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Purchasing a home is - for most of us - the single biggest investment we'll ever make. So it's no wonder the safety of your home is always our number one priority - we'll take care of it as if it were our own.
Table of Contents
Do you verify guests?
When it comes to guest verification, there's nobody with more experience and expertise than the Houst Guest Support team. Together, they've accepted over 200,000 reservations.
When a guest requests to stay in your home, we'll check several things:
- Is the guest's profile fully verified? That means a profile picture, a government ID card or passport, payment details and selfie have all been checked.
- Are all reviews of the guest positive? That's host reviews of the guest, not the guest's reviews of properties!
- What are the guest's plans during their stay?
If our team have any concerns whatsoever we will politely decline the guest.
What if something goes wrong during a stay?
With offices in the UK, Canada and Australia our dedicated Guest Support team are able to communicate with guests 24/7. So you can always be sure that we'll report issues quickly and efficiently.
Whether it's a leak or a blown bulb, we're able to act fast to secure your home's safety. For more on this, see our handy maintenance guide here.
What if a guest causes damage in my home?
Damage is rare, but accidents do happen.
We train our housekeepers to look out for possible damage at each clean. If they think they might have spotted something, they'll send a photo back to Houst HQ. Should we need to seek compensation, Houst will handle any claim on your behalf.
The process differs depending on the platform.
Airbnb:
- We'll submit a claim and any evidence to your guest via the Airbnb Resolution Centre. Airbnb cover you up to $1 Million USD.
- They'll have 72 hours to accept or decline. If they decline - or don't respond - then we'll escalate the case to Airbnb directly.
- Airbnb will speak to both parties before making a decision on compensation.
All Other Platforms:
- We take a £150 deposit for each and every booking.
- If the cost of maintenance is less than £150 only the difference will be refunded.
- If the cost is more than £150 we'll submit evidence to the guest and platform. We can then further charge the guest's card.
Do I need separate insurance?
If you are a UK and Ireland Houst host we'll automatically cover you for buildings, contents and public liability when you’re sharing your home with paying guests. The policy is underwritten by Guardhog (Hiscox) and is free of charge.
Some important points:
- The insurance only covers guests who have booked through a platform which is not Airbnb. Airbnb has its own Host Guarantee.
- We designed the policy to cover worst-case scenarios, for claims exceeding £1000. The booking deposit will cover claims below this amount.
- For the policy to be valid, you must have independent separate home insurance in place which would cover you when your home is not being let to paying guests.
If you would like to find out more about our Guest Support Team, how we report damages, and insurance then get in touch with one of New Homes Advisors now.
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