Off Platform Bookings - Too Risky?

[James R.]

Hello Y'all.  We get a lot of requests from guests wanting to book off platform.  We didn't want to mess around with a rental agreement and a deposit etc., because it is short term, 30 days or less.  Plus, you have to verify that they are who they say they are.

Have you had a lot of success letting guests book off platform and if you use a rental agreement, would you be willing to share the template?  Thanks in advance for your responses.  

On a similar note, it seems like so many STR hosts, posting on this forum, do Instant Book and are otherwise very lenient with who they allow to rent their property and "never have any issues". We're amazed and wonder how you are so lucky, because the few times that we have trusted guests to do something like "bring a 25 pound dog" it ends up being an 80 pound mixed breed dog that barks all of the time.

[Lauren Kormylo]

I've had success with repeat guests from the major platforms booking through Houfy, which is a platform that is essentially direct booking.   I don't require good repeat guests to sign an agreement.  But if you want to, they have some sample templates.  https://www.houfy.com/help/vacation-rental-agreement-templat...  Just remember that if you do direct booking and have a cancellation, your credit card processor will keep that 3% fee, unlike Airbnb or Vrbo.  So you may want to write that into your cancellation policy.