Hello World! Welcome Friends! If you own any type of property that you rent out on a lease, for holidaymakers, business travellers, or anyone else that is set to stay on a short-term basis, then damage deposits are going to need to be set. This is because unfortunately accidents do happen, and you also have to make sure people are that if they are not careful, then they will need to pay for any damage caused.
There is a fine line between what items you should and shouldn’t charge for. One thing you do not want to do is use damage deposits as any exclude to get extra money from your guests. For example, if your guest damages a kettle, then you could give them the chance to replace that kettle at a local store as long as it is of equal quality.
In other cases, items can be so old, that you were already planning on or should have already replaced. Charging for a brand-new kettle when the current one was over a year old already would not be fair. Obviously, we are just talking about a simple kettle in this scenario. There are bedsheets, pillows, cutlery, and other items that would come into this category.
What About More Expensive Items?
You should always try to secure expensive items as much as you can. Use TV wall frames rather than place them on tables that could be knocked off. Place TV set boxes in cabinets so they do not get knocked off the shelves they are on. For the most part, you should be able to figure ways to create damage prevention. Even then this does not always prevent expensive items from being damaged.
Sofas, blinds, curtains, tables, chairs and so on can also be quite pricey to replace if they are damaged or broken. You should also try to find ways of protecting these if possible.
Should You Have a Set Price in Mind?
You will then need to have a set price in mind for the item that is damaged and use this in either your damage deposit charged prior to arrival or as an adjustment cost that can be charged.
A guidebook is the best way to tackle this situation. Most vacation rentals or accommodation for rent have different styles of contracts. Vacation rentals tend to come with a house rules book, but the most information a guest might get is that damages will be charged according to the value of the replacement or repairs.
If you create a guidebook that includes prices or values of items in your property, make sure the prices you give are reasonable. Offer explanation if possible. In some cases when accidents do happen, you can, in fact, reduce the price that is shown in the guidebook.
For example, if a TV is broken and it is 3 or 4 years old, then buying a second-hand TV to replace it will not cost as much as the price listed for a brand-new TV. You should not use this as an opportunity to make a profit or save money at the expense of your guest. You may even let them off the entire price because you were thinking about replacing the TV anyway or asking for a very small adjustment or deduction from the damage deposit.
Doing this will harness a good review from your guests, which in many cases is worth more than an old TV because it will encourage people thinking about booking your property to shortlist it as you will have yet another good review on your list.
Worried About Negative Feedback in Retaliation from Guests?
One of the risks with renting out accommodation is always the possibility of bad reviews in relation to charging guests for damage. They may even claim that they did not cause damage or admit it. This is a bad situation to be in.
Sometimes it is better to just ask for a good review and let things go if the item was not worth a lot of money. You can always leave a bad review on their account later stating that they are unwilling to pay or admit for the damage they caused.
If you have been reasonable with your replacement or repair costs, then usually an amicable agreement results in positive feedback from both parties. This is the desired result as the majority of guests that you will deal with are going to be generally honest and admit to their mistakes.
Getting Proof of Damage
Every time the last guests checks out, the cleaners will need to go into the property to clean and change bedsheets and so on. One of their duties should be to take photos. This can be shared on a social app like LINE or WhatsApp or picture uploaded to a cloud. You will also be able to send confirmation to your previous guests that this is how the property looked when they left.
Adding such processes into your operations will help you in case you do come across a guest that does not admit to damage. Some people use professional cleaning companies that include taking pictures a part of their cleaning process, but if you are hiring local cleaners or private cleaners, then make sure your cleaners understand how important taking pictures and uploading them to a group chat or cloud is.
How Do I Find Out More Information About Damage Deposits?
There is an abundance of information out there available about how to set damage deposits and deal with guests when it comes to subtracting damage or repair cost from their damage deposit. One of the best websites we found is Lodgify, which offers a full ‘Vacation Rentals Damage Deposits Download Guide‘.
The guide includes the following:
- What is a damage deposit?
- How can owners calculate damage deposits?
- What methods exist for collecting and charging damage deposits?
- Returning damage deposits
- Damage deposit disputes
- Disadvantages of damage deposits
Read it carefully as this guide can be useful for all types of rentals long term and short term. Also, make sure you take into account our advice here in regards to photographic evidence when it comes to damage deposits.
Click the links below for any posts you may have missed!
Estimating the Price of Roof Restoration
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