As the summer travel season heats up, millions of people will flock to Airbnb, Vrbo, and other short-term rental platforms. These platforms offer guests the chance to rent out rooms or entire homes directly from their owners, giving them a more personal and unique experience than a hotel. Sometimes, short term rentals can also cost less than standard accommodations. Most of the time, the stays go smoothly for both guests and hosts, but safety issues occasionally arise at short-term rental properties. Some of them are shocking enough to make the news.
For example, in 2021, thieves ransacked a Houston Airbnb, where a group of women were celebrating a bachelorette party. The robbers spared nothing – stealing cars, toothbrushes, food, and drinks. Although Airbnb issued a full refund, the female guests believed they were set up for a theft by the hosts since the thieves used a key to enter the home.1
An upcoming TV series, Enjoy Your Stay, will share the stories of even more dangerous scenarios from the perspectives of victims and Airbnb crisis teams. Reportedly, crisis team members have had to patch bullet holes in walls, or even scrub blood from surfaces after some short-term stays have gone awry.2
While typically short term rentals can be as safe as hotels, there are unique risks when staying in private residences. Hosts can also face dangers as strangers rent out their properties. This guide discusses essential steps for hosts and guests to take in the name of safety. It’s not possible to eliminate all risks, but careful planning can make your short-term rental experience much safer.
Table of Contents:
- Major platforms’ safety basics
- Safety for renters
- Safety for hosts
- Safety when hosts and guests share the same house at the same time
Safety Policies on Major Rental Platforms
Airbnb, Vrbo, and other rental platforms have quite a few safety measures in place. The most common ones include host and guest profiles and reviews, identity verification of some kind, recognition of exceptional hosts, on-platform communication, booking, and payment to avoid scams, and allowing hosts to set house rules such as no pets, no smoking, and no parties.
On Airbnb, hosts can require their guests to have verified identities. On Vrbo, guests are informed that becoming verified could improve their chances of booking. Airbnb also provides hosts with one free smoke and carbon monoxide detector for rental properties. They also run background checks on U.S. hosts and guests. Vrbo, though, prohibits rentals where hosts and guests share common spaces. Not sharing with other guests could be safer all around. In any case, Airbnb and Vrbo policies go only so far. Travelers need to be proactive to maximize their safety.
Safety Tips for Short-Term Rental Guests
Ideally, short-term rental guests should be able to trust that hosts are who they say they are and that the property is as described. In reality, that is always not the case. Listen to your gut if something seems off or too good to be true.
Safety steps for every stage of a trip
- Research crime rates and other safety metrics relevant to the city or neighborhoods you might stay in (if the place you’re traveling to is unfamiliar to you).
- Avoid bookings that lack reviews. The properties could be perfectly safe, but reviews amount to vetted experiences/verifications from other guests.
- Depending on the platform you choose, book only with verified hosts, superhosts, premier hosts, or hosts with a good number of positive reviews.
- When viewing property listings, make sure there are basics such as smoke and CO alarms, fire extinguishers, and first aid kits.
- Decide where you stand on security systems. For example, homes with cameras/systems are less likely to be broken into, but are you OK with appearing on, say, video doorbell cameras occasionally when you are outside? Look for, “Security cameras on property,” on Airbnb amenity listings. For Vrbo listings, you may have to contact the host and ask if their property has security cameras.
- Read all listed amenities, not just those in the safety category, because safety includes features such as heating, pools, and parking.
- Go through all of a listing’s pictures to get an idea of what the neighborhood, building, and rooms look like.
- Message hosts through the rental platform if you have questions. Don’t go off-platform or pay hosts directly. Keep communications on the platform for the entire process. This will help give you recourse if something goes wrong.
- When you arrive at the rental, do a quick safety check. Ensure you and everyone in your party know where alarms/detectors, fire extinguishers, emergency kits, and other essentials are located.
- Contact hosts as soon as possible, preferably within 24 hours, if there is an issue. Photos or videos may help them understand the issue better. If hosts do not respond or the problem isn’t resolved, seek a refund and alternative lodgings.
- Leave honest reviews after your stay so other guests can see if the property was safe or unsafe.
