Yes, although platforms like Airbnb and Booking.com offer their own protections, they both have their pitfalls and limitations.
Airbnb’s AirCover is not an insurance product and will always involve guests and ask them to pay for damages. Only if the guest refuses to pay can AirCover cover the damage. Therefore, reporting a damage to Airbnb always carries the risk of disputes with guests, who may deny responsibility or leave a negative review. In addition, AirCover only covers lost income from confirmed Airbnb bookings, leaving hosts who list on multiple platforms with cancellation costs and lost income.
Booking.com does not offer dedicated guest damage protection, leaving you exposed to all guest damage costs. Their damage program will will only facilitate the settlement of claims with your guests, and only if you have specifically set it up. It is also limited to a certain amount, which is €300 in the EU. In addition, the amount set in the damage programme will be communicated during the booking process and may have a negative impact on your booking conversion or search ranking.
Recurring guests value consistency and reliability in their vacation experiences. By implementing Guest Damage Insurance, property managers and hosts can provide an added layer of certainty and peace of mind for guests. Guests appreciate the fact that they won’t be surprised by unexpected fees or charges after their stay.
Additionally, should a guest cause damage during their stay, our claim process is usually guest-free meaning there is no adverse interaction or back and forth needed with a guest, so they have a better stay overall.
By offering Damage Insurance for a reservation, property managers and hosts can help build trust and loyalty with their recurring guests, ultimately leading to more repeat bookings and positive reviews.
A security deposit can provide financial protection in the event of damage to the property during the stay of your guests. It also ensures that guests take better care of the property during their stay, as they will want to get the full deposit back and therefore take extra care to leave the property in good condition.
But guests generally prefer avoiding deposits because they tie up funds temporarily, and can cause worry about minor issues potentially leading to deductions.
By opting for Stellar’s Guest Damage Insurance, you can avoid deposits altogether or offer your guests a convenient alternative.
Because potential claims are usually handled without guest involvement, you can avoid disputes with guests – for more repeat bookings and more 5-star reviews.
Our Guest Damage Insurance has been specifically designed to meet the needs of short-term rental managers & owners. It includes critical cover against the following:
Our Guest Damage Insurance starts at €3.8 per night and varies depending on the amount covered. Details can be found in your Stellar account.
The cost of the insurance can also be covered by the guest as an alternative to paying a deposit. To ensure that the insurance covers all stays at your properties, you can choose in the settings to pay for the insurance yourself and include the cost in the rental price.
Our goal is to make achieving Stellar certification as easy and hassle-free as possible, without compromising guest safety and confidence.
To become certified, simply follow the checklist on your Stellar Dashboard. During the multi-step process, we will verify:
There are several ways our Trust Badge can help you get more bookings 1. Trust Certificates work – a study by VeriSign shows that hotel website conversions increased by 30% after implementing certificates. Given the fragmented nature of the holiday rental industry and the difficulty in verifying the validity of hosts and accommodation, we see even greater potential in our industry. 2. The Stellar badge can include your public reviews from all major OTAs – when potential guests see verified ratings and positive feedback directly on your site, it reassures them of your property’s quality and reliability, without the need to research across platforms. This added transparency builds trust, helping guests feel more confident in booking directly with you.
At Stellar, we believe in full transparency for both hosts and guests and display all recent reviews.
However, you can always choose which OTAs you connect to Stellar and unverifiable reviews (e.g. Google or Facebook) are never included in your overall score.
The Stellar badge is very easy to add to your website and usually does not require the involvement of a web developer.
Once you have synchronised your properties and completed the certification process, the HTML codes are available on the Stellar platform and can be copied into your website’s source code.
The Stellar badge is designed to increase conversion on your own booking channels and cannot yet be integrated into your listing on the major platforms.
However, if you don’t offer direct booking, our Stellar Certificate, Web Check-in and Guest Damage Insurance can be a great way to do so with confidence. You can always contact our customer service team for more details.
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