It didn’t take long for the short-term rental frenzy to catch on around the country (rather, around the whole world). For the last several years, cities have been scrambling to figure out if they allow them, how they should regulate them, or if they will all out ban them. These STR regulations can vary widely—some cities only allow hosts to list private rooms within their residence (like Santa Monica). Others permit Airbnbs only when the host resides at the property at least nine months out of the year (Pasadena). Still others are far stricter. Anaheim famously has outlawed any new short-term rentals while grandfathering in the old ones. There is no united front when it comes to renting out one’s place on a short-term basis—prospective hosts simply have to do some deep research, fill out a lot of forms, and do their due diligence to get a listing on Airbnb.

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If you simply have no patience for the wild west of Airbnb restrictions city by city, there’s an easy answer that still affords a lot of the benefits of having a short-term rental—plus a few more, actually. The furnished month to month rental, also called a “flex rental” or “medium term rental,” is a great alternative. Most cities define short term rentals as less than 30 days, so the loophole would be to advertise your Airbnb listing for 30 days or more. You get all the benefits of the short term rental—much higher earnings than a long term rental and the flexibility to block out the calendar and use your vacation home when you want to. In addition, there are many other benefits to consider. For month to month rentals, you will have a lower management fee from your property manager each month—15% is standard in the industry compared to 20% or more for short-term rental management. You also minimize your risk when it comes to a high volume of guests cycling through your property. Usually, people looking for month to month rentals are looking for a dependable place to live for a few months rather than a vacation home. In other words, guests are there to actually live in your space—not to throw parties. But perhaps the most compelling reason of all is the high demand for month to month rentals at this very moment. 30+ day rentals are one of the fastest growing categories on Airbnb, mostly due to the fact that more people are working from home these days. And you don’t have to fill out a long list of pesky city forms. It’s kind of a win-win-win.

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Here at Proper Management, we love our month to month rentals. We not only advertise them on Airbnb, but we also list them on Zillow and the MLS which syndicates to 200+ websites such as Redfin, Trulia, Hotpads, etc. Even though our monthly renters are staying for a relatively short period of time, we require a contract to protect all parties involved. If you’re interested in this wonderful STR alternative, give us a ring today. We’d love to talk to you.

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