It’s peak season and you’re swamped with back-to-back bookings and ensuring everything is in shape for the upcoming guests, and for the next ones, and so on. The last booking was a group of friends looking to celebrate their 20-year friendship anniversary that weekend. They seem like the perfect guests: polite, communicative, and excited about their trip, especially the exploring and sightseeing parts. You get the impression that they are most definitely not the partying type.
As you walk through the property for the check-out inspection, you spot several broken glasses, a significant mark on the kitchen counter, fingerprints on the bedroom wall, a sticky living room floor, and a crack in the bathroom sink. What’s worse is the lingering smell of cigarette smoke, even though your property was clearly listed as a smoke-free rental.
While you are not unfamiliar with such situations, you’re faced with a dilemma. Do you ask the group to pay for the damages? That might lead to awkward conversations or worse, a negative review. Or do you cover the costs yourself, after all, accidents happen, especially when it comes to celebrations? Either way, you feel uncomfortable—it’s a frustrating situation that negatively impacts your time, money, and stress levels.
What if you could prevent similar situations from happening in the first place and still protect your property against unexpected incidents?
With Rentals United’s Screen & Protect, you can.
Why Vacation Rental Damage Protection Matters
As a property manager, you’ve likely encountered situations where a guest causes damage. It could be a stained carpet or a broken appliance; whatever the case, resolving these issues can consume resources and cause stress. And whether you manage 10 properties or 5,000, safeguarding your investments while keeping guests happy is critical.
Having the right vacation rental damage protection is not just about avoiding financial losses—it’s about creating a pain-free experience for you and your guests and finding the perfect balance between delivering great stays and growing your business.
In our previous blog, we explored four common approaches to vacation rental damage protection:
- No Protection: The “hoping for the best” scenario. This option may save you effort upfront, but it can leave you financially vulnerable and lead to difficulties in smoothly resolving issues after the fact.
- Insurance: One of the most popular choices. While this option offers comprehensive coverage, it often leads to insurance premium increases, adding to the cost of protection, complicated claims processes, and the risk of involving guests in uncomfortable conversations.
- Security Deposits: Simple in theory but challenging in practice. Large deposits can discourage bookings, and disputes over amounts can cause friction and strain relationships with guests, possibly leading to negative reviews.
- Screen & Protect: The solution that combines guest screening with comprehensive protection. It reduces the risk of damages and, in case something happens, you’re not alone—you have €50 000 coverage from us! With Screen & Protect, you can rest assured that your properties are safe.
Each approach has its pros and cons, but it’s clear that no protection at all is risky, and both insurance and security deposits come with trade-offs. Rentals United analyzed 521,152 bookings over a period of 6 months and found that properties without security deposits have 17% higher bookings per unit (BPU), indicating that removing this barrier can significantly boost booking volumes.
That’s why more property managers are turning to solutions like Screen & Protect; it is the smarter way to minimize risk, protect your investments, and avoid financial losses while still attracting more guests and increasing your revenue potential.
What Is Screen & Protect?
Screen & Protect is an innovative tool designed to enhance your property’s security and guest experience while streamlining operations—no guest involvement at all! By using this solution, you will avoid unnecessary stress and ensure that you do not face financial losses—on the contrary, you may be able to increase your positive feedback and increase the profitability of your business.
Screen & Protect prevents many problems from occurring in the first place by addressing potential issues before guests even arrive. It’s an innovative solution that not only shields your properties from potential damage but also streamlines operations, leaving you with more time to focus on attracting more bookings and delivering unforgettable guest experiences. And, in case of any accidents (we all know that even the best guests can accidentally break things), Rentals United will never leave you alone — we provide €50,000 damage compensation for property managers who face damages.
How Does Screen & Protect Work?
Unlike other solutions offered by popular OTAs, Screen & Protect offers property managers the same level of protection across all channels they use, simplifying operations and providing peace of mind.
Each time a reservation is created on any of your sales channels, Screen & Protect automatically performs guest screening. Using data from past bookings on OTAs, we verify guests and notify you of the screening result. If the guest passes, you can confidently welcome them to your property. If they don’t, Rentals United alerts you so you can take action before their stay begins.
