Guesty aims to simplify the complex operational needs faced by property managers on a daily basis. We offer solutions to some of the biggest obstacles in the short-term rental industry so you can focus on what matters most—creating incredible guest experiences.
With so much involved in delivering 5-star hospitality, the last thing you want to worry about is protecting your properties. But the reality is, you can’t trust the intentions of every guest who books your listing.
To help prevent our users from handing their keys to bad guests, we’ve partnered with Autohost, an intelligent guest verification and screening software. When you use Autohost, every guest is a good guest.
Keep reading to find out what the newest members of Guesty’s Marketplace have to say about guest screening.
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From earning six o’clock news slots to posting fictitious reviews, bad guests can destroy a property management company’s units and its reputation. If you don’t vet the travelers who enter your space, you’re exposing your properties, clients and business to harmful risks.
By screening your guests, you can protect your company from property damage and thousands of dollars in repairs. Apart from preventing parties and other violations of your house rules, here are five reasons why you need to screen your guests:
1) Keep your neighbors happy
Guest screening is a key element of responsible hosting. When running a short-term rental out of a residential area, you risk disturbing the community. By taking the necessary steps to safeguard your operations, you can avoid letting loud and disrespectful guests into your home. As a result, you’ll form and maintain better relationships with your neighbors.
Get your neighbors on your side! If they feel you’re doing your due diligence to keep the community safe, they may even be your eyes and ears on the ground.
2) Improve the experience for guests
The guest experience begins the moment you get that booking request. With a proper screening process, you can set expectations with your guests right off the bat to avoid any misunderstandings or perceived shortcomings. A more transparent experience is a better experience.
Make sure you reiterate the house rules before you confirm the reservation. If you allow events, explain what type of events you’re referring to. Don’t let a guest book thinking they can throw a bachelor party, when the only event you’re willing to host in your property is a baby shower. Miscommunication between hosts and guests often leads to disappointment and poor reviews. If what they booked isn’t actually what they wanted, let them cancel free of charge—it’ll save you money in the long run.
3) Increase revenue
Diligent and accurate guest screening will ensure you always know who you’re hosting. With this confidence, you can remove some of the harsher booking restrictions you have set up in your online travel agencies (OTAs).
By minimizing your restrictions, you open the door to more profit. With trust in your process, you can increase your risk tolerance and in turn, raise your revenue. Go ahead, accept that last-minute guest!
4) Reduce operational overhead
By protecting your property through guest screening, you’ll decrease the cost of your operations. Anticipate risks and be proactive instead of reactive. By refusing dishonest and disrespectful guests, you can avoid potentially harmful and costly situations. On average, a single incident can cost you up to $50,000—it’s better to be safe than sorry.
At the same time, make life easier for your cleaners to reduce staff turnover. Whether it’s stained carpets or broken furniture, huge messes are off-putting for any service provider. No one wants to deal with blatant disrespect to a property.
Besides the risk of a trashed unit, it’s important to keep an eye out for fraudulent reservations. If you don’t verify the guest and their credit card, you may not get paid. Instead, you’ll have to waste time dealing with charge-backs or worse.
5) Grow your company
Property owners expect you to screen and verify every guest who enters their unit. After all, they’re relying on you to protect their investment. By screening your guests, you’re encouraging clients to put their faith in your operations.
Additionally, hosting responsibly can help you develop strong relationships with your neighbors and building staff, which may help you to bring in more clients down the road.
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Autohost is an intelligent guest-screening assistant for vacation and short-term rental operators. With its new Guesty integration, the software scans all reservations to identify flags, determine risk levels, and provide a list of action items for handling potential issues.
Autohost ensures your team manages all bookings responsibly, keeping your business safe, your revenues high, and your guests happy. Autohost works with all major OTAs and Guesty clients get 100 free verifications when they sign up!
There’s More Where That Came From
Autohost is just one of the many management tools available in Guesty’s rapidly expanding Marketplace. Check it out to see how you could be saving time, enhancing your guests’ experience and streamlining every aspect of your property management business.
Zahava has been writing for Guesty since March of 2017. She's enjoying learning all there is to know about short-term property management and relaying solutions to Guesty's readers, helping to make the demanding jobs of property managers just a little bit simpler.
