When an STR should go back to a 12-month lease: what I'd check before deciding

Question

A few STR owners have reached out to me lately about switching to a 30-day-minimum hybrid. Sometimes that's the right call. But there's a question I think a lot of owners skip: should this property just go back to a long-term lease?

Full disclosure: I co-host STRs for other owners, and most of my own units run as mid-term/short-term hybrids. But I owned long-term rentals in Orlando for several years before that, so I've seen both sides. Here's what I'd look at before deciding.

1. Start with the 12-month number, not the Airbnb projection. What would it rent for unfurnished on a 12-month lease? That's your baseline. The furnished version has to beat it after utilities, cleaning, platform fees, software, management, replacing furniture and empty nights. And it has to beat it in a slow month, not just a peak one.

2. Put a value on your time. A good tenant in a solid long-term rental is about as close to passive as rentals get. When I owned and managed five long-term rentals in Orlando, the duplexes took a couple of hours a week, and the rest combined took an hour or less a month. An STR is a small hospitality business. If you won't pay a co-host or PM and you're burning out on turnovers and guest messages, that's a real cost even if it never shows up on the spreadsheet. Before you decide, honestly count the hours your STR takes each week.

3. Look at where the rules are heading, not just where they are. City ordinances, HOA rules, insurance, and what your loan assumes about how the property is used. A property that also works as a long-term rental has a floor under it. One that only works nightly doesn't.

4. Try the middle option before you go all the way back. In markets with steady work crews, traveling nurses or insurance placements, 30-60 day minimums with short stays only filling the gaps can cut turnover a lot without giving up the furnished premium. That's how I run most of my units. In Florida, remember that stays of six months or less can still be subject to transient rental tax, so check with your CPA before assuming a monthly guest is tax-free.

5. Know what you give up going back. Pricing flexibility, using the place yourself, and the difference between a guest and a tenant once Florida landlord-tenant law applies. You also have to decide what to do with the furniture.

One Orlando lesson I still think about: I had back-to-back move-in checks bounce on a single-family rental I owned there. I got civil judgments both times and never recovered a dollar. A long-term lease is steadier, but it isn't risk-free. Your screening matters as much as your rent number, because winning in court and actually getting paid are two different things.

My rough rule: if the furnished numbers only work in a good month, or the furniture is due for a refresh that doesn't pay for itself, a 12-month lease deserves a serious look.

For anyone who's gone from STR back to a long-term lease, or the other way: what number or moment made the decision for you, and do you have any regrets?

John Racine · Answer

@Noah Laker a 20% cushion over the 12-month number is a clean way to put it. It turns "is the STR still worth it?" into something you can check every slow month instead of a gut call. Do you hold a property to the same 20% when it's running 30+ day stays, or does the cushion come down since there are far fewer turnovers and empty nights to cover?

John Racine · Answer

@Inder Singh underwriting every unit as if a long-term tenant will be there for years is the right floor. It's also how I price mid-term: the 12-month rent is the floor, and what the unit could gross as an STR is the ceiling. The furnished side has to earn its keep on top of that number, not replace it.

Jim Johnson · Answer

One number worth looking at is the cost of making the switch itself. Between storing or selling furniture, preparing the property for a long-term tenant, and any vacancy during the transition, it could take a while to recover those expenses. Even if the 12-month lease looks better on paper, I'd want to know how many months it would take before the switch actually pays off.

Lee Futcher · Answer

Hi @John Racine,

Your second point is the one I'd put first. I've seen plenty of owners decide an STR isn't working when the numbers are actually fine, and the real problem is that it's quietly taking over their week.

Before going back to a 12-month lease, I'd spend one normal week writing down every task the STR takes and how long each one takes: guest messages, turnover coordination, restocking, pricing changes and reviews. Most owners are surprised by two things. The total is usually higher than they guessed, and most of the time goes into the same handful of questions and handoffs, week after week.

That list makes the decision a lot clearer. If the hours come from work that repeats, like check-in questions or scheduling cleaners, it can usually be handed to a co-host or a simple system, and the furnished premium is still worth keeping. If the hours come from the property itself, like constant repairs or a tough guest mix, that's a strong sign your 12-month baseline is the better path.

I also really like your rough rule about the furniture refresh. It's a cost a lot of owners forget about until the day it's due.

All the best,Lee

John Racine · Answer

@Lee Futcher logging one normal week is a good test, and I like how you split it: work that repeats vs. problems that come from the property itself.

On my units, the two things that take the most time every month are pricing, then guest messaging. I automate a lot of both, but they still need human eyes reviewing and updating them. "Automated" never means zero hours.

That's a big part of why I set my calendars for 30+ day stays. One monthly guest is a lot fewer messages and handoffs than a string of 3-night stays. If someone does the time log and most of the hours come from turnovers and check-in questions, I'd test a longer minimum stay before going all the way back to a 12-month lease.

Noah Laker · Answer

My rule is the slow month test. Across the 100+ Airbnbs I manage, if the furnished STR does not beat the 12 month unfurnished rent by at least 20 percent after cleaning, fees, utilities and management, I switch it back. That cushion covers empty nights and furniture replacement. The tradeoff is giving up pricing flexibility and personal use, but a steady tenant beats burnout. Hope this helps.

Inder Singh · Answer

John — your rough rule is the one I use too. I run 17+ units across five buy-and-hold deals, plus an STR in Revere, and I underwrite every unit like a long-term tenant will live there for years. If the furnished gross doesn't clear the 12-month rent after cleaning, fees, utilities, vacancy, and a slow month, I don't count on the STR premium at all.

I'd move a unit back on the same test Noah described: if it only beats the long-term number in a good month, or the furniture refresh won't pay for itself, it's a long-term rental. That floor, plus reserves per property and strict screening with a move-in walkthrough, keeps a bad month from becoming a bad quarter.

I haven't had to move my Revere STR back on that test yet — but if the slow-month math stopped clearing, I would, no regrets. The floor is the point.

Ametria Chaney · Answer

John, this is a really useful framework — thank you for laying it out so plainly. The point that sticks with me most is your first one: start with the 12-month number, not the Airbnb projection. I've seen buyers fall in love with a peak-season nightly rate and forget the slow months, the cleanings, the platform fees, and the furniture refresh that all come out of it. Your second point hits home too — an STR is a small hospitality business, and if the hours are wearing you down, that's a cost even when the spreadsheet looks fine. I also love the reminder that a property that works as a long-term rental has a floor under it; that flexibility is real protection if the rules or the market shift. For anyone weighing this, I'd add one thing: talk to a local agent about what the home would rent for unfurnished right now, because that baseline number is what the whole decision turns on.

When an STR should go back to a 12-month lease: what I'd check before deciding

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