Short-term rental · 7 min read

Going on vacation as a Vrbo or Airbnb host.

Short-term rental hosts have a particular vacation problem: your guests' vacation is happening at your property, and they expect you available like a hotel concierge. Here's the coverage playbook.

Quick answer

Categorize host emergencies (lockouts, cleaning issues, broken appliances, guest disputes, check-in problems) and route each to the right vendor or co-host. Use a routing URL on your listing's house manual and check-in instructions. Designate a backup co-host with full property access for the trip. Most issues become non-issues with this layer in place.

→ The mechanical fix

OutOfOfficePro routes by issue type to the right vendor or co-host.

Lockout to locksmith, broken AC to HVAC, cleaning issue to cleaner. 14 days free.

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The host's emergency categories

The co-host arrangement

If you're an Airbnb host, designate a co-host with full property access for the trip dates (Airbnb supports this natively). For Vrbo, set up an alternate contact with property authority.

Brief them on every category above, the vendor for each, and your authorization thresholds. ('Locksmith call up to $150, just dispatch. Plumbing up to $400, dispatch. Anything bigger, text me.')

Where to put the routing URL

What about reviews?

Most negative reviews come from response-time issues, not problem severity. A guest with a broken AC who hears back in 10 minutes will leave a 5-star review. A guest with a minor issue who hears back in 4 hours will leave a 3-star review.

Routing primarily protects you from review damage — not from problems. Problems happen; bad responses are what cause stars to drop.

Pre-trip checklist for STR hosts

// Built for STR hosts

Routing for the most common host emergencies.

Lockouts, AC failures, cleaning issues, guest disputes — each gets a primary and backup. 14 days free.

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