City and neighborhood safety
If you are traveling to an unfamiliar city, it’s not a bad idea to research which neighborhoods have lower or higher crime. You may want to do this even if you have family or friends living in the area.
In 2022, a couple took a retirement trip to New Orleans, where their family lived, and stayed in an Airbnb. They were putting their grandchildren to bed when at least 20 gunshots erupted outside the home.4 Their rental unit was in a neighborhood which earned an “F” for crime from AreaVibes.5
Family, friends, and hosts aren’t always the most reliable sources for whether a city or neighborhood is safe. Hosts have an obvious possible conflict: They want to make money and have less incentive to be straightforward about neighborhood safety.
Also, hosts may live at the property or near it. They know their neighborhood well. It may seem perfectly safe to them despite not being so on paper or to guests. They probably like their neighborhood and have invested in it financially, mentally, and emotionally. For more neutral, reliable sources, try these tools:
- Google street view: Get an idea of what the neighborhood looks like even if you do not have the exact property address (you normally don’t get these specific details until after you book). What if you already booked? You can still check the neighborhood on street view and cancel if what you see makes you uncomfortable. Canceling rather than going and feeling unsafe is better for everyone, including the hosts.6
- Crime stats from city or state governmental websites: local or state police departments often maintain crime statistics. The FBI also has national crime statistics available on its website.
- Guest reviews: Many guests speak up when they encounter safety issues. Read other reviews left by these guests to see if they are simply the type to find safety issues everywhere or if the listing you’re interested in could actually be a concern.
- Price of listing: If the listing price seems too low to be true, it could be due to low demand, or it could be a scam. At the same time, normal or even overpriced listings do not always equal safety.7
Verifying hosts’ identities
It’s important to make sure your short-term rental host is a real, reliable person. On Airbnb, reviews and verified IDs are a good start to verify whether hosts are who they claim to be. By clicking on the host’s name on a listing, you can see when they joined Airbnb, their response rate, how many reviews the host has, and whether or not their identity is verified. Here, you also see a button to contact the host and information such as house rules, health and safety procedures, and cancellation policy. A host whose identity is verified typically has provided their legal name, home address, date of birth, place of birth, and, sometimes, government ID, to Airbnb.
If you see a “superhost” badge on a listing and profile, the host provides an exceptional experience. Superhosts earn the designation by being responsive and racking up positive reviews, among other things.
On Vrbo, reviews are a good way to vet hosts and properties for legitimacy. Vrbo doesn’t have an “identity verified” tag for hosts the way Airbnb does, but hosts can briefly introduce themselves on each listing. Plus, “premier” hosts are similar to Airbnb superhosts. The premier badge is in the property listing picture and a few other places.
To learn more about Vrbo hosts, Go to the “Host” tab of properties you’re interested in. The details include when the host joined, a listing of premier status if applicable, and languages they speak. You also see a button to contact the host. Sometimes, the hosts are not individuals but rather property management companies.
Don’t book a listing just because a property management company oversees it. These listings are not necessarily safe and can be bait and switch scams, for example. Some travelers have been en route to their property when they got a message about a water leak or some “problem” and were redirected to a less desirable place. If this happens, you can cancel the booking and find another place to stay.
What to look for in rental reviews
Regardless of the platform, look for a few things when reading reviews.
- The number of reviews: The more reviews a host or property has, the more “vetted” the host/property is, and the more scenarios and experiences they’ve had to deal with. If a property has no reviews, it doesn’t necessarily mean a host is shady. After all, everybody has to start somewhere. However, for your peace of mind, you may prefer to rent a property with at least 10 reviews.
- Star ratings: The higher the star rating, the better a property is. Depending on the platform, you’re likely to get an overall star rating and then star ratings in categories such as “cleanliness,” “accuracy, “check-in,” etc.
- What’s been going on recently: Give more weight to recent vs. older reviews. For instance, a 5-star property may have glowing reviews overall, but more more recent comments could mention temporary issues such as noise from construction, crime or incidents.
- Host responses: Some reviews, whether positive or negative, get host responses. Read them to get an idea of whether the hosts seem genuinely attentive, open to feedback, flippant when dismissing criticism, or not concerned about guests’ experiences.
