Airbnb Long-Term Rentals: Company To Explore Launching Sublet, Extended Stays

Rental service Airbnb is best known for making it easy to find a place to stay during vacations, but the site may soon offer a longer-term option for users. Airbnb is exploring making a formal move into sublets and home rentals, according to a report from Bloomberg.

Airbnb has asked consulting firm McKinsey & Co. to look into the current market for longer-term rentals. While the rental and sublet market has generally been populated by companies like Craigslist and smaller regional classified companies, Bloomberg notes Airbnb believes it could leverage its existing verification and rental tools to make an impact in the market.

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Technically, Airbnb already offers subletting options to users. The service’s sublet page has operated since 2011 and allows you to rent homes, rooms and apartments on a longer-term basis with a monthly discounted rate. However, the service isn’t publicized significantly and lacks features like utility payments that’d be tailored to users who just aren’t on vacations.

The potential move comes as Airbnb has looked to both bolster its existing vacation services and expand into newer markets. In November, the New York Times reported Airbnb would launch Trips, a side service that allows users to book tours and other location-specific experiences along with their Airbnb rental. Bloomberg also reported on Airbnb’s purchase of high-end home rental service Luxury Retreats.

Read: Paris Mayor Blames Airbnb For Population Drop

While Airbnb has navigated around regulatory problems in many major areas, the service has still butted heads with officials in various cities. In New York via the New York Post, a landlord and realtor were recently fined under a new law aimed to cracking down on short-term rentals. Elsewhere, Airbnb has also clashed with San Francisco city officials over a new law, via Ars Technica, that regulates Airbnb listings and other short-term rentals.

At the moment, these hurdles aren’t as serious of a threat to Airbnb’s future as they were in the past. But with its additional vacation service investments and potential move into the long-term rental market, the service’s push to broaden its offerings reflects that it wants to grow from a rental company to a full travel service.