Mid-Term Rentals: Guide for Hosts

Mid-term rentals are a growing trend in the real estate market, offering property owners and investors an opportunity to maximize their rental income while meeting the needs of people seeking flexible housing solutions. If you are an STR host looking for ways to keep your furnished apartment or cozy home occupied and profitable or a real estate investor looking to diversify your portfolio, mid-term rentals can be a wise strategy.  

To help you move to longer-term stays, in this blog, we'll explore the core aspects of this rental model, its benefits and challenges, and provide actionable tips on how to market your furnished property, set competitive rates, and manage everything effectively.

What Are Mid-Term Rentals?

While short-term rentals, often referred to as vacation rentals, are usually defined as stays of 30 days or less, and long-term rentals require at least a year's commitment, mid-term rentals refer to temporary stays of 1 to 6 months. They offer a flexible, convenient, and cost-effective solution for today's travelers looking for extended stays without the commitment of long-term contracts.

Mid-term rentals usually include fully furnished flats and houses with kitchen facilities, providing a home away from home for people who have to go to a new city on business and those going through personal transitions like divorce or relocation. So, this rental model can be a good option for property owners in big cities and college towns as well as in areas near agricultural centers where seasonal work is common.

Moreover, mid-term rentals can be easily combined with short-term stays, creating a hybrid strategy that can help boost rental income and maximize occupancy throughout the year. As a short-term rental host, you can switch to a mid-term rental model during a shoulder season and a slow season to cover off-season gaps. Many vacation rental property owners use a hybrid strategy, operating via a short-term model during a busy season and offering mid-term stays as an option during the slower times.

Managing short-term rental and mid-term rental properties involves many responsibilities, so a good idea is to streamline your routine operations using vacation rental software like Hospitable. Our tool can help you automate repetitive tasks and make your business more efficient.

Mid-Term Rentals: Benefits and Challenges for Property Owners

Cities and municipalities worldwide are aggressively cracking down on short-term rentals, but mid-term rentals fall outside the scope of strict STR regulations. While STR laws and rules are local in nature and are constantly evolving, restrictions in almost all markets don't affect rental properties with leases of 30 days or more. This means the mid-term rental model remains legal even in areas where short-term rentals are banned.

The mid-term rental model is becoming increasingly popular among property owners as a balanced approach, providing financial stability, operational ease, and flexibility. Here are some of the reasons to add mid-term rentals to your portfolio:

• More predictable rental income—longer stays mean fewer vacancies and fewer isolated gaps in your booking calendar, increasing your occupancy rates.
• Reduced operational costs—renting your home for longer periods can reduce operational expenses associated with frequent turnover cleanings and upkeep.
• Better tenants—professionals looking for mid-term stays are likely to take good care of your property, leaving less wear and tear and reducing the need for frequent repairs.
• Rising demand for flexible, furnished housing.

Mid-term rentals also come with their own set of challenges. They typically generate less income per property than short-term rentals, which can command higher rates, especially during a peak season. In most cases, mid-term guests expect the daily rate to be lower than a comparable STR stay.

Additionally, if you've rented your property for several months, you might not be able to take advantage of spikes in demand during such local events as concerts or conferences and increase prices.

Finding tenants for mid-term rentals often requires more effort than for short-term rental properties because their target audience is more specific. The demand for mid-term rentals can also fluctuate depending on location and season, so it can be challenging to maintain consistent occupancy rates. It may require extra time and effort to tailor your marketing strategies and be strategic with your pricing to attract the right guests.

Types of Guests Mid-Term Rentals Cater To

Mid-term rentals appeal to different types of renters seeking flexibility and convenience in their living arrangements. Some of the most common groups of people that use mid-term rentals include:

• Business professionals traveling for work
• Contractors working on specific projects in a location, for example, construction crews or IT consultants
• Travel nurses and other traveling medical professionals
• Patients who need to remain near hospitals for ongoing treatments or follow-ups
• University and college students who require temporary housing between semesters and during internships
• Digital nomads who can work from anywhere and travel frequently as a lifestyle choice
• Families relocating to new places and families displaced by natural disasters or property damage
• Tourists on extended stays who want to settle in an area for weeks or even months to experience the local culture and lifestyle.

