I switched from short-term last year. Same room, same furniture — but I went from 50 turnovers to one. My weekends came back, and I’m taking home more after fees.
MR
Maria R.
Host since 2022 · Boston
$2,640/moAvg. payout
Free to list — onboard in 15 minutes
Earn up to $3,200/month hosting one furnished room.
List your room or apartment to verified students, interns, and remote professionals on month-long stays. Steady income, fewer turnovers, no broker — and you keep 92% of every booking.
No listing fees
$10k host protection
ID-verified guests only
Payouts within 24 hrs
What could you earn?
Live estimate
Chicago, IL
Private room
Months booked / year10 mo
Your projected take-home
$17,020/year
After our 8% service fee · $1,702/mo on average
Estimate based on average 4stay rates Q1 2026. Actual earnings vary by quality, season, and demand.
4,200+ active hosts
Avg. 11.2-month tenancy
92% of payout to host
Guests from 50+ countries
Since 2016
$2,180Average monthly payout per listed room
48 hrsMedian time from listing to first booking
11.2 moAverage length of stay — fewer turnovers
4.84 / 5Average host rating across 9,420 reviews
Why list with 4stay
Built for long stays, not weekend turnovers.
4stay matches you with verified students, interns, and remote workers staying 30 days or longer. That means steady occupancy, lower wear-and-tear, and a calendar you can actually plan around.
Long stays mean less work
Average tenancy is 11.2 months. One booking can fill the whole year — no weekly cleans, no Friday-night key handoffs, no Monday turnover scramble.
4.2× fewer turnovers vs. nightly
Every guest is verified
Government ID, school or employer letter, and payment method — all checked before they reach your inbox. You see who's asking, not just what they're typing.
3-step ID + affiliation check
You keep more of the rent
Flat 8% service fee. No listing fee, no booking fee, no payout fee. We invoice the guest, you get the deposit, payouts hit within 24 hours of move-in.
vs. 15–25% on most platforms
Move-in within 48 hours
Most listings get their first booking request within two days. Our matching engine surfaces you to guests already pre-screened and ready to pay — no back-and-forth tour scheduling.
72% booked within 7 days
Damage protection built in
Every booking is covered by up to $10,000 in property damage protection at no cost. We hold a security deposit, mediate disputes, and cover what's not.
Included free with every stay
Real humans, real help
A dedicated host success rep, 24/7 emergency line, and a private host community. Issue a key card, replace a thermostat, fill a vacancy — we have a playbook for it.
Median first-response < 12 min
How we compare
Same room. Different math.
Most short-term platforms optimize for guests doing a long weekend. We optimize for the long-stay model — and our economics reflect it.
| 4stay (long-stay) | Short-term rentals | Traditional broker | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Service fee to host | Flat 8% | 15–25% (variable) | 1 month rent (15%/yr) |
| Average booking length | 11.2 months | 4.1 nights | 12 months |
| Guest verification | ID + school / employer | Email only | SSN + credit pull |
| Time to first booking | 48 hours (median) | 3–7 days | 30–60 days |
| Damage protection | Up to $10,000, included | Varies by platform | Not included |
| Turnover work / year | ~1 turnover | 50+ turnovers | 1 turnover |
How it works
Live in 15 minutes. Booked within 48 hours.
No site visits, no paperwork ping-pong. Photograph the room, set your rate, and we handle screening, contracts, and payouts from there.
01
List your space
Five photos, address, what's included (linens, Wi-Fi, parking). Our app pre-fills the rest from your zip code.
~12 min, free
02
We verify & match
Our team confirms your address and amenities, then surfaces your listing to pre-screened guests already searching your area.
Live within 24 hrs
03
Approve a booking
Read the guest's verified profile, message them, and accept. The contract is auto-generated and signed inside 4stay.
One-tap accept
04
Get paid monthly
Funds release 24 hours after move-in, then on the same day each month. Direct deposit, no fees, no waiting.
92% to your account
Earnings by city
What hosts are actually making.
Median monthly payout for an entire-listing private room across 4stay's eight largest markets, based on Q1 2026 bookings.
| City | Median payout / room | Avg. occupancy | Demand |
|---|---|---|---|
San Francisco, CA | $3,200 | 94% | Very high |
New York, NY | $2,950 | 96% | Very high |
Los Angeles, CA | $2,600 | 91% | Strong |
Boston, MA | $2,400 | 93% | Very high |
Washington, DC | $2,300 | 89% | Strong |
Seattle, WA | $2,100 | 87% | Strong |
Chicago, IL | $1,850 | 86% | Strong |
Austin, TX | $1,750 | 82% | Steady |
Figures are median host payouts after 4stay's 8% service fee. Internal data, January–March 2026. Not a guarantee — actual earnings depend on listing quality, season, and reviews.
