We recognise that some owners will be very interested in Long Stays (defined as 28-90 nights), while others may not wish to block access to their home for an extended period of time. As with most of our aproach to Short Term Rental (STR), we wish to provide flexibility (where we can) to ensure our service meets the individual needs of our Owners.
In creating the following process and options, we have researched at length the need for these stays, what other STR operators around Australia have in place, and the opportunities that Long Stays offer owners for gauranteed income, while maintaining the ongoing flexibility that makes STR so attractive for Owners compared to permanent rental.
Demand for Long Stays
With our experience, we recognise that there is an unmet need in the market for Long Stays (both in our Region and in general). Permanent Rental operators (i.e. Real Estate Agents) are understandably not interested in the offer as these Guests do not want 6 or 12 month stays, while the relatively high STR nightly rates mean that very few guests can justify paying full rates for longer stays. In our many years of experience, we have taken Long Stay bookings on quite a few occasions and they have been fantastic revenue-generators for some Owners. The demand for these stays comes from a variety of sources:
- Insurance companies relocating people while work is done at their primary residence
- Local businesses requiring regular accommodation for employees/contractors (Phillip Island Health Hub, Philip Island Nature Parks, etc.)
- Construction companies for large projects (Phillip Island Hot Springs, San Remo Pier upgrade, etc.)
- Individuals who have sold their family home and require accommodation while they look for and purchase a new home
Booking Fees, Service Fees and charges for Guests
We are in this together! We have decided to cap the Booking fees and Service Fees we charge Guests for Long Stays (booking fees, etc) to ensure that the prices we quote are appealing to them, and in recognition that Owners will also be providing discounts from their standard Base Rental rates. As always, our Management Commission is a fixed % based fee for owners, and therefore any discount/reduction in the Base Rental (see Discount options below) will result in a corresponding discount/reduction in our $ commission (please refer to
Understanding Booking Earnings for more information).
Cleaning during and after Long Stays
We know from experience that some Long Stay guests will leave your home as clean (or cleaner!) than they find it, while sometimes the relatively heavy usage may result in greater-than-usual costs for a clean following a Long Stay. To ensure the home is maintained during a Long Stay, and to provide an opportunity for an informal check-up on how the Guest is treating your home, you may see a cost for a 'mid-stay' clean during a Long Stay. Where we can, we will negotiate with the Guest to pay for these 'mid-stay' cleans over and above the Rental. In addition, we have built in a $300 charge for additional deep cleaning costs (charged to the Guest whether it is needed or not) to provide better protection and coverage for you at the end of their stay.
Discounts
When we are negotiating with Guests on rental rates, we are aware (and actively remind them) that they get access to a fully furnished home, and do not need to pay utilities for their stay. That said, it is very rare to secure Long Stays at full STR rates (sometimes Insurance companies have those sorts of budgets, but not often). We have therefore created five Discount options for owners to choose from in regards to Long Stays:
- NO Discount for Long Stays (as always, guests could still book your home for any available nights, but it is extremely unlikely that you would secure a Long Stay)
- 20% Discount for Long Stays
- 30% Discount for Long Stays
- 40% Discount for Long Stays (this is historically where we have seen most Long Stay bookings occur)
- 50% Discount for Long Stays (this type of discount would likely lead to more frequent Long Stays for your home)
Example
Discount Option | Example Base Rental
for 28 nights
|
1. No Discount | $6,600 |
2. 20% Discount | $5,280 |
3. 30% Discount | $4,620 |
4. 40% Discount | $3,960 |
5. 50% Discount | $3,300 |
Excluded Dates for Long Stays
We won't be making the opt-in Long Stay discounts available over the GP period, nor from Christmas to the end of the Australia Day weekend. This is because Owners (and us!) rely heavily on the revenue from these periods, and demand is such that most homes won't gain additional revenue from a Long Stay over these periods. Guests will still be able to enquire/book over these dates, but the discounts are not applied, meaning they will pay full rate for any nights of their stay that cover these periods.
Marketing for Long Stays
We have begun to actively approach all of the above (Insurance Agents, Local businesses, etc) to connect with people who are looking for Long Stays and we are working with local Real Estate Agents to ensure any enquiries are sent our way. We have created some marketing material that will be sent to these businesses, and posted on local social media pages. In the past some owners have also proactively marketed their home for Long Stays on Social Media and forwarded enquiries to us.
Vetting Long Stay guests
As with Short Stays, we are committed to doing everything in our power to ensure we accept the right guests to come and stay in your home. Please see
Vetting Guests for more details. Each guest that books a Long Stay with us will also be required to send us a copy of a Government Issued ID (e.g. drivers license, passport, etc.).
Payments to Owners for Long Stays
As per our usual processes, Owners are paid based on the check out date of bookings (i.e. on or before the 15th of each month for bookings that checked out the previous month). If we manage to secure a Long Stay of more than 56 nights (up to 90 nights), we will do what we can to 'break' them into multiple bookings to ensure Owners are able to receive regular payments, and not waiting until the end of such a booking for full payment. To ensure the State Government Levy does not apply to any part of a 'broken' Long Stay, we cannot make a component of the stay less than 28 nights (see below - State Government Levy).
State Government Levy
The 7.5% State Government Levy (in place for STR since 1 January, 2025) does not apply to bookings of 28+ nights. This means that, from the guest perspective, we can apply a 'saving' for them on a comparative nightly rate, without actually giving up any income from Owners, or us!
Insurance
The insurance brokers we recommend to most owners (BJS Insurance) have confirmed that their STR Insurance product covers stays of up to 90 consecutive nights in one booking, however owners who are keen to offer Long Stay options to guests will want to check with their Insurance provider to ensure they are covered. BJS also confirmed that stays in excess of 90 nights can still be covered by simply breaking a booking into multiple back-to-back bookings, so we have that option if/when required.
What if I don't want Long Stays?
As always, Guests are able to book any available dates at your home. If you don't provide any Discount for Long Stays, it's incredibly unlikely that you'll get one. If you have dates that you plan on using your home, we would always recommend booking them pre-emptively, and releasing the dates (by cancelling the owner booking) if you decide not to go to your home. As usual, we are
very reluctant to cancel guest bookings and if we ever need to, they usually bring with them some costs. Please refer to
Owner Bookings and
Cancelling Guest Bookings for more information.