Protecting Your Home From Party-goers As An Airbnb Host

The biggest worry for hosts these days is parties. The thought of a guest having a big party with hundreds of people dancing all over your tables and hanging from your chandeliers, (or IKEA light fixtures for the majority of us!), that results in your home being completely trashed has probably crossed the minds of all 6 million Airbnb hosts.

And it’s probably one of the biggest reasons some people won’t even entertain the idea of opening up their home for these new money making opportunities. The likelihood is that nothing lousy will happen, most guests love and look after your home just like you do, but there are things you can do to further deter any troublemakers…

Never ever accept one night bookings

Advertising your Airbnb property with a minimum stay of two or three days can act as a very effective initial deterrent for those just looking to host a ‘pop up party’. In most cases, those that intend to party the night away will book one night for maximum fun and then be out early the next morning to avoid getting caught.

As insurers, we’ve had to exclude parties that happen during one night only bookings because it became such a regular occurrence, the risk was just too high.

As well as potentially preventing party-goers, multi-night bookings have a lot of maintenance benefits such as lower and less frequent cleaning costs, less wear and tear and fewer suitcases going up your stairs and banging on your walls.

Take care when selecting your booking sites

Rather than putting your property listing on every possible booking site, do a bit of research and make sure you’re only advertising to your ideal guests. Because of the sheer number of booking sites on the web these days, it’s impossible to know exactly who your listing is being seen by if you just unleash it to the whole world.

Taking the time to look into where is best to, and more importantly, where is best not to advertise will help ensure your listing is only seen by the right type of guest.

Related article: Which Home-Sharing Platform Is Right For You?

One that we recommend if you only want your home to be seen by high-quality guests is AltoVita, a booking site that is aimed at business travellers and families.

Because they only take on high-quality homes from professional management companies in the 16 European cities they operate in, guests are more likely to be responsible, frequent travellers that book extended stays.

They provide guests with the ability to book the highest-quality housing, as well as giving them access to a full range of services that are designed to enhance their stay. If your home is listed with AltoVita, you can turn it into a top class short let while minimising the chances of attracting the wrong crowd.

Take a deposit on your Airbnb rental

Take a deposit on and make it known that if you spot any signs of damage to your pad, you’ll be taking it out of the deposit. Hopefully, the thought of costs coming out of their own pocket will stop guests from holding any wild parties that could cause a lot of expensive damage.

Related article: Safe as Houses: How To Optimise Security At Your Short Let Property

That being said, we know that the process of taking and holding a deposit has been a bit of a grey area and very admin-heavy for super short lets, so you can check out our brand new product, DEPOSITCOVER for a virtual deposit solution that costs less than a cuppa!

Set some house rules for your Airbnb property

Setting some clear house rules that have been agreed by the guests will help enforce what is and is not acceptable when staying in your property.

You can send reminders in a pre-arrival text and highlight them in your property handbook to ensure your guest has no chance of missing them, and if they still choose to ignore them, then they will be penalised.

Common house rules include no pets, no smoking and no events but of course, you can set your own.