What happens if a member damages my property?

As a general rule our digital nomad members are more interested in work and not partying so you should find them a good client to have.

However sometimes accidents occur or somebody takes too much liberty.

So how do you get damages sorted out when a member creates some damage?

Lets start by taking a lead from world's best practices.

    1. Have a clear damages policy at check-in
    2. Take the credit card details for any extras and damages
    3. Make sure you get names and address to lodge a police report
    4. Double check your insurance policy
 

1. Have a Clear Damages Policy

Its quite normal for a Damages Policy to be part of the Terms & Conditions for short term renters to accept before they get to enjoy their room/stay.

If you don't have one its probably time to create one.  Your local tourism association or hospitality society might have some templates that have been created under the laws in your country.

You'll want to have this publicly available and displayed with your other Terms and Conditions for guests to be able to read if they choose.  Again most accommodation have these inside each room or apartment.  Many are available ahead of time on the Stay's websites.

2. Take Credit Card Details for Extras

Again its quite normal for a guest to leave a credit card 'ímprint' when checking into accommodation all around the world for an extras or damages.

With this credit card you can charge any damages to a member directly. 

Of course we encourage you to discuss this with a guest first and reach an agreement ahead of time.

3. Collect Contact Details

Its a very good idea to grab the contact details of your guests so you can contact them about any issues or even for marketing purposes.

Strictly speaking you probably need these details to form a legal contract with your guests.  You may even have local laws about collecting extra information like passport details etc.

At worst you can take their details to the police to lodge a Damages Complaint.  Often these reports are needed by your insurance company before approving a claim.

4. Insurance Policy

Its highly likely as a short term accommodation provider that you have some sort of business insurance already.  A quick read of the policy might refresh your understanding of how your insurance company deals with damages and what your responsibilities are to the insurance company.

5. Nomad Stays and Repeat Offenders

You may recall that Nomad Stays is a membership based service.  Users need to be registered with us as members to get the deals you've made available.

As many of our members are constant travelers looking for great deals they rarely want to jeopardise their access to these deals by causing problems.

We obviously want to keep a higher standard of clientele than many other platforms.so if we receive reports of particular guests not abiding with our membership rules or ethics then we place them on a caution list.  If they repeat the offence then their membership status is revoked and they won't be able to place further bookings with Nomad Stays.