Host protection
You're never on your own.
Damage coverage, payment guarantees, and a host success team that has seen everything once. Listed as features — not upsells.
Up to $10,000 damage protection
Every booking is automatically covered for accidental damage to your space and furnishings. No premiums, no deductibles for the first claim each year.
Guaranteed monthly payouts
If a guest's payment fails, we cover the gap. Funds release on the same day every month — direct deposit to your bank, no fees.
24/7 emergency line
Lockout, burst pipe, noise complaint, anything. A live human picks up within 12 minutes (median) and helps resolve it on the spot.
Dedicated host success rep
Once you list your second property, you get a named contact who knows your portfolio, optimizes your pricing, and surfaces gaps before they cost you a month.
Mediation & dispute support
When something goes sideways, our resolutions team takes both sides, reviews evidence, and decides — usually within two business days.
Private host community
4,200+ hosts across 38 cities sharing what works — pricing playbooks, vendor lists, tax tips, and lease templates. Members-only, no marketing inside.
From the host community
Real hosts. Real numbers.
The verification piece is what sold me. I rent a basement unit in my home, so knowing the guest is a verified Master’s student at BU before they message me — that’s a different category of platform.
DK
David K.
Host since 2020 · Brookline
$1,980/moAvg. payout
I manage four 2-beds in Queens. The host dashboard alone is worth it — I see all four payouts, all four leases, all four review scores in one screen. Took me a weekend to migrate everything.
PA
Priya A.
Portfolio host · 4 units · NYC
$11,800/moAcross 4 units
Who can host
If you have a furnished space, you can list it.
No professional landlord license required. Whether you're renting one room in your own home or managing a portfolio of furnished units, the requirements are the same.
Check eligibilityFurnished & ready to live in
Bed, dresser, linens, basic kitchen, working Wi-Fi. Guests should be able to move in with a suitcase.
Available for 30+ day stays
Listings must accept bookings of at least one calendar month. You set your own min/max within that.
Located in one of 38 supported cities
We're live in 38 US metros and expanding. Check coverage during signup; we'll waitlist your zip code if it's not yet supported.
Legal right to host the space
You own it, hold the lease, or have written permission from your landlord. We verify with a quick document upload.
Five photos, accurate description
Phone photos are fine. We have a photo guide if you want one — and a free professional photo voucher for verified hosts in major metros.
Common questions
Everything hosts ask before listing.
Most short-term platforms charge hosts a variable 15–25% based on listing type and location. Traditional rental brokers charge one month of rent up front, which works out to roughly 8.3% on a 12-month lease — but with a 30–60 day vacancy window. We charge a flat 8% on what you actually book, full stop. No listing fee, no payout fee, no charge to update your calendar.
Every guest uploads a government ID and either a school enrollment letter, employer verification letter, or remote-work contract before they can message a host. We check the documents against issuing institutions where possible. You see a verified badge on every guest profile that opens your inbox, plus their stay history on 4stay if any.
You file a claim through your host dashboard with photos and itemized cost. We hold a security deposit on every booking that we'll release first; if the damage exceeds the deposit, our $10,000 host protection covers the rest. The first claim each calendar year carries no deductible.
Funds release 24 hours after move-in for the first month, then on the same calendar day every following month. Payouts go via direct deposit to your US bank account — most banks post within 1–2 business days. We don't charge for payouts.
Yes, as long as your lease permits subletting or you have written permission from your landlord. We check this during onboarding with a one-page document upload. If you're not sure what your lease says, our host success team can review it for you free of charge.
No. We don't ask guests for SSN or US credit history — that's why so much of our demand is international students and visa-stage interns. We replace credit with verified school/employer letters, payment history on 4stay, and a 1-month security deposit. As a host, you don't run any checks yourself.
Absolutely. Many of our hosts manage 5–20 furnished units. Once you list a second property, you're assigned a dedicated host success rep, get access to bulk-edit tooling, and a portfolio dashboard with payout, occupancy, and review trends across all your units.
We're live in 38 US metros today and expanding monthly. If your zip code isn't covered, you can join the waitlist during signup — we'll notify you when we launch and offer a 0% service fee for your first three months as an early host.
Your space could be earning by this time next week.
It takes 12 minutes to list, costs nothing, and you can pause your calendar at any time. No commitment, no exclusivity clause, no listing fee.
Time to list~12 min
Listing fee$0
Service fee8%
First booking (median)48 hrs