Tips for short-term renters with children
When you travel with children, safety takes on an extra dimension. Here are our suggestions:
- Listen to hosts’ advice when they indicate their spaces are not safe for children or they don’t want children staying there. This is perhaps the most important suggestion, and it means their space is not optimized for younger guests.
- Study all of a listing’s pictures for potential areas of concern, for instance, lots of glass, clutter, fragile objects, sharp, unpadded corners or steep stairways, a pool or trampoline, water that isn’t blocked off, etc. Message hosts with questions or concerns.
- Read reviews to see what previous guests with children had to say.
- Look for fenced-in yards, if possible.
Airbnb advises hosts with child-friendly listings to do quite a few things to secure their properties, For instance, they suggest setting lower temperatures on water heaters, locking up cleaning supplies, putting gates around pools, and securing large furniture to the walls.
Accessibility tips for guests with disabilities
The extent of a property’s accessibility is not always clear in listings, although Airbnb is friendlier in this regard than Vrbo. Review listings and pictures for insight into issues such as, say, whether the lake behind the property is accessible to folks who use wheelchairs. Often, though, you need to contact the hosts and ask. The more specific the questions, the better.
When searching for properties on Airbnb, you can filter for properties that have the accessibility features you need, such as:
Step-free guest entranceGuest entrance wider than 32 inchesAccessible parking spotStep-free path to the guest entrance
| Guest entrance and parking area | Bedroom areas |
|---|---|
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| Adaptive equipment | Bathroom areas |
|---|---|
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Vrbo’s accessibility filter is more limited. It offers just two options: elevator and wheelchair accessible. Vrbo does require that hosts allow service animals, as the law mandates. The same goes for Airbnb. General home accessibility features you might want to look for in a vacation rental include keyless entry and motion-controlled exterior lights.
Safety for Short-Term Rental Hosts
Renting out your home can be a great way to earn extra income, but it is good to weigh the risks and benefits before doing so. One way to ease into it is to turn off instant booking options until you feel more comfortable with “strangers” in your home. You can keep the instant book feature off permanently if that works better.
For new hosts, extremely safety-minded hosts, or hosts living on/in the same property as the rental unit:
Don’t turn on instant booking so you can vet guests and get a feel of what hosting folks is like.
- If you don’t have Airbnb instant book enabled, your property will get a lower position on search rankings–but your safety may be improved.
- You’ll have to spend more time communicating with guests, but the point is to get to know them a little better and approve (or decline) their booking request.
- Having instant bookings turned off can also prevent last-minute bookings. Some people making last-minute bookings for the same night don’t have the best intentions.
- On Vrbo, you have a 24-hour review period to accept or decline reservation requests if instant bookings are turned off. If you do nothing, the system automatically declines the booking.
If instant book is on: You can cancel Airbnb reservations made by guests who make you feel uneasy. The reason(s) for cancellation must be valid and nondiscriminatory, though. For example, if the guest plans to bring a pet when your house rules state no pets are allowed, or if the guest has a lot of bad reviews, it would be OK to cancel.
Vrbo hosts can cancel guests, too, but they may lose ranking status without a cancellation waiver. These waivers cover situations where guests will violate house rules or have yet to fully pay. Property damage and natural disasters are other approved reasons.
Choosing whether to accept a booking or cancel an instant book
- Read reviews on the guests. One or two negative reviews may not mean a guest is bad. Ask guests for clarification on what happened, but listen to your gut. Don’t accept a booking you’re uncomfortable with. As for guests with no reviews, you can either decline to book (much easier to do if your property is in heavy demand and there won’t be financial repercussions) or you can ask questions of the guests to make sure their travel plans are legitimate and they are respectful.
- Keep your tone courteous and professional when asking questions. Here are a few polite questions that will help you get a feel for your guests:
- What are the full names and contact info of everyone who will be staying on the property?
- Who else is with you or staying here?
- What brings you to [name of town]?
- Any questions about the house rules?
- Read guests’ profiles. If a profile is incomplete on Airbnb, contact guests and ask them to finish. Check them out through Google and social media for more info if it is needed.
