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Best Practices for Screening Guests for Your Short-Term Rental 

You have worked hard for months preparing your home or rental property for guests. Even though your short-term rental units are clean, safe, and inviting, you still have a lot of work to do before the first guest spends the night. At this stage, you need to invest in an aggressive marketing campaign and complete guest screening. After all, there is no sense doing all that work and then having the first person who stays in your short-term rental destroy the place. That is why having a professional Airbnb property management company handle your property to make it completely hands-off!

Plan to Complete Initial Telephone Screening Yourself

With each application you receive, you should reach out to the prospective guest by telephone to ask a few basic questions. Here are some typical examples:

  • How many adults and children will be staying in the short-term rental unit? Keep in mind that you cannot refuse to rent to families with children under federal and state laws. The most you can say is that your unit may not be as kid-friendly as the guest would like.
  • Will you be bringing any pets? You do have the right to make your short-term rental pet-free or request a deposit to cover any damage caused by pets if you do allow them.
  • Do you smoke? If the answer is yes, you can request that guests not smoke on your property or limit their smoking to certain areas.
  • Have you stayed in a short-term rental unit in the past? Can you provide me with references?

Be sure to go over the house rules with your prospective guest once you have completed your telephone interview. You should also put your rules in writing and mail to the guest prior to the scheduled stay.

Questions You Cannot Legally Ask

The Federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal for property owners to ask questions or discriminate against potential renters based on the following:

  • Age
  • Country of origin
  • Marital status
  • Physical or mental disability
  • Pregnancy status
  • Previous arrests, although you can inquire about charges against the person
  • Race
  • Sexual orientation

Work with Sojourn Properties for a Comprehensive Guest Screening Experience

Guest screening in Arizona is an involved process that requires many additional steps. We invite you to contact our office in Cave Creek, Arizona to learn more about this and other property management services that our experienced team can handle for you.

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Why You Need to Always Screen All Your Airbnb Guests

Why You Need to Always Screen All Your Airbnb Guests

As you rent out your Airbnb to guests, you have to accept that inviting strangers into the property poses a certain level of risk. Fortunately, you can minimize the risk of adverse events by screening each and every one of your guests. With that move, you can keep potentially costly events at bay and make the most of your rental experience. Whether handled by your property management company in Scottsdale, Arizona, or on your own, here’s how proper screening can benefit you.

Prevent Theft and Damage

Without proper screening, you truly don’t know if your guests are who they say they are. As a result, you’ll likely find it quite difficult to hold them accountable for any theft or damage that occurs during their stay. Beyond that, without full verification, guests may not feel as accountable for the condition and security of your property as they would otherwise.

Drop Booking Restrictions

With a regular independent screening process, you can drop booking restrictions, like only accepting guests with a high rating on Airbnb. This allows you to get more newcomers to stay at your rental, potentially resulting in long-term loyalty to your properties. Furthermore, you can pick up last-minute reservations more often, which are often considered high risk without screening in place.

Boost Overall Revenues

As screening helps you keep damages to a minimum, boost reservation rates, and increase loyalty to your Airbnb properties, your revenues will come up in kind. You can then get more out of every stay, allowing you to funnel the money back into the property and make it even more popular with short-term renters. You might even get enough to buy another property to use as a rental, boosting your income even more.

If you’d like to optimize your guest screening process, our Scottsdale Airbnb property management team can help. We’re available at 602-492-4121 any time you’d like to talk about boosting the performance of your Airbnb. We can perform a free property analysis or simply take over the care of your rental, so you can enjoy excellent revenues while saying goodbye to the daily demands.

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Why Security Matters for Short-Term Rental Properties

When you operate short-term rentals, whether it is townhomes, Airbnb properties, or otherwise, you can have a variety of guests seeking a comfortable place to stay. So many important things go into keeping your property attractive to prospective guests, but it is al-too-easy to forget a really important factor: security. Take a quick look at just a few of the reasons why security is such a big deal for short-term rental properties.

Guests want to stay at a place where they feel safe.

The number one reason security is a smart investment for your short-term rental is that guests will appreciate it. Any time someone stays in a new environment in an unfamiliar place, it can help them feel safer if they are in a secure structure. Something as small and simple as a security light over the driveway or a video doorbell can make your rental unit seem more safe and comfortable.

Good security protects your short-term rental.

You really can’t go wrong when it comes to protecting your short-term rental from damage, and security is an easy way to do just that. Properties that have good security features may be less likely to be compromised when the unit is not rented. For example, if a vandal sees the property is protected by surveillance cameras, they may be less likely to break in and cause destruction to the property.

Integrated security features can mean a higher price point is possible.

Good security in your short-term rental is automatically more attractive to prospective guests. Therefore, you could easily get by with charging just a bit more for your rental without compromising its popularity among guests. Most owners do charge more for rentals that have specific types of security, such as access control units or on-site surveillance, to cover the initial investment costs. However, those upped prices can yield a nice ROI once the initial investment cost is recouped.

Need Help with Short-Term Rental Security?

It can be difficult to manage security when you have several short-term rental properties to contend with. Working with a trusted property management company can ensure you get the security your properties need. Reach out to us at Sojourn Properties, LLC if you are interested in learning more about our property management services and how we can help.

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