Improvements to Holiday rental platforms to prevent abuse
Introduction This article is the product of an experience with a guest whose intentions were dubious. The platform on which this transaction occurred was booking.com. When researching the topic and experience of other hosts, a number of pain points surfaced. This article collates the experiences of many hosts and provides recommendations that platforms should implement for the benefit of all parties. What happened We have been operating as hosts for many years and use a number of platforms to promote our properties. Our reviews have been top-notch, and, broadly speaking, guests have been great and understanding. Like others, we experience our fair share of operational challenges. In our case, the two most notable ones were due to storm damage. On one occasion, lightning took out a handful of appliances; on the second, a storm blew a branch into a window. We were reactive and got everything operational to the guest's satisfaction. The guests gave us positive ratings, ...
