{"id":92868,"date":"2019-11-01T05:00:55","date_gmt":"2019-11-01T11:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/renewsblog\/?p=92868"},"modified":"2024-02-19T13:57:28","modified_gmt":"2024-02-19T20:57:28","slug":"property-safe-airbnb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/property-safe-airbnb","title":{"rendered":"3 Tips to Help Keep Yourself &#038; Your Property Safe on Airbnb (With Video!)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most people we know get over their <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2015\/03\/07\/airbnb-vstraditional-rental-income-creative-investors-cashflow-expensive-cities\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Airbnb<\/a> concerns once the money starts coming in. Still, taking that first step can be scary. That&#8217;s understandable, given that you are inviting complete strangers into your home to do as they will with possibly your most valuable asset.<\/p>\n<p>The good news is that there are a few simple ways to mitigate the risks. I&#8217;ve outlined them below. Following this approach has protected us. Hopefully it will also help you.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Related:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2016\/04\/12\/10-dos-donts-airbnb-short-stay-landlords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Top 10 Dos and Don&#8217;ts for Airbnb Short-Stay Landlords<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>1. Check Reviews<\/h2>\n<p>The beauty of Airbnb is that there are a couple of safeguards built in. First, the company requires that all users upload a profile photo. Second, the review system allows not only for guests to review hosts, but also for hosts to review guests. This is a wonderful feature: It incentivizes everyone to be honest and respectful. VRBO also lets hosts review guests. (To learn more about how to rent your place and list for free on VRBO, click <a href=\"http:\/\/www.tkqlhce.com\/click-8537200-12640803\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n<p>Finally, there are ways to limit your guests to those who are\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.airbnb.com\/help\/article\/336\/what-are-profile-verifications-and-how-do-i-get-them\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">verified<\/a> (verification on Airbnb can be through government issued IDs or social accounts). This extra measure really helps limit fraud on the site.<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kryJ2G-kTdg\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>2. Lock Up Your Valuables<\/h2>\n<p>We added a lock to our walk-in closet to\u00a0help limit risk at our primary residence. You can easily Google a list of what to lock up, but here are a few ideas: your laptop and other expensive electronics, your checkbook, your passport, and your underwear. Basically, anything valuable, anything that could compromise your identity, and anything that just isn&#8217;t meant for a stranger&#8217;s eyes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><em><strong>Related:<\/strong> <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2015\/06\/08\/upsides-downsides-airbnb-landlords-perspective\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Upsides &amp; Downsides of Airbnb: A Landlord&#8217;s Perspective<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2>3. Get Insurance<\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-main-slider wp-image-118264\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/investor-2-702x336.jpg\" alt=\"research-insurance\" width=\"702\" height=\"336\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n<p>Yes, yes, Airbnb offers an insurance product. But since it caters to both hosts and guests, we recommend getting an insurance product designed to specifically help <em>you<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>(Note on this: Your homeowners insurance may not cover short-term rentals, and you may even get booted from your policy if your insurance company finds out you are doing them. Instead, you should Google short-term insurance products, explain your situation, and get yourself covered separately.)<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-main-slider wp-image-114268\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/6-702x125.jpg\" alt=\"ad-youtube-channel\" width=\"702\" height=\"125\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/6-702x125.jpg 702w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/6-300x53.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/6.jpg 706w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>What ways have you protected yourself and your property while hosting short-term renters?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Share in the comments below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Renting your home to unknown short-term renters can be scary. Thankfully there are a few simple ways to mitigate the risks. Read about them here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":281659,"featured_media":118549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7271],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-92868","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-short-term-rentals"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92868","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/281659"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=92868"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/92868\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/118549"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=92868"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=92868"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=92868"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}