With Screen & Protect, the situation of the celebrating group would not happen. Such guests would normally be flagged if past behavior indicates property damage from previous rentals. Knowing your guests are carefully vetted and unlikely to cause damage minimizes risk and is an essential layer of protection for your properties—it means fewer incidents for you to worry about and more time to focus on growing your business.
Sometimes, damages may occur despite the screening. It could be that the group member who booked the vacation rental property has a stellar background, but their friends are less careful. The good news is that you don’t need to worry about the costs of repairs, the long wait to resolve the case from an issuance provider, or the risk of receiving a bad review if you reach out to the guest asking for compensation. You simply have to upload evidence of the breakage and Rentals United can reimburse costs up to €50,000, without involving guests at all. Rentals United guarantees that 90% of incidents submitted on our platform are resolved within 5-7 business days.
If something happens, we’ve got you covered.
Why You Should Choose Screen & Protect
Here’s an overview of Screen & Protect’s key benefits and why it could be the right choice for you:
1. Reduced Risk of Damage
Guest screening significantly lowers the chances of damage occurring and minimizes risk. By understanding your guests’ history based on their previous bookings across OTAs, you can welcome them to your property knowing they’ve been verified. We ensure your guests are trustworthy before they even check-in.
2. Hassle-Free Incident Resolution Without Involving Guests
Should an incident occur, resolving it is as easy as uploading evidence to Rentals United; you don’t need to contact the guest or engage in uncomfortable conversations. By removing guests from this process, you can preserve your relationships and maintain your reputation. Screen & Protect handles it for you, ensuring an effortless experience.
Example: After a recent stay, you discover a broken lamp. Instead of chasing the guest for payment or risking a negative review, you simply submit the proof of the breakage to us. The costs are reimbursed, and you move on—stress-free.
3. Higher Guest Satisfaction and Better Reviews
Keeping guests out of the damage resolution process ensures they check out satisfied, increasing the likelihood of positive reviews. Screen & Protect removes the tension often associated with post-stay compensation requests.
4. Increased Booking Appeal and Revenue
Many property managers find security deposits inconvenient. Guests are less likely to book if a significant deposit is required, especially for short stays. We offer the choice to make security deposits optional, making your properties more attractive to potential guests. Screen & Protect is a compelling alternative that does not discourage guests from booking.
5. Streamlined Integration
Managing damage protection across multiple properties and channels can be overwhelming. Screen & Protect simplifies this by integrating seamlessly with Rentals United, allowing you to protect all your properties in one central platform. Whether reservations come from OTAs or other sales channels—Rentals United’s Channel Manager offers 90+ channel connections—everything is managed efficiently, saving you time and effort.
6. Strengthened Owner Trust
Property owners want assurance that their investments are well-protected. By using Screen & Protect, you demonstrate your commitment to minimizing risks and safeguarding their properties. This proactive approach helps foster stronger relationships with owners, making it easier to attract and retain their business over the long term.
Who Is Screen & Protect For?
Screen & Protect is designed to meet the needs of all property managers:
- Small, hands-on managers: Enjoy peace of mind knowing your properties are protected.
- Large, business-minded managers: Benefit from increased operational efficiency and revenue protection, increased appeal to owners, and an expanded property portfolio.
Screen & Protect: a Cost-Effective Solution
Screen & Protect comes with a small nightly fee, which you can simply adjust your nightly rates to cover. This way, you don’t have to worry about costs—you are actually making an investment in safeguarding your properties, improving guest satisfaction, and boosting your vacation rental revenue.
Why Rentals United?
With years of experience in the vacation rental industry, Rentals United is trusted by property managers worldwide. Our mission is simple: to help you earn more while simplifying and systematizing the management of your business.
Screen & Protect is just one of the many tools we offer to enhance your operations, grow your revenue, and improve guest relationships.
How Do I Start Using Screen & Protect?
- Activate the Screen & Protect service in the Rentals United portal.
- Each time a reservation is created in any of the sales channels, we automatically perform the guest screening and inform you about the verification result.
- You sit back, relax, and welcome guests who’ve been pre-verified for a smooth stay!
- In case of property damage, you can submit your evidence within 15 days of the check-out date.
- Case resolution takes place in 2 working days.
Ready to experience the benefits for yourself? Learn more about Screen & Protect today or schedule a demo to see it in action.
Not an RU client yet? Get started.
Already using RU? Sign-up to start using Screen & Protect.