How do travellers book my rental?

Step one: Finding your rental
 
When searching for a place to stay, travellers enter key information about their trip (including destination, dates and number of guests). The search results show the rentals that best suit their requirements. The traveller may also use additional filters to narrow down their search even further.
 
When a traveller clicks on your listing, they’ll see the cost of the rental based on the rates you’ve set in your dashboard. When they decide to book, they select Book now which takes them to the payment page.
 
The price the traveller sees includes our booking fee as well as any other fees or damage deposits you choose to add.
 

Step two: Making a booking
 
To book your rental, the traveler enters their contact and payment details. The payment page will also confirm your cancellation policy, rental agreement and our terms and conditions. At this point...
 

• We authorize the booking payment on the guest’s card or PayPal account, but they’re not charged until you accept the booking request

• We let them know that you have 24 hours to accept their booking request

 
If you reject the booking request or let it expire, the authorisation on the traveler’s payment method will be removed and they won’t be charged.
 
Note: If you offer Instant Booking, the guest will be charged immediately and taken straight to a confirmation page. They will also receive a booking confirmation via email shortly after.
 

How do travelers manage their bookings?
 
At any point after submitting their request, the traveler can log into the Manage my booking page or their Rental Inbox. Here, they can find all their booking details (like those included in your Welcome Pack). They can also send you messages or, in rare cases, request changes or cancellations.
 

Can travelers pay in installments?
 
Depending on your account settings, the rental payment may be divided into two installments:
 

1. The booking deposit – required at the time of booking

2. The balance – typically due four weeks before the start of the stay

 
The traveller can pay the remaining balance at any time prior to the due date.
 

• We send them email and SMS reminders when this is coming up

• We attempt to charge the balance automatically 10 days before to the due date

• If this automated payment fails, the traveler still has 10 days to settle the payment

• If they don’t pay the balance within the required time frame, the booking will be cancelled automatically and your cancellation policy will be applied

 
Staying at your property
 
While the traveler can contact you at any time via Manage My Booking or their Rental Inbox, you may find that a personal message before their stay goes a long way.
 
If you don’t live nearby, ensure your guests have the contact details of a local representative in case they have any problems.
 
Here are some tips to ensure a smooth check-in and holiday experience for your guests:
 
For even more advice on providing a great guest experience, check out the owner resource center.
 
Communication: ensure the traveler has all the essential info in advance (fill in your Welcome Pack to make this easy to manage). You can also follow up with them on their check-in date to confirm they’ve settled in.
 
Property management: Ensure that the property is clean and ready for their stay. If anything has changed significantly at the property(if you’ve had renovation work done, for example), let the traveller know before their stay.
 
Make a good impression: Personalize the traveler’s experience to fit their requirements and needs. If they do have any problems during their stay, always try to remain helpful and patient and work with them to resolve it.


Returning home
 
After their stay, we’ll ask your guest to leave a review and share their experience at your property with others. This is a great way to encourage more travellers to book your rental – recent research shows that just 1-2 reviews could double traveller interest in your listing.
 
If you’ve collected a damage deposit and don’t report any damage, the funds will automatically be returned to the guest via their original payment method. If the payment was split, it will be returned to the same payment method used to pay the remaining balance.