Pros and cons of Short-term Vs. Long-term Airbnb rentals

There are two main strategies when renting out your property on Airbnb. These are short-term and long-term stays. So what is the difference?

KingsCoin says a short-term rental refers to the leasing of a (usually) furnished property for a short-term period of time. This is primarily a few days or weeks.

Whereas, a long-term rental refers to the leasing of a (primarily unfurnished) property for 6-months minimum. But generally, these properties are rented out for 12 months or more.

So, now you know the difference between these two types of Airbnb strategies, what are the pros and cons?

Short-term rentals

Pros:

• According to the Airbnb site, GuestReady, short-term rentals tend to make proportionately more money per stay as the cost per night is much higher for short-term rentals.
• KingsCoin says that there is more flexibility with short-term rentals as homeowners can stay at their property when they want to and rent their property out when it’s not in use.

Cons:

• As Airhost Academy says, you will have to spend a lot more time marketing a short-term rental to fill your bookings calendar. Plus, you’ll also be dealing with more logistics such as syncing your calendar to avoid double-bookings, having more communications with renters, using cleaning services more frequently, and keeping your prices current and competitive. 
• Going with the above point, a short-term rental means there is no guarantee of a consistent income. So, you may not be able to entirely fill up your calendar with guests.
• You will need to be able to be contactable by your guests 24/7 and this can disrupt other plans you may have.

Long-term rentals

Pros:

• The most obvious benefit of a long-term Airbnb rental is that you have a consistent stream of income coming in for your property.
• Another benefit, according to KingsCoin, is that there is less work involved. This is because there is not so much administration involved, like communicating with guests, cleaning, and taking care of bookings.
• Most tenants are also likely to try and keep your property in a good state of repair as they will be living there for an extended period of time.

Cons:

• As GuestReady says, there is no flexibility once you have rented your property out, and so you are locked in. No matter what happens in your personal life, you probably won't be able to back out.
• KingsCoin says you will have to have strong trust with your long-term renters as there is less control over a long-term rental, as you can’t inspect your property in between guests (you may have to give 24hrs - 1 week’s notice before you pop on by). And the wrong tenants could deteriorate your property or even conduct illegal activities.

Conclusion

So now you know the pros and cons of short-term and long-term Airbnb rentals, you should have all the information you need to decide which option is best for you and your Airbnb business. If you want a property management company to manage your short-term rental, you may be interested in Zodiak Management.