Airbnb has revolutionised the way people book accommodation when they travel and it’s popularity in London has grown to the point where some are making a full time living out of the short term lets of their properties.
One of the things that can scare first time Airbnb hosts and those who have been burned by unscrupulous Airbnb guests, is how to protect your personal belongings and homewares from damage and theft while you are not at home. That is why we are put together five top tips securing and storing your precious items before your guests arrive.
- Create out of bounds areas: Sometimes, the safest way to ensure you protect your treasured belongings from harm is to simple keep them out of reach. If you have cupboards with lockable doors or a small room in your home that your guests don’t need to access, then ensure you have strong locks installed and move any expensive of breakable items into these areas. You may even find it helpful to remove door handles for extra security and peace of mind.
- Check their reputation: One of the things that can offer you as much protection as physical barriers is information. Ensure that you have fully checked out your guests reputation on Airbnb. You can even put limitations on who can book your property buy requiring verified ID, a verified phone number and agreement to any house rules that you’ve set with Airbnb.
- Check Airbnb’s Host Insurance rules: Airbnb will cover you for damages to your home or furniture, however they only cover certain items in their insurance and might need proof of loss or damage when paying out. Ensure you check out this page to find out what is covered.
- Take an inventory (and photos): Ensure that you have evidence of the valuable items that are in your home, create an inventory record and take photos of precious items in their stored location.
- Employ a storage company that will collect items from your Airbnb property: Here are Ois Removals we work with Airbnb hosts to collect, protect and store their items in our secure storage facility in London. Once you are ready to move back into your property, we can deliver your items back to you, fully intact.
For more information on our Airbnb storage services, head over to our storage page and use the form at the bottom of the site.