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Two fifths of holiday home owners ‘don’t bother’ checking guest credentials

Despite 42% admitted to not run any checks on guests when accepting a booking, over half of these respondents, 58%, claimed to have been stung by a disreputable guest in the past.

According to new research from one of the UK’s leading holiday home insurance providers, over two fifths of holiday home owners ‘don’t bother’ checking out guest credibility when accepting a booking; despite over half claiming they’d been ‘stung’ by guest bookings in the past.

Holiday home owners may not be doing all they can to protect themselves against the danger of false or risky bookings, as new research from a leading provider of holiday home insurance in the UK has revealed that two fifths of holiday home owners ‘don’t bother’ checking out guest credentials when accepting a booking.

The study, conducted by Schofields.ltd.uk, aimed to take a closer look at the measures that holiday home owners based in the UK take to protect themselves when accepting bookings. Holiday homeowners insured through Schofields subsequently took part, all of whom owned a holiday home either in the UK or abroad.

Those taking part were asked, ‘Do you run any background checks on guests to check their credibility when accepting a booking for your holiday home?’ to which two fifths, 42%, claimed that ‘no’, they didn’t bother.

When asked why they failed to do so, the most common responses amongst holiday home owners were as follows:
1) Trust that the guest is credible- 32%
2) Want to get the booking/don’t want to deter guests- 26%
3) Don’t know how/ what to check- 21%

Despite 42% admitted to not run any checks on guests when accepting a booking, over half of these respondents, 58%, claimed to have been stung by a disreputable guest in the past.

All of those taking part were asked to state how, if at all, they had been stung by a disreputable guest in the past. According to the results, the most common problem experienced by holiday home owners with guests was ‘causing damage/ breakages in home’ for 41% of the respondents. 37% had experienced guests that left their holiday home ‘dirty or in an unacceptable condition upon departure’ resulting in extra cleaning costs, whilst 19% had experienced items from their home going missing after welcoming guests.

Those who did run background checks on guests were asked to state what exactly they checked for when accepting a booking. 53% claimed to run checks to confirm that guests’ names and addresses appeared credible, whilst 45% explained that they looked for any existing reports or warnings by other holiday home owners on the guests in question.

When asked, ‘Are you confident that you have the correct insurance in place to protect you against disreputable guests? (causing damage, cover extra cleaning costs)’ 62% said ‘yes’. The remaining majority, 29%, were unsure; whilst 9% were fully confident that ‘no’, they didn’t have the correct insurance in place.

Speaking about the data, Phil Schofield, spokesperson for Schofields Holiday Home Insurance, said the following: “Running checks on guests when accepting a booking is incredibly important, as a quick internet search can throw up enough information, more often than not, to enable you to see if your guest’s credentials are up to scratch. As our results show, many have been ‘stung’ by disreputable guests in the past causing damage or leaving accommodation in an unacceptable condition, and it’s in every holiday home owner’s best interests to protect themselves with the correct checks and the correct insurance. There’s also plenty of sites out there than can run comprehensive checks or give you a booking background of any guest, so it’s well worth taking a bit of time to ensure your home is in good hands!”

Co-Founder & Chief Editor - TravelDailyNews Media Network | Website | + Posts

Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.

She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.

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