lease or contract - how do you send to guests?

[Donna16]

This is my first time hosting through Airbnb.  I typically rent my house through vacation rental sites like homeaway.com.  I cannot figure out how to anonymously send a lease agreement/contract to a guest who wants to book through Airbnb. Can anyone help me?

Thanks.

Donna

[Marit-Anne0]

That is one of the advantages of using airbnb - you do not need a separate contract.  A booking made, accepted and paid through airbnb is also a contract between host and guest. Take note of the different cancellation policies and choose the one that suits you best.

[Kaki0]

I'm new to airbnb but have also used VRBO for 8 years; we rent a large house, not just a room or apartment, and have always attached a contract and received that back with payment before an inquiry is considered a reservation. I do not see how to do that with airbnb and another comment said their contract was not visible for the guest to download, sign and return. So, how is this done, exactly?

Also, we also require a phone number and to talk to the potential guest; when is the phone number available to the host?

Thank you for any help you can give.

[Lois-and-Darryl0]

In reading the instructions on this website about how to set up a listing on Airbnb, you will learn that some of those things you've done with other platforms cannot be done with Airbnb.  You don't need to set up a contract, because the agreement to rent between the Guest and the Host is considered a contract.  You post your House Rules and the Guests are required to abide by them.  In the House Rules, you include your Indemnification, etc.  Also, due to privacy concerns, the personal contact information for potential Guests is not made available to you until after your booking is confirmed.  You will immediately learn their phone number, and can then contact them directly.  Airbnb's recent Rules do now require that all of your emails and texts between Host and Guest be sent via the Airbnb platform, and not outside of that area.  It used to be only "encouraged," and now the language is more stringent.  I believe this is probably to protect Airbnb by knowing the entire conversations that took place, if there is a dispute later on.  Good Luck.

[Dan53]

Hi there. Does the lease have legal standing - say, to register for utilities bills, or a driver license, in the of a long-term stay? If so, do you just print it out from the website and present it?

[Katie81]

My insurance company (separate from Airbnb) just informed me I need a signed rental agreement from the guest. I thought the same as you, that the agreement between Airbnb & the guest would cover this, and I hope this is the case, but the insurance company didn't know. Where/how can I get verification of this?

[Martha89]

you dont need a contact if you have nothing to enforce. otherwise, email it. 

[Gill33]

Hi Martha just seen your reply in Airbnb as I have the same problem about needing to send a contract to a holiday guest.  Unfortunately, you cannot email them and the attached file does not appear.   Very frustrating.   It appears you have to put the text of your contract in the regulations on the site.  

[Paul4]

I also came here recently from HA/VRBO. I have always used and required a signed rental agreement and I do so here. On Airbnb you cannot send a rental agreement until the after the rental is accepted. It's a different system and you have to work around it. I mention it as a requirement for booking and I summarize it in my listing. I have altered my RA to accomodate Airbnb's policies. I have had a few reservations through Airbnb and they have all signed and returned the agreement without a problem.

[Joerg1]

Hi Paul,

I just read your post about the rental agreement and have a question if you don't mind as we are new the the Airbnb process. At what point in the process do you send the rental agreement and how? Do you send the rental agreement right after the initial booking request and after you pre-approve the request? And do you send the rental agreement via Airbnb inbox or mail and then have the renter sign and mail or email back? Thanks a lot.

[Paul4]

Hi, First thing I do is ask them to read my listing and agree to commit to my rules. If they agree to commit I approve and send them my rental agreement as an attachment from my gmail account. At this point we cannot yet see each other's real email addresses, but we can see full names and phone numbers and sometimes some other info. So far they have been able to sign, scan and send as an email attachment or take a picture with their phone and text it to me. I don't use post office mail on Airbnb. My rental agreement has space for them to fill in their address, phone number, email address and all the names of who will be there. I also require a scan of their driver license or other ID.

[Jackie65]

Great info! And you are very helpful~ how to you get the guest email ? Everything through AirBnB has it blocked out when added from them or if I try to give my gmail email out. And with no way to attach the rental agreement through AirBnB it makes it difficult. I will add the contract to the house rules as mentioned above. I have trust issues with AirBnb, LOL!

[Sanjith0]

Hey, Paul. I am moving to Paris this September starting my Masters. I heard someone saying Airbnb do not provide rental agreement which is needed for the VISA process. Is it true? If not, how and when will I get a rental agreement? Is it all fine for me as a student for VISA process?

[Martha89]

Airbnb doesnt provide a contract, but a lot of renters do. I suggest you request a contract from the renter with your rental request. In our rental places our reservation is not complete without a signed contract.

[Karen430]

I do the same thing. I have a weird situation where the guests have not returned the signed agreements nor provided their IDs. Their check-in date is tomorrow and I am not sure what to do. Do I have to honor their reservation anyway? They have had since January to comply. They did send a contract back with no signature just typewritten name so I told them that was not acceptable and haven't heard back since.