How We Prevent Theft in Our Shoppable Vacation Rental
BY MIKEL HUBBARD
FORMER HGTV PRODUCER | CO-FOUNDER, THE HOST CO |
OWNER, TIMES EIGHT PROPERTY & DESIGN
Are you worried about theft in a shoppable vacation rental? Of course! But remember, people don’t steal your furniture, and probably won’t steal from your store. Regardless, here are our tips to keeping guests honest.
LET THEM KNOW THEY WILL BE CHARGED
Just like a minibar, guests need to know that the items in your store are for sale. If they take them, they will be charged the same as if they were stealing a towel or a pillow.
Most hosts collect deposits, and you can even leverage use a less-than-good review to convince them to pay up.
HAVE YOUR CLEANER SNAP A PHOTO
If you’re leaving items out, have your cleaner snap a photo after they leave to ensure your inventory has stayed the same (and now you have proof!)
Our cleaners folded this right into their regular routine and it helped us figure out if anything was missing. If anything did go missing, guests were generally apologetic and quick to remedy. Remember, vacation rentals are already an honor system and so people are used to behaving in them.
PUT VALUABLES IN A LOCKED CLOSET OR CABINET
After your guests make a purchase, they will get instructions on how to retrieve their item. If it’s something that isn’t visible, you can give them a code or location of a hidden key.
We recommend putting more valuable items or items easier to mistake for free (like fire logs) in a locked closet or locked cabinet. That way, they have to purchase the item in order to get access to it, and the rules are plain as sight.