Vacation Rental Agreement Questions

Member since 2025 · 16 posts · 8 votes

Hi Everyone,

I'm considering turning my property into an Airbnb, and upon some research, I see that it's required to have a signed vacation rental agreement for your guests. I also saw an Airbnb forum in which they stated that guests aren't required to sign these forms and can get a refund if they don't want to sign the forms. I'm wondering how other STR owners are navigating this? Do Airbnb and other STR platforms have functionality in which you can have your document signed within the app?

Thanks for taking the time to answer!

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Ken Boone

Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

Hey Amy,

I have used a rental agreement outside of AirBnb and VRBO for about 8 years now. My insurance company required me to have a signed rental agreement. So my understanding is that if you do this you need to disclose that guests will need to sign your rental agreement as an additional condition for renting. If the guest doesn't want to sign the form, absolutely let them cancel. If they can't agree to your rules, you don't want them in your STR. Period. In 8 years doing contracts across 4 properties I have never had a guest book and then refuse to sign it. EVER. So what I am saying is that issue about guests getting a refund because they don't want to sign, is not a substantial issue.

For years I used Guesty for Hosts and they did not have the ability to provide guests with a digital rental agreement so I used SignNow. I used Zapier to automate the whole process.

Since then I moved from Guesty for Hosts to Hostaway and they have this functionality built in. There are other PMSs out there that do the same.

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Mike GrudzienPro Member
Lender · Eugene, OR · Member since 2019 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Amy,
You said: "I see that it's required to have a signed vacation rental agreement for your guests."
Who requires this?
What platform requires this?

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Ken Boone
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Hey Amy,
I have used a rental agreement outside of AirBnb and VRBO for about 8 years now. My insurance company required me to have a signed rental agreement. So my understanding is that if you do this you need to disclose that guests will need to sign your rental agreement as an additional condition for renting. If the guest doesn't want to sign the form, absolutely let them cancel. If they can't agree to your rules, you don't want them in your STR. Period. In 8 years doing contracts across 4 properties I have never had a guest book and then refuse to sign it. EVER. So what I am saying is that issue about guests getting a refund because they don't want to sign, is not a substantial issue.

For years I used Guesty for Hosts and they did not have the ability to provide guests with a digital rental agreement so I used SignNow. I used Zapier to automate the whole process.

Since then I moved from Guesty for Hosts to Hostaway and they have this functionality built in. There are other PMSs out there that do the same.
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- Amy Jones
  OP
  Member since 2025 · 16 posts · 8 votes
  1y
  Quote from @Ken Boone:
  
  Hey Amy,
  I have used a rental agreement outside of AirBnb and VRBO for about 8 years now. My insurance company required me to have a signed rental agreement. So my understanding is that if you do this you need to disclose that guests will need to sign your rental agreement as an additional condition for renting. If the guest doesn't want to sign the form, absolutely let them cancel. If they can't agree to your rules, you don't want them in your STR. Period. In 8 years doing contracts across 4 properties I have never had a guest book and then refuse to sign it. EVER. So what I am saying is that issue about guests getting a refund because they don't want to sign, is not a substantial issue.
  
  For years I used Guesty for Hosts and they did not have the ability to provide guests with a digital rental agreement so I used SignNow. I used Zapier to automate the whole process.
  
  Since then I moved from Guesty for Hosts to Hostaway and they have this functionality built in. There are other PMSs out there that do the same.
  
  Thank you so much! I found this response very helpful, I wanted to ask if you got your contract drafter by a lawyer or if got this contract via a PMS system or some other STR resource that provides templates
  0 Reply
John UnderwoodPro Member
Investor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
1y
It's not required and not necessary even though some people will say the sky is falling.
Just have correct STR insurance.
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Collin HaysBusiness Member
Property Manager · Gatlinburg, TN · Member since 2020 · 3k+ posts · 4k+ votes
1y
We do have an agreement and signing it is required for reservation. Unfortunately, many owners see this agreement as a fun way to play lawyer, and proceed to make having an agreement worse than have no agreement at all.
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Myka Artis
Rental Property Investor · Arlington, TX · Member since 2016 · 706 posts · 611 votes
1y
I have signed agreements through my property management platform (Hostfully) even though it isn't technically required. I do it if a reservation comes from a certain OTA, such as BDC. Can you tell me who says a rental agreement is needed? The City? The OTA? Where did you see this?
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Josh SedivyBusiness Member
St. Louis, MO · Member since 2024 · 134 posts · 55 votes
1y
That's a great question and a common concern for many new short-term rental (STR) hosts.

