I need advice from experienced hosts

[Cindy84]

Hi Everyone,

I travel a lot so haven't really hosted too many guests.   I have someone from Tel Aviv that would like to spend a month here but as luck would have it; I will be out of the country the day he wants to move in and also the day he would like to leave next month.

Have any of you had any experiences hosting someone in your home and not been there for arrival/departure?

I am more concerned about departure.  

Also,  is it appropriate to ask for a security deposit?

Tia 😉

[Karen-and-Brian0]

Hi @Cindy84 It's very appropriate to ask for a security deposit - you can add that under Pricing settings. It's not collected by Airbnb but if high enough, may act as a deterent & give you some additional leverage if you have to make a claim for damage.

I'd recommend you find someone nearby to act as host on your behalf - to check the guest in, answer any questions, and be there for check out. Leaving your place completely in the hands of a stranger while you're not in the country seems very risky to me. As well, if you're travelling, you may not be able to respond to your guest in a timely manner, or solve any problems he may have - what if the plumbing breaks down, or a major appliance, or any number of things that can go wrong? You really need to have a co-host in your situation. Hope that helps - Karen

[Cindy84]

Thanks for your reply.  I will take your sugestion and add a deposit required in my description. 😉

[Zacharias0]

I took a last minute trip to Europe last year and didn't think it was right to cancel my guests reservations. I ended up leaving a friend in the loop on what was going on and told my guests what I was doing and where I was at. I had a cleaning company clean the room between guests. I wouldn't do it again. Nothing went wrong in the house it was just the small things. A guest would arrive and a key was missing because someone didn't leave it where they were suppose to and so forth. Now I just block out the period of time that I'm gone. It's SO nice not having to worry about. 

[Cindy84]

Zacharias I agree.  I wish I had someone I could leave a key with that could help me out when I'm away but neighbors are elderly and rarely leave the house and friends work full time so can't really ask them.  I'll block out the times when I know I won't be in town.  😉

[Mariann4]

Hello @Cindy84.

I host a private room in my home. Still a fresh host since I have had only nine visit (but twenty guests), but I have had several guests arriving and/or leaving while not present. It has not been a problem this far. Some guests commented that they found it very nice to be given that kind of trust. However, I have been very presice in my communication about it. One time I was on a concert, one time babysitting for a friend, and one time I was at work. And every time I was reachable on the phone.

It could of course turn into a problem. But the way I see it I am not constantly at home during their stay, they get a key when they stay and if they really want to they could give me big problems any hour of any day. Why should they do it when arriving or leaving?

It is your choice. If you have an easy way of organizing the key exchange 🙂

Mariann 🙂