Where to List a Mid-Term Rental Property

Effectively listing your med-term rental property is essential for attracting the right guests and maximizing your occupancy rates. Major OTA platforms with a global reach, such as Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com, allow vacation rental hosts to enable longer bookings for their properties and set monthly discounts to encourage guests to book a longer stay. While these platforms remain excellent options, listing your home or apartment on niche platforms geared towards medium-term stays is a good idea.

For example, Furnished Finder specializes in rentals for traveling healthcare professionals, corporate travelers, relocating families, and digital nomads, so you may consider adding it as another distribution channel for your property. Check out our blog article to learn how Furnished Finder works for property owners.

Managing listings on multiple channels can be challenging, but if you opt for Hospitable, you can keep your calendar updated without manual effort and prevent double bookings. With Hospitable's iCal imports, you can seamlessly sync calendars across niche booking platforms, including Furnished Finder. Watch this explainer video to learn how this functionality works.

Setting Up a Property for Mid-Term Rentals

Mid-term rentals are fully furnished properties designed for 30 days or longer stays. So, you'll need to invest in comfortable furniture, quality mattresses, reliable appliances, essential household items, kitchen utensils, and storage solutions to create a welcoming and livable space.

Mid-term guests expect essential amenities like high-speed Wi-Fi, laundry facilities, and at least one guaranteed parking spot. Keep in mind that mid-term guests stay longer, so they look for places that are comfortable and well-kept, but the rental property doesn't need to be fancy.

When preparing your property for mid-term rentals, it's also essential to determine what type of guests you want to target and focus your efforts on that niche to ensure exceptional living experiences. Understand your target demographic and what they look for in a mid-term stay. This will help you tailor your amenities to meet the specific requirements of your mid-term guests and enhance the appeal of your rental property.

For example, digital nomads look for a peaceful environment, including a laptop-friendly workspace with natural light and a well-equipped kitchen. Relocating families expect comfortable living spaces with smart entertainment systems, child-proofed amenities, and pet-friendly extras, such as food and water bowls, scratching posts, etc.

Travel nurses look for housing with safety features, such as furnished apartments with surveillance systems or security cameras. It is also good to equip your rental property with smart locks because they are one of the easiest ways to secure access to your home.

Hospitable users can use our integrations with advanced smart lock systems and automate messaging unique door codes to guests shortly before check-ins. The unique code expires automatically when the booking ends.

Make sure your mid-term rental offers the amenities your potential guests expect, and be ready to go the extra mile to create a home-like experience so your guests can feel comfortable during their stay.

Optimizing Listings for Mid-Term Stays

Craft an effective online listing that gives potential guests the first impression of your rental property and highlights its suitability for mid-term stays:

• Provide professional-quality photos that showcase the most attractive features of your rental space;
• Write a detailed property description and clearly communicate the benefits of your mid-term rental, emphasizing its suitability for your target guests and location advantages;
• Include accurate information about lease terms, amenities, and all unique features of your rental property and provide details on transportation to popular locations;
• Ensure all listing details, including your rental rates, availability, and contact information, are up-to-date.

Being transparent about what you offer and what you expect from your guests can help you attract the right matches for your mid-term rental property.

Creating a Direct Booking Strategy

One of the most appealing aspects of developing a mid-term rental strategy is the potential for increased customer loyalty and repeat guests. To make it easy for your guests to book with you again, create your direct booking website and have a direct repeat booking strategy. This will allow you to build stronger relationships with guests and have more control over your rental business.  

Building a direct booking website won't be a problem if you opt for Hospitable. You can do it using our easy-to-customize website templates; no coding skills required. With Hospitable Direct, you can confidently accept direct bookings, take advantage of Hospitable's AI and automation features, and save on hefty OTA fees.

Provide exceptional guest experience and encourage your guests to book directly if they choose to stay with you next time. You can do it by offering discounts, early check-in and late checkout options, gift cards to local restaurants or attractions, or special amenities for returning guests.

