Between the single night and the annual tenancy sits a segment many hosts overlook: stays from four weeks up to a few months. Tradespeople and contractors on site, project staff at regional companies, people moving between two homes, hospital patients with relatives. The demand is unglamorous, but it is steady — and it follows different rules from the weekend business.
The arithmetic is different
Mid-term stays almost always come at a lower nightly rate. That is where most hosts stop listening, and it is too early to stop. What matters is not the nightly rate but what remains at the end of the month.
Against the lower rate stand: one clean instead of eight to ten, almost no communication load after move-in, no commission on every individual stay, no vacancy risk within the month, predictable utilities and far less laundry. So always compare net figures: revenue minus cleaning, commission, laundry and utilities, divided by available nights. Only that number is comparable with your short-term performance.
When the switch pays
A long stay is rarely the better choice for the whole calendar, but often the better choice for specific windows. Three situations are typical.
- Low season. A fully booked November at a moderate monthly rate almost always beats a half-empty November at aspirational rates.
- A new listing. In the first months you lack visibility. A longer stay carries the fixed costs while the listing builds a track record.
- Properties outside the old town. What is too far out for tourists is exactly right for contractors with a company van and a site in the surrounding area.
The reverse also holds: never block your strongest season with a four-month booking without calculating the revenue you are giving up.
These guests search differently
Someone staying two months is not looking for charm, they are looking for function. The list is almost always the same: a real kitchen with hob, oven and enough crockery, a washing machine inside the apartment, reliable Wi-Fi, storage for more than one suitcase, parking — for tradespeople ideally for a van — and a desk, or at least a table you can actually sit and work at.
The booking side matters just as much. Companies need a proper invoice with all mandatory details, often issued to the employer, and a dependable answer on extensions. Improvise here and you lose the repeat business — and repeat business is what makes this segment attractive, because the same firms come back with their next project.
What changes operationally
Operations get quieter, not simpler. Decide three things in advance. First, cleaning: on long stays a mid-stay service every two to four weeks is worth it, if only because it gets you inside the apartment. Second, utilities: across several months and several occupants, a clear rule on consumption beats a silent surprise on the annual statement. Third, payment: monthly instalments rather than one sum up front reduce risk on both sides.
Also keep in mind that a calendar full of long stays becomes dangerous without clean channel synchronisation. A blocked period that fails to propagate does not cost you a night here — it costs you a quarter.
Clarify the legal frame early
Beyond a certain length of stay the legal classification of a letting shifts, and depending on your municipality, property and usage, different requirements may apply — from change-of-use rules to registration duties and tax treatment. That is no reason to avoid the segment, but it is a reason not to start it casually.
Establish the rules that apply to your property with qualified advice before the first longer booking, and set up your contractual basis accordingly. This article is not legal advice.
Start small
You do not have to choose sides. The pragmatic entry point is a test window in your weakest season: a six to eight week period, a clearly calculated monthly rate, an honest inventory list. Then compare net revenue per available night with the same period last year. If the comparison holds up, you have a second source of income for exactly the months when the first one weakens.