Airbnb’s launch in 2008 literally turned the travel industry upside down with its innovative idea of people renting out spare rooms to holidaymakers/travellers. The concept is not something new and for many years people have offered out their spare rooms to friends and family when travelling. Airbnb was just clever enough to see the demand for this type of alternative accommodation and since launching in 2008 they now have over 2 million listings in over 190 countries and have grown to be an estimated $25 billion. Not bad for people renting out spare rooms right.
Whilst the concept is for short term holiday rentals recently there has been an influx of new landlords offering longer term rentals via the site. Whilst in practise this sounds like a great alternative to listing a property with a letting agent, there have however been some horror stories which should be taken as a warning to anyone who is looking to advertise for longer term rentals on Airbnb.
Traditionally letting agents such as Go Direct Lettings will help you find the perfect tenant for your property. With referencing, credit checks and tenant interviews for every property, you as a landlord, will have the peace and mind of knowing that your property is in safe hands. But with Airbnb you can list your property and accept immediate bookings via the website with no referencing of the guest. Or you can ask the guest to contact you first so that you can speak to them prior to them booking.
The issue arises in that when communicating over email or skype your guest could become anyone and without a full referencing procedure you will never know who you are renting out your beautiful home or spare room to. It is a bit scary when you think about it.
With the popularity of Airbnb rising so have the stories of guest causing damage to property and landlords/homeowners being left out of pocket. This article shows 3 outrageous stories which pushes home the reason why thorough referencing of a guest/tenant is so important in this day and age.
Of course we have just picked out a few scary stories and there are many successful Airbnb stories that show you how well this concept works. But the question here is ‘would you look for a long term tenant without knowing anything about them?’
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