All Forum Posts by: Lauren Kormylo

I would list it separately as a "Community Guest Fee", not just as a management fee.  

Ring doorbell, easy to install. I’ve had a few people ring the doorbell when there were no guests staying, and I was able to talk to them through it and send them on their way without it seeming like an empty house. I don’t usually look at the camera when guests are there, but it’s there if I need to. I have the audio turned off because that state doesn’t allow it. 

I charge a $150 pet fee for one or two dogs, and $30 of that goes to the cleaners.  I think your $75 to the cleaners each time is excessive for ordinary stays. 

I had a problem with a dog being left unattended in a powder room, and it scratched the door, jumped up and bit the blinds, and broke off a toilet paper holder.  So I bought a large dog crate and set it up in the master walk in closet (the only place I had enough room), and I tell guests ahead of time that it is there for their use.   I bought 2 pet blankets from Amazon to cover the beds when dogs will be up on there.  My cleaners only leave them out on the beds when the guest is bringing a dog(s), I send the cleaners the dog info with the bookings.  They wash the blankets in between guests.  I also have a small basket of microfiber cloths in the laundry room, labeled "Cleaning Rags, if you use these please wash and return".  Guests can use them to wipe muddy feet.  I supply brooms, a vacuum, and everything needed for guests to clean up after themselves and their dogs.

I haven't had a lot of problem with dogs tracking in grass because I have a beach house, but maybe you should look into some larger door mats, inside and out, that will help grab the grass and mud off their feet as they come in. Some door mats are scratchy and hard, but you need a softer one, more like carpet, so the grass sticks to it. The farther a dog has to walk on it, the more grass and dirt will come off, so larger is better.  Google mats for dogs' muddy feet and you'll see some.

I've seen other hosts complain about guests burning marks from hot pans on their butcher block countertops, and knife cuts like @John Underwood said. They then had to be completely sanded down and refinished. Besides that cost, that's lost time during which you can't book guests.  Butcher block is probably the most high maintenance countertop you could do, so it's a big no from me.  You should try to make your place as low maintenance as possible, and that means thinking of ways not-so-bright guests can ruin something. 

Only streaming with Roku TVs in Guest Mode.  Simple, no switching back and forth with the input selector, nothing to confuse guests.  I say in my description that's what we have, that they'll have to have their log-ins.  In 3 years, I haven't gotten a call or text about the TVs or how to work anything, and no complaints about the service at all. 

I don't have international guests.  But this absolutely will effect international travel.  I have family and friends in Canada who regularly visit the US, and they've cancelled all trips for the foreseeable future, they are hopping mad.  I don't know how much this will effect guests from other countries, but it is bound to.  I hope since your guests come mainly for the school there, you'll be spared a lot of it.

Short Term Rental insurance is a policy where the insurance company knows you are doing short term rentals, and agrees to cover you. STRs are considered more risky for an insurer than long term rentals. And much more risky than you living in your own house. The reason is that you will have a steady stream of guests who are unfamiliar with your house, and that can lead to more risk for injury and more damage to the property. If you only have your current standard homeowner's policy and an STR guest hurts themselves and sues you, or a guest accidentally starts a kitchen fire and destroys your kitchen or the entire house, your insurance company won't cover you at all. So you MUST have STR insurance.

STR insurance covers what your regular homeowner's policy covers, and then adds extras. If a guest injures themselves on your property and sues you, the insurance will protect you financially. If a guest steals items from your house or breaks or destroys something, insurance may cover that (depending on your policy and deductible). STR insurance may include coverage if you have bedbugs, they may pay for the cost of an exterminator and pay you lost rental income because of that, up to a certain amount. It may cover lost rental income if you have a water leak or fire or other major problem with the house and you can't rent it, up to a certain amount of money.

We can't say what it will cost you, because it varies widely because of the size of your house, the location, whether you have a fireplace or a pool or something else that would increase risk, and many other factors.  You will have to request a quote from different companies. 

Proper Insurance Co. is probably the most expensive, but it also has coverage for things that other companies don't have. Others are Foremost, and CBIZ. Many insurers who write regular homeowner's policies will now add STR insurance to your policy and those companies include Farmers, Allstate, American Family, USAA, and others.

So the first thing you should do is find out if your existing insurance company offers STR insurance. You may be able to add it through them easily and at a reasonable cost.

I use Proper Insurance Co. for my STR. Like @Jeremy Jareckyj suggests, in the case of a major event, I am covered for loss of income for about a year's worth of rent. I also have bedbug coverage.  

It seems like everyone is enthralled with AI, but it is not ready for prime time, it can't be trusted!  And Airbnb is proving it.  Using it to put up a property's worst review first is insane for their business model.  The first reviews shown are absolutely important.  Most people just read what's in front of them, they don't bother to click to put the most recent ones first.