Communicating with Guests

A Scottsdale woman rented out her house over the weekend hoping to make some fast cash. Instead, she’s busy cleaning up damage and apologizing to her neighbors after the renter threw a huge party.

Thinking about renting out your home while you’re away? Stories like those might make you think twice.  But my husband Jeff and I have never had serious problems with our guests.  Our secret?  We talk with guests by phone or Skype before they book our home.

Dawn Royski of ShareTraveler.com, a web site that provides reviews and information about sharing economy travel services, has shared her post on Home Exchange Etiquette with us.  Thanks, Dawn! [Read more…] about Brush up on Your Home Exchange Etiquette

It’s hard to underestimate the importance of ongoing communication for anyone who rents out or exchanges their home. Communicating with real people helps you and your guests get to know one another, and that is how you build the foundation for a successful exchange or rental.

On the web site tripping.com, rental industry expert Scott Shatford, the founder of airdna.co, an analytics service for property owners, and author of “The Airbnb Expert’s Playbook – Secrets of a Six-Figure Rentalpreneur.”  offers some great tips for communicating with potential short-term tenants, and those tips are also valid for those of us who do home exchanges. [Read more…] about Communicate with Real People

Your trip is coming up quickly.  You’ve planned it for a long time and can’t wait to be off.  But a week before your departure date, you open your email to find a message from your home exchange partner:  “We’re so sorry, but there’s been a family emergency and we have to cancel our trip.”

Yikes! You’ve bought airline tickets for the whole family and scheduled the time away from work.  You’ve all been looking forward to this trip for months. You feel stunned. What are you going to do? [Read more…] about What If You or Your Home Exchange Partner Cancels?

In all the years that we’ve been exchanging and renting out our home, we’ve had only a handful of problem guests. There was the man with the crazy girlfriend who liked to scream in the middle of the night; the couple who lent the house to their daughter for a party during which a guest backed into a neighbor’s car; the woman who dripped red wine on our favorite duvet cover and didn’t bother to tell us about it; and the delightful couple from Amsterdam who used our car and left it filthy.  But it’s a very short list. Nearly all our guests have been wonderful, respecting our property and often leaving the house in better shape than they found it. In fact, our neighbors usually remark on how pleasant and friendly they were. [Read more…] about 5 Tips for Avoiding Problem Guests