Tag
Host tips
64 posts on the RentTools blog tagged Host tips.

Pricing a new Airbnb listing: the review-velocity math
A zero-review listing can't charge the market rate. The math of underpricing your first stays to buy reviews — what each review costs, and when to raise back.
pricingairbnb
Short-term rental insurance: what AirCover doesn't cover
AirCover and damage deposits aren't insurance. What a real short-term rental policy covers — property, liability, lost income — and what it costs per year.
host-tipsairbnb
Airbnb rating recovery math: how many 5-stars erase one bad review
A single low review dents your Airbnb rating in seconds; climbing back is fixed math — how many 5-star stays it takes to erase one, by listing size.
airbnbhost-tips
Security deposit for a direct booking: the hold, not the charge
A damage deposit on a direct booking isn't a charge — it's a Stripe pre-authorization hold. The 7-day window that eats it, the right amount, and the chargeback trap.
host-tipspricing
Airbnb payout currency conversion fee: the hidden 3% spread
List in one currency, get paid in another? Airbnb and Booking.com bake ~3% into every cross-currency payout. The real math, and how to stop paying it.
airbnbbooking-com
Booking.com commission: the real take rate after VAT and fees
Booking.com's 15% commission isn't the whole bill. Add VAT on the commission and the payments fee and your real take rate is closer to 19%. The worked math.
booking-compricing
Utility cost per night for short-term rentals: a worked breakdown
What electricity, heat, water, and internet really cost per booked night — a per-night breakdown across three seasons, and why a guest's open-window AC habit blows the model up.
host-tipspricing
Short-term rental occupancy rate: the denominator that lies
Your occupancy rate moves 10 points depending on what you divide by. Here are the three numbers — gross, available, paid — and which one to actually chase.
pricinghost-tips
DAC7: Airbnb and Booking.com now report your income to the tax office
Since 2023 Airbnb and Booking.com hand every EU host's income to the tax authority under DAC7 — and rentals get no small-host exemption. Here's exactly what they send.
airbnbbooking-com
Chargeback on a direct booking: the host's win-the-dispute playbook
A guest disputed your direct booking with their bank. The reason codes hosts actually face, the evidence that wins, and the $15 fee you pay either way.
host-tipspricing
Overbooking relocation cost: what it costs to walk a guest
When you can't honor a booking, walking the guest means paying the price difference for comparable accommodation. Three worked scenarios and the real bill.
double-bookingsbooking-com
Booking.com virtual card declined: the host's VCC charging playbook
Why Booking.com's virtual credit card declines — and the exact charge-from date, balance ceiling, and expiry window that fix 9 in 10 failed VCC charges.
host-tipsbooking-com