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[00:00:00] Sarah: Hi, there. Welcome back for another great week. My name is Sarah Karakaian.
[00:00:03] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we’re–
[00:00:04] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.
[00:00:05] Sarah: And this is the–
[00:00:06] Both Annette & Sarah: Hosting Hotline.
[00:00:08] Sarah: Every Tuesday, we get on the mic and answer your questions that you submit. All you have to do is go to–
[00:00:16] Annette: hostinghotline.com
[00:00:17] Sarah: Thank you. And–
[00:00:18] Both Annette & Sarah: Record your voice.
[00:00:20] Annette: We want to hear you.
[00:00:21] Sarah: It makes us very happy when we hear your voice.
[00:00:23] Annette: It does. So let’s get to today’s voice, Katrina.
[00:00:27] Questions: Hi, I have a quick question for you guys about your opinion on giving out the address of the house to guests. Recently, I’ve been having guests contact me through Vrbo asking for the address in advance of their stay. Now, some of these guests are asking for that information. They send me an inquiry, and they ask for the physical address so they can check it out before they book months ahead.
[00:00:56] In other cases, they’re booking, paying the initial deposit and then asking for the physical address about two months before they’re even going to be staying there. I personally am a little uncomfortable giving out my address that early on, but I’d like to get your thoughts.
[00:01:17] On the one hand, this person has my entire calendar and can see when my house is going to be completely empty, and now they know this address is going to be empty. And just because they don’t have the code for my front door does not mean that they can’t break in. But on the other hand, I think I’ve been hearing some rumblings from some folks booking a place and then they show up and it isn’t a valid booking. So I really wanted to just get some ideas and your thoughts on this. What are best practices right now?
[00:01:53] Sarah: This is coming on the heels of Annette and I having a night out with some friends who also use Vrbo, and they mentioned to us that Vrbo has always been their trusted channel. They get guests from Airbnb. They get guests from vrbo. And when they get guests from Vrbo, it’s like they can breathe easy. It’s going to be great.
[00:02:11] But as of late, the guests on Vrbo have been the ones that are coming in and smoking pot, or, I’m sorry, bringing a what? What kind gun was it? It had an extended magazine. I don’t know.
[00:02:24] Annette: A 29er or 30 clip or something. It’s actually not funny, but we were so blown away. So Katrina–
[00:02:32] Sarah: Real quick. And they think the reason why that’s happening is because if users are getting booted off of Airbnb, apparently, their theory is that they’re going to Vrbo and trying to book that way. So our response is coming off the heels of hearing that story. It just feels like, whoa, Vrbo, what is going on?
[00:02:54] Annette: Listeners, it wasn’t just one guest also. It’s been a string of guests recently, and this has, like they said, they’ve been hosting for a decade. This is new to them. They do have larger properties, just FYI. There’s been a lot of activity at them with these particular guests. It’s our job to share that with you. These are trusted hosts. We want to let you know that. So with that being said–
[00:03:21] the first thing that I heard you say, Katrina, and I want you to honor that, is you are not comfortable giving the address out that early. So you are the business owner. So two things there. I want you to make sure your comfort level is there, but two, you are a business owner, so you need to make sure that– we listen to all the questions ahead of time. Make sure that’s in your house rules.
[00:03:42] Make sure that’s in your description. I give the address out however many days ahead of time that you are comfortable with. So that way, you’re treating every guest equally. You have right there in your house rules. Like, per our house rules, you can see that the address will be given to you as many days ahead of time as you feel comfortable.
[00:04:02] But the one thing I can offer is, yeah, if someone hasn’t even booked your place yet, I would never give my address away. It’s the way that you communicate with them through the inquiry, through the booking is maybe you just give them a really great general area. Is there a landmark that you can say, hey, I’m within walking distance of X, Y, Z?
[00:04:24] There’s a way to answer the question without giving the exact address and still be a really good host and hopefully get the booking if it’s really just them wanting to know where your home is.
[00:04:35] Sarah: In response to you putting yourself in their shoes and feeling like, I don’t want to show up to a home that isn’t yet a rental, you can direct them to all of your reviews. You can direct them to, if you have, a website.
[00:04:47] There are ways, hosts, that we can prove we are legitimate. When you book with us, we will give you accurate address. You can let them know that this is where you’ll be getting the address from and at what time so they can rest easy.
[00:05:00] And what I would do if I were you is not get that address out until– I don’t know if you’re a really large vacation rental property or if you’re a mover. If you’re more of a metro property, you don’t need to get the address out to what, 3, 4 or 5 days before their arrival. If you’re a large vacation rental property where it’s taking a lot of coordination from people coming in from airports and things of that nature, I think seven to 12 days before their arrival, when you give them the exact address and their final payment is paid and there is a more strict cancellation policy at that point.
[00:05:28] So, again, like Annette said, go with your gut, but the most– not the most important part, but make sure your house rules are very clear so that no one feels like they’re being discriminated against. You do this with anyone who books with you or inquires with you.
[00:05:42] Annette: And it’s just something that you, ahead of time, just know, no, this is how far out, no matter what booking is, no matter if it’s a one-night stay, two-night stay. And then as you hire a team, they know exactly the timeframe that you release the address. But great question, host. Be on your toes.
[00:06:00] Sarah: Stay vigilant.
[00:06:01] Annette: Stay vigilant. But also, every guest, you just want to make sure it’s an alignment, both of you, that they’re going to have a great stay and you’re going to have a great guest.
[00:06:08] Sarah: With that, I am Sarah Karakaian.
[00:06:10] Annette: I am Annette Grant. And together we are–
[00:06:12] Both Annette & Sarah: Thanks for Visiting.
[00:06:13] Sarah: Talk to you next time.
