Indeed, the seasonal rental is not without risks. You must protect yourself from possible damages as well as your clients from possible injuries.
That's why we're going to suggest 7 ways of security and safety measures to implement!
Filter your customers
When you receive bookings through an OTA, you should always go to the traveler's profile. This allows you to check if the account was created recently. A recent account may belong to a traveler who has received too many negative reviews from previous hosts. Also check out the reviews that have been left on the traveler's profile.
To take things a step further, you can opt for a specialized screening platform. These tools are able to identify travelers who have a criminal record or are known to have committed incivilities during their previous stays, even if it is a new account. They can also cross-reference information from different OTAs, even those you are not present on!
This first step is essential to guarantee the security of your accommodations and to protect you against damage.
Prepare a first aid kit
In case your guests are injured during their stay, you should have a first aid kit with all the essentials. Depending on the Red CrossA first aid kit should include the following items:
- Telephone numbers of emergency services (fire department, EMS, regional poison control center)
- A first aid guide
- Disposable latex-free gloves and protective equipment (e.g., protective mask): they allow first aid to be performed without risk
- A thermometer
- Scissors, tweezers and safety pins
- A box of sterile compresses: available in several sizes, these squares can be used to make dressings to cover wounds
- Roll strips (stretchy mesh) and triangular bandages: to make bandages and hold dressings in place
- Adhesive tape (plaster): to fix a bandage or a compress
- Adhesive bandages of various sizes and eye bandages
- Instant cold compresses
- An emergency hemostatic pad (sterile pressure bandage): to stop serious bleeding while waiting for help to arrive
- A survival blanket: to protect the victim from the cold (the golden part is placed outside), or to insulate him from the heat (the silver part is placed outside)
- A bottle of antiseptic (soap or antiseptic compress): to disinfect superficial wounds
- Special hydrogel for burns
- Saline solution: to clean wounds or eyes
If your accommodations are in the mountains or on the coast, chances are your guests will get injured during their activities. That's why they'll appreciate being able to get medical care in your accommodation without having to look for a pharmacy in a town they don't know.
Anticipate the risk of fire
In order to prevent the risk of accidental fires, there are good practices to follow.
Provide detailed instructions on the use of electrical appliances in your homes. This includes heaters, ovens and cooktops. If your units have natural gas cooktops, make sure that the heat detectors are working properly and that the gas supply is turned off if the stove is not in use. Also, make regular maintenance visits to your installation.
It goes without saying that you must install smoke detectors that meet the standards required by law. It is your best defense against fire!
If your homes are located in fire-prone areas during the summer, make sure your customers are aware of the rules for using certain products outdoors.
Finally, equip your accommodations with fire extinguishers and provide your travelers with an escape plan. While you may know each of your properties inside and out, your guests will not. You should provide them with a map of all exits from the property and a description of the most convenient escape routes from each part of the property.
Protect your travelers from COVID-19
In the current health context, travellers have expressed their fears about the risks of contamination during their trips. While it goes without saying that you need to put in place a number of measures to secure their arrival and reassure them, it is also essential to take into account the exposure to contamination risks of your ecosystem: owners, managers, maintenance and cleaning teams, concierge services, etc.
To learn more about best practices for protecting your customers from COVID, you can see our dedicated article.
Anticipate wild parties
In the current climate, the decline in the number of bookings coupled with the risk of damage from lockdown parties is a real threat to the entire industry. So what can you do as a host to prevent these events from taking place in your properties?
We have written an article detailing the best practices to put in place to protect yourself from wild parties.
Ask for a deposit
What happens if you notice damage, if the cleaning has not been done or if your travelers have smoked in your accommodations? How many situations like these can you handle? To protect yourself against these incivilities, the best solution is to ask for a deposit.
First, the deposit protects your business by ensuring that you are reimbursed for any damage caused. More importantly, requiring a bond makes travelers feel more responsible. The deposit can be seen as a preventive measure that has a strong psychological impact.
To avoid all the constraints of traditional practices, Swikly invented the swik. A swik is a banking transaction that secures a rental or reservation with an online deposit. It is created from a credit card imprint. It can be secured online for a few hours or for several months and the secured amounts are neither blocked nor debited. A swik does not impact the credit card limit!
Securing a reservation with a swik is immediate. You don't have to wait for a bank transfer or a deposit check. You just have to fill in the amount you want to secure, the email address of your client, etc. and send your request.
Your customer receives an email from Swikly and is invited to register his credit card on our site. By accepting your swikly request, your customer authorizes a debit on his card for the amount and for the period you specify.
When your customer honors his commitment, you don't have to do anything, the credit card imprint is automatically cancelled. In case of problem or cancellation by your customer, you can ask for the partial or complete collection of the swik amount in a few clicks.
