Airbnb Sublet: How Can You Rent Without Owning

With companies more accepting of employees working at home off their laptops, remote working has seen an increase in popularity. Because of this, an Airbnb sublet has great potential.

Whether it’s for a vacation or a business traveler, setting your Airbnb up properly for long term renters is a must. In this post, we will guide you through how to ask your landlord to sublet on Airbnb and explain what it is exactly.

What Is An Airbnb Sublet?

An Airbnb sublet is renting out all or part of your home for an average of 28 days to 6 months. This can include a home you own or a place that you are renting with the permission of the landlord. It’s practically leasing within a lease.

Furthermore, an Airbnb sublet normally includes all bills and utilities within the total reservation price.

Is An Airbnb Sublet Allowed In Your City?

On Airbnb, subletting is allowed, but the tricky part is if your city or landlord allows you to. For most major cities, renting out part of your place while living there is acceptable.

Some other cities will allow you to list your entire place. To find out if Airbnb subletting is allowed, review your city bylaws first and then inquire about renting your place.

If you have signed a lease then review the details. Remember, illegal subletting can result in eviction.

What Are The Benefits Of An Airbnb Sublet?

The main benefits:

• Easier to manage a listing when you only have to clean once per month instead of after each guest checkout
• Most major cities have implemented short term rental policies that make you pay more taxes due to Airbnb’s success. Long term rentals (28 days+) for the most part void the extra taxes
• With “Airbnb Host Guarantee” you are covered for up to $1,000,000 in damage compared to renting on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace
• You will be paid in full upon check-in. You won’t need to bother your renters for rent each month since Airbnb collects payments automatically

How To Sublet On Airbnb

Step 1

Make sure you are logged into your Airbnb account and have an active listing. If not do that first

Start on the top right corner by clicking on the “Host” tab. A drop-down menu will appear and you will need to click on the “Listing” tab.

Step 2

Within the Listings page, click on the listing you would like to change into an Airbnb sublet.

Step 3

By default, on the top, you will be under the Listings details tab. To the right click on the “Availability” tab. Next, scroll down until you see the “Trip details” section and click on the edit button on the right.

This is where you can edit your listings minimum stay for your Airbnb sublet.

Step 4

Within the Trip length tab, change your minimum stay length to 28 days+. Remember to click save at the bottom before moving on.

Step 5

After saving your new minimum stay, click on the “Pricing” tab. Scroll down and under the Length-of-stay discounts, you will notice an “Average monthly” amount.

This will be the average price you now receive for your Airbnb sublet.

How Do You Convince Your Landlord To Let You Airbnb Sublet?

What Should You Think About?

• How long have you been a tenant or known the landlord?
• Have you been late on your monthly rent? Have you been a good tenant?
• Does your landlord know about Airbnb? Are they accepting?
• Are you renting in a short-term or long-term rental market?
• Is your location high in tourists?
• Does the landlord have multiple properties?

How To Start A Conversation & Ask Your Landlord

Step 1

Hi (Landlords Name),

I recently was introduced and had a chance to stay at an Airbnb. It was amazing. I was wondering if you had an opinion about Airbnb?

Step 2

Ask your landlord if they have ever considered running an Airbnb since the monthly rent is much higher.

Step 3

Ask your landlord if they would be open to letting you run an Airbnb sublet. Bring up points such as you have paid your rent on time every month or that you have been a good tenant.

Bring up two ideas. That it will help you pay rent, meet bills, and improve life. Second, establish that there is a solid reason for Airbnb and the benefits for your landlord.

Step 4

What To Offer Your Landlord:

• Offer more money to your landlord
• Airbnb offers $1,000,000 insurance guarantee
• To pay for the insurance or get your own insurance depending on where you live
• Extend the lease for long term
• Pay rent upfront or in advance
• Mention you will schedule professional cleaning twice a week
• You will be renting a private room and keep an eye on all Airbnb guests
• You’ll do a thorough search before accepting guests by reading Airbnb reviews
• Frequent visits to the property (If you won’t be living there)
• You will require a damage deposit for all guests
• Will answer the landlords calls anytime
• You will be renting the place for long-term as an Airbnb sublet (28+)
• Do renovations or maintenance if needed
• There is more money for long term renters on Airbnb

Step 5

At this point if your landlord isn’t accepting the idea of an Airbnb sublet, ask them to think about it for a week and that you will get back to them.

Quick Tips For An Airbnb Sublet

• Implement a mandatory once per week cleaning on set days. This will give you a bit of control and ability to keep an eye on things
• Set your Airbnb cancellation policy to moderate or strict since you are blocking off a good amount of potential profit.
• Look into registering with your city or county and pay a license or registration fee
• Screen your potential guests by reading all other host previous reviews

Even if the chance of having poor guest arrises, we recommend avoiding it completely with the steps above.

How To Search For Airbnb Sublet On Windows/Desktop

Windows/Desktop – Step 1

On your Windows, Mac or PC, visit Airbnb.com/sublet. This will bring you to the companies sublet page where you can search for wherever you would like to stay.

Next, type in where you want to stay, your start date (arrival), and length of stay. Finally, don’t forget to click the search button.

Windows/Desktop – Step 2

After clicking the search button, you will arrive on a page where you can further specify with additional filters, map searching to show a general location or see all Airbnb sublets in detail on the left.

The Airbnb sublet prices will be shown on the left side and on the map search feature. This includes the cleaning fee and the service fee.

Windows/Desktop – Step 3

Once you click on an Airbnb listing you prefer, it will be a very similar process as booking any listing.

The details will include the date you are looking for, the number of guests, Airbnb fees and total price. Remember you won’t be charged for the full amount upfront.

Once you have decided to book, click on the “Reserve” button at the bottom and you are now going to stay in an Airbnb sublet!

Check Out Other Articles On Airbnbuniverse.com

How To Search For An Airbnb Sublet On iPhone/Android

iPhone & Android – Step

To start, make sure you are clicked on the Explore button on the bottom left (#1) which will allow you to search for any Airbnb city at the top (#2).

iPhone & Android – Step 2

Next, under the search results, click on the title that ends with “stays”. This will include entire places, private rooms, hotel rooms, and shared rooms.

iPhone & Android – Step 3

Under dates, the only way to show Airbnb sublets (monthly stays) is to set your dates for a month at a time. You can do this by clicking on the “Dates” button in the top left corner and set the days for a full month.

iPhone & Android – Step 3

On the top left, once you see the dates you have chosen, every price will appear as a monthly total (#1). If you would like to search each Airbnb sublet in the map search, click on the Gps symbol on the bottom right (#2)

Final Thoughts For Airbnb Sublet

The main incentive for running an Airbnb sublet compared to days or weeks at a time is the lack of cleaning. Imagine only cleaning once but increasing your profits?

In the above post, we explain how you can list your Airbnb as a sublet and the steps to convince your landlord to let your sublet.