Setting Competitive Rates

Pricing your mid-term rentals competitively requires a thoughtful approach and thorough research of the local rental market rates. You need to analyze the rates of your direct competitors to set a fair price for your rental property.

Look for properties that offer mid-term stays in comparable areas, provide similar amenities and services, and target similar guests. Understanding their pricing strategies can help you identify opportunities to differentiate your rental property or match competitive rates. Set competitive rates, but tailor your pricing based on unique property features and the added conveniences you provide.

The rental market is dynamic, and although mid-term rentals are less sensitive to fluctuations in demand than vacation rentals, it's also essential to consider seasonal trends. So, you should continuously monitor your area's demand trends and occupancy patterns and adjust prices based on real-time market conditions.

Adjusting prices based on market research can be confusing and time-consuming, especially if you list your properties on multiple channels. So, the easiest solution is to use a dynamic pricing tool to recommend the best rental price based on real-time market data.

Use Mid-Term Rental Lease Agreement

Mid-term rentals require formal lease agreements or rental agreements that clearly outline the terms and responsibilities of both the property owners and the guests and comply with local laws. So, you need to prepare a detailed rental agreement specific to your mid-term rental property and jurisdiction and have it reviewed by a lawyer to ensure it aligns with residential tenancy law.

Here are some key aspects that you should include in your rental agreement to ensure it will protect you, your guests, and your property:

• Clear lease terms—state the start and end dates of the stay
• Define the amount of rent you'll be charging, payment schedule, and payment methods
• Specify the amount of the security deposit and conditions for its return
• Outline the responsibilities of the owner and the guest for property maintenance and repairs
• Include specific house rules or community guidelines that apply to the rental property

A thorough rental agreement is crucial for setting clear expectations with guests and minimizing the risk of possible conflicts in the future. The good news is that creating a new contract for each new booking doesn't necessarily mean time-consuming paperwork.

You can create a templated agreement with Hospitable to suit your rental property's needs. Then our system will automatically generate a rental agreement for each new reservation, populating your template with guest and booking data, and send it to your guests for signature. It works for general rental agreements and extra services, such as equipment rentals, on all booking channels.

How to Ensure a Positive Experience for Your Guests

As with short-term rentals, providing an outstanding guest experience to make your mid-term guests happy with their stay should be at the forefront of your efforts. Doing your best to exceed the expectations of your guests will help you win great reviews, referrals, and repeat bookings.

Ensure cleanliness and prioritize property maintenance

You must maintain a clean and well-kept rental property, proactively addressing any wear and tear. To ensure your furnished home remains in good condition throughout a mid-term stay, a good idea is to create a specialized set of cleaning and maintenance tasks for longer stays and include them in your cleaning checklists.

You should react quickly to maintenance requests, showing your commitment to guest comfort. It's important to conduct thorough maintenance checks between stays and schedule the necessary repairs before the next guest arrives. You should also ensure your mid-term rental is thoroughly cleaned and prepared for each new guest.

Pro tip: Hospitable can help you assign tasks to your cleaners and other team members automatically based on your booking calendar—you just need to set rules to notify the right people that they have a job to do.

Be responsive and proactive

Establish clear and prompt communication with your guests to set the right expectations and make them feel welcome and cared for. Proactively reach out to them via messages after they book your property to confirm details and provide them with important information necessary for their stay, such as property rules, maintenance procedures, local recommendations, etc.

Remember that your guests expect you to be accessible, approachable, and responsive to their needs. So you should respond promptly to their inquiries and issues and answer their questions as fast as possible.

Guest messaging is one of the most time-consuming aspects of hosting, so a smart solution is to automate it using vacation rental software like Hospitable to save time. Our tool uses AI to help you ensure perfect communication with your guests and deliver personalized, human-sounding messages with little effort.

Conclusion

Mid-term rentals offer a flexible housing solution for guests, allowing them to move and live on their terms. They also offer a profitable opportunity for property owners looking to optimize their rental strategy and diversify their portfolio.

The biggest advantage of this rental model is that it can be easily combined with short-term rentals to create a hybrid strategy ideal for property owners and managers in seasonal markets. Shifting between short-term and mid-term stays can help you maximize occupancy and increase your rental income.