- Require guests to go through verification on Airbnb (this is not possible on Vrbo). You can do third-party guest verification as an additional step.
- Accept bookings from only verified guests, if you are on Vrbo.
- Use a vacation rental agreement.
Choosing whether to accept a booking or cancel an instant book
- Reach out to ensure that all guests’ names are on the reservation. Verify that the person paying for the reservation is your actual guest (unless it is a business trip).
- Get to know your neighbors so they can contact you if a stay seems to be getting out of hand.
- Be as clear as possible in your listing about your expectations (if you want no parties, no pets, certain areas off-limits, etc.). Explain what types of guests your property is suitable for. Describe your property as clearly as possible so potential guests can self-select in or out.
- Create clear house rules and manuals. Include emergency exit plans with maps of practical, realistic escape routes from various points on the property.
- Write detailed instructions on how to use stoves, grills, etc. to reduce fire risks.
- Keep all payments and communications on the platform for all communications. Guests who want to do otherwise are throwing up red flags. It’s not worth it to continue with them, especially if they ignore a warning.
- Leave guest reviews to help other hosts out.
- Charge cleaning fees to help with the costs of replenishing supplies, whether they’re general supplies or safety-related.
- Use cleaning supplies that reduce the spread of disease and illness. COVID-19 remains a concern for many people, and norovirus (stomach flu) can survive for weeks on improperly cleaned surfaces. Fewer than 100 particles are necessary to make someone sick.8 Use chlorine bleach solutions to clean norovirus particles.
- Keep seasonal safety in mind. For instance, if it is winter and your property gets a lot of snowfall, be clear about who is expected to do any shoveling (the guests, a contractor, or you?). Have the equipment and gear on hand to make shoveling as safe as possible. If issues such as snow shoveling are too much of a hassle, it may be easier to block off rentals during the winter.
- Get insurance geared toward short-term rental properties. It’s nice to have on top of the built-in protection your rental platforms provide.
If you’re unsure whether your space is safe for children, don’t mark it as safe even if that means losing bookings. It could cost you more money in the long run if issues arise. Contact childproofing services to verify your place is safe for kids.
Security systems for short-term rentals
Security systems for your Airbnb or Vrbo home can protect against fires, burglary, vandalism, unauthorized parties, and more. If you do not yet have a system, consider one but remain mindful of guests’ privacy. For instance, make sure your listings clarify where cameras and other security measures are.9
Good systems include exterior cameras, keyless door locks/keyless entry, doorbell cameras, and cameras/smart speakers that facilitate communication between hosts and guests, and alarms for the doors and windows. Contact your insurance company to see if you get a discount for security systems. It’s a good idea to get in touch anyway to ask about coverage past what the rental platform offers.
Guide to Short-Term Rental Safety
Rental safety, whether you are a traveler or host, involves upfront transparency and vetting. Security systems can be an asset, too, since properties with them are not as likely to be broken into. After you take a trip, leave reviews to help other folks out since reviews probably played a big part in you deciding which properties or guests to align yourself with.
- https://www.khou.com/article/news/local/thieves-target-bachelorette-group-houston-airbnb/285-a0d4a4f7-9ee2-48cc-a06d-a2843152c85e
- https://www.thedailybeast.com/airbnbs-secret-black-box-crime-clean-up-team-will-now-be-a-tv-series
- https://www.adt.com/resources/do-surveillance-cameras-statistically-reduce-crime
- https://www.ksla.com/2022/04/12/i-would-never-bring-kids-here-again-new-orleans-tourists-rattled-by-shooting-near-airbnb/
- https://www.areavibes.com/new+orleans-la/seventh+ward/crime/
- https://www.courier-journal.com/story/life/home-garden/2018/06/21/dont-ask-airbnb-host-neighborhood-safety-question/707224002/
- https://www.elliott.org/blog/airbnb-safe-frightening-neighborhood/
- https://www.cdc.gov/norovirus/downloads/keyfacts.pdf
- https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2914/informing-guests-about-security-devices
- https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/supporting-safe-stays-for-private-or-shared-room-guests-440