into your rental plan and moving toward a mid-term rental. It allows you to fill your calendar with reservations during off-peak times and saves you time on marketing and advertising.
Mid-term rentals also reduce the time needed for cleaning, inspections, and check-ins. With short-term rentals, you may not have time to screen new arrivals or ensure they are a suitable fit for your property because they come and go every week or two. You can take your time with mid-term renters to check references and make sure they have a spotless rental history.
Mid-term visitors typically don’t communicate much after they settle in. They will settle in and handle the majority of the ongoing maintenance tasks alone. As a result, your contact visitors less frequently and spend less time visiting the property to handle minor problems like clogged toilets or trouble finding the TV remote.
Mid-term stays result in lower turnover and more stable cash flow, two things nearly every vacation rental owner strives for when entering the industry.
How to include reservations for extended stays in your plan
Fortunately, it’s rather simple to begin incorporating mid-term reservations into your holiday rental strategy. You might need to make minor adjustments to your rental agreements and contract terms, but with a little planning, you can begin changing your marketing tactics to draw in business travelers and families that are in the process of relocating.
You can do the following things to prepare for mid-term reservations:
- Whether on your direct booking website or other significant vacation rental listings, you should add monthly prices to your listings.
- You may increase your marketing reach by posting your rental on websites dedicated to extended stays and mid-term rentals.
- Reconsider the amenities that are provided by your renter. What amenities can you add to your offering that would be useful to a frequent visitor or business traveler? What tools and materials can you provide in your house that a visitor staying for a while would find useful?
What You Should Know About Monthly Stays on Airbnb
Your property must have a maximum booking duration of 28 days or longer and provide a monthly discount of at least 10% off your standard daily rate to be included on the Airbnb Monthly Stays page. You must also include a list of conveniences that make longer stays more comfortable, such as a kitchen, washing and dryer, towels, sheets, and cushions.
One last thought
The travel industry is evolving quickly, so successful vacation rental operators must be flexible. During typically sluggish booking seasons, mid-term holiday rentals can help fill your schedule while being profitable and rather low maintenance. With a little flexibility, preparation, and perseverance, switching to accepting prolonged stays can be simple.