Here’s how most hosts navigate vacation rental agreements on Airbnb:
- Airbnb policy: Technically, Airbnb guests are not required to sign a separate rental agreement. Airbnb’s Terms of Service already provide a baseline contract between you and the guest. However, Airbnb does allow hosts to request a rental agreement as long as:
  - -It’s clearly disclosed in your listing before booking.
    -The terms do not violate Airbnb’s policies.
- Enforcement risk: If a guest refuses to sign, Airbnb is unlikely to side with the host unless the agreement was explicitly disclosed ahead of time.
- Practical workarounds used by hosts:
  - Many include key clauses (e.g., rules, occupancy limits, noise policies) directly in the house rules section of their listing. That way, guests agree by booking.
  - For direct bookings (not through Airbnb), a signed agreement is often standard and enforceable.
In summary, you can request a signed agreement on Airbnb, but you must clearly state it in your listing and understand Airbnb may not enforce it if guests refuse. For direct bookings, you have more control. I hope this helps!
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Drew SygitBusiness Member
Property Manager · Royal Oak, MI · Member since 2012 · 13k+ posts · 9k+ votes
1y
We had a VRBO guest steal our TVs AND also dispute their payment with their credit card company.
VRBO offered zero help and police told us they could do nothing without guest's ID and a lease.
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Andrew Street
Member since 2019 · 1k+ posts · 292 votes
1y
Hey Amy - You're right! Airbnb doesn't require guests to sign a vacation rental agreement, and forcing one outside their platform can lead to cancellations or refunds. That said, many STR owners still use rental agreements, especially for direct bookings or higher-risk stays (like large groups or long weekends). Airbnb doesn't have built-in e-signature tools, but some hosts link to a third-party service (like DocuSign or Jotform) after booking, while keeping it optional to avoid violating Airbnb's terms. It's a balance—use discretion and only require it when necessary.
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Greg Janes
Rental Property Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2016 · 22 posts · 20 votes
1y
Agreed with all the responses you're getting here - personally I find it much better to have an agreement. On ours we require all the guest names and compare the number of guests on the agreement to the ones on the reservation. We require the names of all the guests who will be at the property, this protects us from liability if the guests invite others to the property and have not explicitly stated they will be there. Great way to back yourself in case there is an injury or damage to the property.
That said, there are some nuances.
- VRBO: Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe there is a rental agreement feature built into VRBO that guests agree to when they book. They don't sign it specifically but agree to it (it is visible on the final page of the reservation process). Using this feature clearly shows the guest before they book what they are agreeing to and is useful, although we still have them sign and put in their guest information after booking.
- Airbnb: They don't recognize any agreements outside of their system, so I suggest getting as much as you can into your house rules and other disclosures. Airbnb recognizes it if it's in their system and on the listing, but not outside of that. We do disclose on our listing that the guests will be required to sign a rental agreement after they book, so we set that expectation up front.
In my opinion, the most important thing is to have the names of all the guests listed on the rental agreement. Unfortunately none of the channels offer this (that I'm aware of) and it helps us to enforce occupancy limits per local regs and protects us in the event that there is someone on the property that isn't supposed to be. For example, if they invite people over for a party, but they aren't listed on the agreement, then they are in breach of the agreement and they have a much higher bar to prove liability.
If your PMS or other system doesn't allow for the rental agreement, you can always have a JotForm or something else that is automatically set up to message your guests to complete. It would just take some manual work to make sure that each of your reservations has this completed (we do quite a bit of follow up on this). Integrated systems are easier but it can be done without.
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Ken Boone
Investor · Greenville, SC · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
I did not get it drafted by a lawyer, I started with some templates I found from others, then modified it along the way and included verbage that my insurance company required for me to have in it.
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Sarah Churchill
Member since 2025 · 5 posts · 0 votes
1y
Hi Amy, to my understanding, when using a property management software (I use Hostaway), it is the loophole that allows you to include a rental agreement link in communication with Airbnb guests.

I have a rental agreement link sent to every single guest regardless of what channel they book on, and I have never had a guest oppose signing it. (It's only ever deterred guests who were wanting to throw parties.)

With that said, I'm not sure what the regulations are for the city you are obtaining licensing in, but I have yet to see any enforcement or checking of if rental agreements are issued to and signed by each guest. Occupancy reports and occupancy taxes are the only two ongoing enforcements that actively require submission of proof and payment.

Happy to chat if you have any questions!
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Rob Mehta
Osseo, MN · Member since 2014 · 1 post · 0 votes
1y
Would anyone be willing to share their template? I've been buying and selling STR's for investors, about the jump back into the game myself. I'm gathering several from our investors and hoping to build a complete one I can share back.
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