Rental agreement?

[Miranda250]

I’m new to hosting… I have spent hours reading thru the forums and I am frankly disappointed and discouraged at the horror stories. In short… I will not accept instant bookings, I will try to screen for red flags, take only verified guests with reviews, I have very specific house rules with expects…and not rely on Airbnb protection as many of you have said it’s laughable.

I am looking at a different platform for direct booking that allows a deposit and rental agreement. And no service fees.

The more I learn … many of those hosts still use Airbnb vrbo etc to get bookings and then hope to have repeat guests book direct. I really would love to have all direct bookings with control over my home … but from an investment standpoint I need more bookings.

I was under the impression you can’t  have a signed rental agreement with Airbnb….HOWEVER I am learning  some hosts do request guest sign one, Is this legal? 

how do you facilitate this if you dont have personal email info? what electronic forms do people use for this?

what about government issued id? I know I can choose to host verified ID guests only, it is illegal to collect ID otherwise? 

I appreciate all advice, thanks in advance!!

miranda

[Basha0]

You can always ask for an email to send them house info and an agreement to sign. You are not asking for money so there really isn’t an issue. If someone doesn’t want to do that ask them how they would like to receive the information. 

[Elaine701]

@Miranda250 

Yes, as with any booking platform, it's important that you get past the flowery rhetoric, and realise that in all practical senses, it's just a booking platform. Don't expect anything else. 

However, Airbnb's market reach is extraordinary, and therefore it's foolish to ignore that. The one thing Airbnb does very well is generate bookings. Like no other. Lots of different type of guests; good, bad, great, terrible, and everything in between. 

But despite what you've heard, you can indeed charge a real security deposit, and I suppose you could just as easily require a separate contract (I know some do), although for short term rentals, the Airbnb contract should be sufficient, I can't really see the need for another unless it's a longer term rental, say, more than 28 days, which has tenancy implications. 

Airbnb likes you to be entirely dependent on them. You are encouraged to keep everything on the Airbnb farm. But you can operate more independently, do your own guest vetting, and have far more control. But you have to know where the mines are buried. 

[Sarah977]

@Miranda250  Not every host experiences horror show guests. You have to keep in mind that hosts who are posting on forums don't tend to post to say they get lovely guests and have never had any serious issues. People post when they have an issue and need to vent or ask for help. So it can easily look like all hosts get some terrible guests, but that isn't necessarily the case.

It has a lot to do with the nature of your listing- the location, how many guests it sleeps, what you offer,  if you are a hands-on host, an onsite host or a remote host. 

A house with a pool, a hot tub, and a 10 person guest count in LA is going to attract partiers, whereas a cottage in upper New York state that sleeps 4 isn't. 

I just have a private room/private bath home-share listing and I have never had any objectionable guests at all. Even with guests who had no reviews. There have been a few small issues, but nothing that I couldn't work out amiably with the guests in the moment.

If you are listing an entire place and you are off-site hosts, you definitely need to be more vigilant. Conscientious vetting, communicating suffficiently with guests, not using IB, not succumbing to the tendency to try to cram more people in just because you can (a 3 bedroom place, for instance, is best listed for 6 guests, not 10, with fold out couches and air mattresses) having outdoor cameras, etc. are a few of the things that can help not to end up with horror shows.

How you write up your listing description is also a factor. When hosts wring their hands about partiers, I often see that their listing info reads like an real estate ad, extolling all the virtues of the place in an impersonal way, and none of the warts (all places have things guests might complain about, whether it's traffic noise, run-down houses on the block, neighbors' barking dogs, a long drive to the nearest store, etc). 

Identify your target market and try to speak to them in your ad, whether it's families, digital nomads, a quiet couples retreat. And put yourself into the description somehow, so it comes across as a place someone cares about, not just a faceless rental.