Itemized (non-breakage) Charges in your VR contract?

Question

Greetings BP STR Community.   I'm looking for some templates of STR contracts you use to possibly charge guests for things other than breakage that insurance would cover.  For instance, if a guest is noisy and you end up with a fine, what does the language in your contract say to pass thru that fee to the guest?

Also, if we receive word of something wrong and need to make a trip up to the property, does anyone have wording that stipulates a set fee for those times you have to make a trip to the property, likely costing hundreds in time and/or gas?  Just looking for some inspiration is all if possible to help guide my next contract version.  :)

Thanks all

Cheers!

Jon

Eric A. · Answer

@Jon Crosby

Jon,

I go through this thought process once a year and once I crunch the numbers I don't really do anything. I quickly say to myself that the broken items are so small in value it doesn't make sense. Also, in each instance I evaluate the guest and realize I should have never rented to them.

Here is an example of an Air BnB rental that received damage to the linens, smoking inside, and tape and balloons all over the place that had to be removed. More of a pain then anything else but here was the communication.

Hi, we absolutely love your home. We are 6 ladies from different cities coming to celebrate our 30 year old birthdays! How big are your decks?

Huge red flag that got past our team and we paid for it. Now, we requested additional money from them through Air BnB with examples and they paid it. So, it worked out but we should hve never rented to them.

Hope this helps!

Best Regards,

Eric

Paul Sandhu · Answer

I follow the KISS principal.  They renters pay me cash for the first week when they move in.  They pay again one week later and repeat.  They generally don't break anything, but if something is broken when they move out I just fix/replace it and claim that expense on my taxes.

Coffee pots and sheets are consumables, just like pillows, towels, toaster ovens and old style televisions.

Valerie Rogers · Answer

I'm not sure if this sheds any light on the subject, but in my rental agreement I have text that describes what my "Damage Waiver Fee" is and what is covered by that fee. (I only charge a $59 non-refundable damage waiver fee instead of asking for a refundable security deposit or a damage protection insurance policy....or in other words I  "self-insure".)

The damage waiver fee limit is $1000 so anything under that amount comes from the fund created by collecting this fee. The fee only pays for "accidental damage", not negligence:

The Damage Waiver Fee does not substitute for your responsibility to leave the property in appropriate condition. The damage waiver fee does not negate your responsibilities as a responsible renter, nor does it relieve you from responsibility for intentionally destructive acts of you or other members of your party while in occupancy.

In the 2 years that I've started doing this I've only had to pay for one new set of king-sized sheets and a coffee pot, both damaged by guests (not normal wear and tear). I like not having to worry about have a guest leave a bad review because I asked them to buy a new coffee pot since they didn't follow instructions & put the lid in the dishwasher where it was melted by the heat. :-)

I hope this helps!

Valerie

Jon Crosby · Answer

Great point @Peter R.!  Yes, I think there will certainly be a balance and 'finesse' to whom and when I actually execute the contract language.  in 3 years, I can only think of 3 times we actually had to do this so you make a good point as to whether it's actually worth executing on it in fear of a poor reviews.  But, it would still be nice to have it in writing to 'hang our hats' on in case we did need it.

Thanks for the insights!

Cheers!

Jon

Jon Crosby · Answer

Thanks @Eric A. ! That's a very appropriate anecdote and starting to morph into my current strategy...since I still haven't done anything about it to this point...so it really must NOT be that worth it to me I guess.. LOL

thanks again!

Cheers!

Jon

Jon Crosby · Answer

Good point @Paul Sandhu  For the small amount of times issues have actually happened, it might be more effort to go thru trying to recoup a few instances with comprehensive policies and contracts, and just easier to write it off, fix it and move on...especially for the small stuff.

Thanks!

Jon

Jon Crosby · Answer

@Valerie Rogers Thank you so much! This is really enlightening and I love your idea of having a mini-captive account!  What a great idea!  I'm going to do the math on that one and see what my account would be at if I was the one charging the insurance fee!  Genius!  ;)

The extract you displayed is very helpful and will use it as a basis for my next contract revamp!

Thanks again!

Cheers!

~Jon

Peter R. · Answer

Interested in this, good topic!  What do you see as the balance, I know it's just language right now but where do you see the tradeoff between actually charging the guest and putting your review at risk if you're renting through VRBOHA or Airbnb?  I'd think the people causing enough issues to get you fined for excessive noise are not likely to leave a 5 star review anyway, but it's a consideration I think.

Itemized (non-breakage) Charges in your VR contract?

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