A guide to getting permission & listing your vacation rental

Getting Permission From Your Landlord

This can be tricky depending on a whole range of factors, but by far the most important thing is to check if subleasing is even legal in your country, province or state. Each state/province has many laws, requirements and Airbnb taxes one must know before attempting to undertake the Airbnb rental ‘hustle’.
After checking in with your country, province and state laws, you’ll want to make a plan of how you’re going to approach the situation. The best place to start is to think in terms of “who’s benefiting from this deal”, “incentives that can motivate your landlord” and “potential risks/roadblocks” that you may face.

Who’s Benefiting From Your Airbnb Rental?

Obviously if you’re hoping to list your rental property on Airbnb and make some extra cash ‘on a side’, or generate a steady stream of income, you need to know who will be benefiting from this arrangement. Firstly, you will be gaining revenue from this deal, your guests will be benefiting by having a great place to stay and if you go about it the smart way, you can also have your landlord benefit from the arrangement. This win/win/win style arrangement will be the most likely way to approach the situation if you’d like to engage in the subleased Airbnb rental business.

Incentives That Can Motivate Your Landlord

By far the easiest way to motivate your landlord will be by offering up a ‘piece of the pie’. By offering a portion of the revenue or profits, your landlord will be more likely to agree with letting you lease their home as a subleased vacation rental. The amount which you will share with your landlord will be ‘case specific’, as you may only be able to offer a very small percentage of the sales, or you may be able to split higher amounts. This will depend on the property, the profit margins and your personal agenda.

Here Are Few Key Tips For Negotiation When Dealing With An Airbnb Rental

First, you’ll want to know the 4 main laws of persuasion, which you can use when negotiating with your landlord.

Social Liking – This law of persuasion basically means that when an individual likes someone, he or she is more inclined to listen to them, their reasoning and thus be persuaded by them. With regards to your Airbnb Rental, if you already have a good existing relationship with your landlord, he/she will be more likely to accept your offer. If not, you should start developing more of a relationship with them.

Reciprocity – This law states that when we are gifted something ‘at random’, we feel immediately inclined to return the favour. When offering your landlord the proposal for your vacation rental try taking them out for coffee to talk about it. Paying for their coffee is a great idea. Make it seem like an act of kindness; they will be more inclined to do the same.

Urgency – When there is limited time to do something, one feels more inclined to act. Try and make the offer seem as if there is a limited time for your landlord to decide. This can be tricky as you don’t want to scare them off the deal with a rash decision, have a deeper analysis of how you can apply urgency to your Airbnb Rental proposal.

Contrast – This law will be your biggest ally when negotiating the deal. The law of contrast states that when we are presented with an option first, and then the same option immediately after, but at a better price, we will be more inclined to “buy”. You can apply this law of contrast by showing your landlord how much rent they are receiving now versus how much they will be receiving extra when your start your Airbnb rental. Let the landlord know that no extra work will be required on their behalf and it will close the deal faster.

Remove Fears & Concerns

Lastly, you’ll need to convince your landlord there is minimal risk on their part. Simply show them the safety procedures and insurance Airbnb provides and this will help put their minds to ease.
Good luck with your Airbnb Rental!

Recommended thesis:

• Common case: you want to host but you have to get the landlord’s permission first;
• Prepare for the conversation;
• Think about landlord’s risks;
• Consider what you can offer to your landlord;
• What if landlord is not open to Airbnb sublease.