The cost of Hostaway Insurance is billed directly to the property manager (the Hostaway account holder), not the guest. However, property managers have the option to pass this cost on to their guests.
Standard Cost:
- The typical cost is $10 per night per reservation.
- Some hosts may opt for a $12 per night rate.
Billing Cycle:
- Hostaway invoices the property manager at the beginning of each month for guests who checked out in the previous month.
Step-by-Step Instructions for Passing the Cost to Guests
To cover the insurance cost, the property manager needs to manually add a fee to their listings. The fee is not automatically added to the guest's total reservation price when insurance is activated.
Here are the methods to pass the cost to the guest, depending on the channel:
1. For Direct Bookings (Booking Engine) and Vrbo: You can add a custom, mandatory fee that will be displayed to the guest as a separate line item.
- Action: Go to Listings > Edit > Price & Fees.
- Action: Click Add Fee and create a new fee. Label it clearly, for example, "Insurance Fee".
- Action: Set the fee amount to match the insurance cost (e.g., $10 per night).
2. For Airbnb: Airbnb does not support custom fees like an "Insurance Fee" pushed via API from Hostaway. If a host chooses to insure Airbnb reservations, they must absorb the cost unless they adjust their pricing.
- Action: To cover the cost, the host should increase their base nightly rate or management fee to incorporate the insurance expense.
- Alternative: The host can choose to exclude Airbnb listings from Hostaway Insurance coverage to avoid this cost, especially since Airbnb already provides its own AirCover protection.
Important Considerations:
- Channel Selection: During the insurance setup, property managers can select which channels (e.g., Vrbo, Booking.com, Direct Bookings) they want to cover. They can exclude channels like Airbnb if they don't want to absorb the cost.
- All or Nothing Per Channel: Once a channel is selected for coverage, all new reservations from that channel are automatically insured. It is not possible to apply insurance on a booking-by-booking basis within a selected channel.
- Long-Term Stays: There is currently no cap or discount for long-term stays. A 30-night stay at $10/night would incur a $300 insurance fee.