Use These 7 Winter Safety Checks Every Airbnb HOST Should Know

Well, we're heading into winter and that means that our short term rental guests are going to be using our properties a little differently than they do normally. You're probably going to have fires being burned in your fireplace. Your kitchen's probably going to get used much more than it otherwise would. You maybe have ice on the sidewalks or in your driveway. And so there's a lot more liability and there's a lot more expectations that we need to set with our guests to ensure that we continue to get five star reviews. So stay tuned. We're going to break down all the details. Your winner checklist, let's get into it.

Well, when it comes to the winter season, there are some things that we definitely need to be doing. And for most of you in the northern hemisphere, that means your properties are going to be getting colder, which means your guests are going to be using the heater more, they're going to be using the fireplace more, and you're going to need to keep them cozy. But keeping your place cozy comes with some risks. Let's start with the fireplace. If you have a cabin or anywhere out in the woods, fireplace can be a really nice amenity. A really sets that mood. But it's definitely a liability. In fact, if you still have a log version of a fireplace, think about swapping it out for a gas version. You can get the really nice gas, modern ones now that still show the logs, it still sets that tone and gives that same ambiance, but you don't have risk of open flames outside of the unit. But if you are still using the traditional fireplace, well then it's highly recommended that you get your chimney cleaned at least once a year because if it gets a little blocked, that's when the heat starts to come back down and that could potentially cause fires. And this is of course something that your insurance has noted all across your agreement. So make sure you're getting it cleaned regularly. Make sure you have a small fire extinguisher somewhere nearby. We stayed at a hotel recently that had the gas version and they actually had a very nice little timer that went right next to it. So instead of someone leaving it on for the whole night or maybe much more than they need to, you could set up for the time, help you save on gas and also help you save on those liabilities. If your central heating system or your mini splits or whatever you're using to heat your property doesn't heat everything adequately, well, of course you want to make sure that you set that in those guests expectations, maybe the den can be A little cold, and you want to make sure you're prepared right. And one way we do that is by having space heaters. Space heaters can be a liability as well, though, and this is actually something that your insurance will ask you about. And there's different types of space heaters, so if you do need to use one, make sure you get one that automatically turns off if it happens to fall over. Check on Amazon. There's a whole bunch of options these days that can be a potential risk. Using space heaters also use a lot of electricity, so they could trip your circuit breakers. It's really advised that you test them out beforehand. If you have two in one location, turn them on both at the same time, and make sure your circuit breakers don't trip, because if they trip for you, they're going to trip for your guests. A really important safety step, and again, something your insurance is going to require you to have in your properties, something that Airbnb wants you to have as a safety item, and it's highly recommended, is a carbon monoxide detector. So if you're using gas, gas anywhere in your property, make sure you get some carbon monoxide detectors and get the version that lasts for, like, 10 years. You don't have to change the batteries. You don't hear that annoying beep, beep, beep. As far as where to place the carbon monoxide detectors, well, you don't want to put them right next to whatever appliance is using gas. You want to keep at least 10ft away. And most traditionally, we want to put them at eye level. The second point on our checklist has to do with your kitchen. If you have a property that lends itself well to the holidays, like Thanksgiving or Christmas, well, the family is going to be nestled around the the kitchen and they're going to be using all of your appliances. Of course, you want to make sure that they're always in good working order. You want to make sure that your oven doesn't have all that extra residue that looks nasty when your guest pulls the oven door open for the first time. And now's a good time just to recheck all your kitchen utensils and pans and pots and those types of things, because even though that's something small, it's something that we get reviews on all the time. It can really affect your review score. If someone likes to cook and they're cooking and cutting with a dull knife, well, it's a bigger part of their experience, right, because they've spent more time in the kitchen. So first of all, just make sure that all your utensils, everything are in line. You can get great ones on Amazon or Costco. Make sure your appliances are clean and make sure you have a smoke detector somewhere in your kitchen. Again, this is a safety feature that Airbnb definitely wants you to have and so does your insurance. Make sure you get one of the newer smoke detectors that lasts for at least 10 years. And again, don't have that little annoying battery alarm. Beep, beep, beep. Okay, number three on our checklist has to do with slips and falls. And yes, this is the most common reason for a liability lawsuit. And there's lots of places that can get slippery. It's not just snowy driveway or snowy walkway, but for all of you that have pools out there or maybe in the winter with a hot Jacuzzi, you got to make sure that things aren't really slippery around it as well. And a really good way to do that is just to make sure that you have really good doormats. And now of course, there's all types of versions of doorma. You can get some that look nice, you can get some that have good traction, you can get some that work well for outdoors, right next to the Jacuzzi. The idea is that you have these in places where things get slippery. And that could be tile, it could be a sidewalk that had snow on it or that has ice. It's a really good idea if you are in a snowy area that you keep some salt and you keep some sand around, just some spare bags for when that snow comes or when things start icing over. Now, if you're in a place that gets a lot of snow, you got to plan accordingly with snow removal. And this should be very clear in your listing description. If you have a guest checking in, it's possible they could be checking in at a time when it's snowing. You should have some really good notes in there on your snow removal process. And maybe this is something that you only do in sort of emergency situations. Maybe it's something that you do regularly. You want to make sure it's in your listing description. Hopefully you have a guidebook where you have some more details going out. And if a guest is arriving during a stormy time, if you don't have someone to do the snow blowing, then you got to let them know, right? Got to set the right expectations. A quick little note on your insurance. We know that we need specific insurance for short term rentals. I use a company called properly for a lot of my properties. But every Company is different, and every policy is a little different. I've seen some policies that actually hold you liable for trails that are not on your property, but that you can access from your property. So you got to make sure that you have the correct signage in these places as well. If there's a spot, it's always slippery and there's not really much you can do about it. Or if there's some steep ledges or whatever. Whatever it happens to be, there's some sort of safety issue. You know what it is. Just take a little bit of time, put up a sign, and that'll help protect you from the liability standpoint. Okay, number four on our checklist has to do with your thermostat. So if you have a central heating and air system, you want to make sure you have a good thermostat as well. Especially if you have a property that's going to be vacant for a couple days between guests coming, and you don't have someone to go there before your guest arrives to turn on the heat and make that place cozy. You can go Back to episode 184 to see our show on Emerson Sensi Thermostat. That's the one I use personally in a lot of my properties and that we recommend because it has a lot of those unique WI fi features, like the ability to set your property's temperature remotely without you being there. Very, very nifty. Especially if you're in a cold place. It's also a good idea to check just your insulation. So this could be in various places throughout your property. This could be as simple as a windowsill insulation to stop drafts, but it could be as far as adding more insulation in your attic if you have a property that's older. I have a lot of old properties in my portfolio. They weren't made with insulation. Right. And so, again, we got to set the right expectations. You should be staying at your properties before a guest stays there so that you know firsthand how comfortable it is. But if you haven't done that and you have received a message from a guest that said it was a little cold in the bedroom or the kitchen was freezing or whatever it happens to be, they're not the only guests that's going to think that. You got to make sure that you set aside some time and set aside a little bit of money to fix those problems, or it's really going to affect your review score. And we know what that means. That means it's really going to affect your overall revenue. All right, number five on Our checklist has to do with your lighting and visibility. We know in the winter and most places in the northern hemisphere it gets dark earlier. You want to make sure that your walkways are well lit, your driveways are well lit. Any sort of outdoor area is well lit. And lighting can do a lot for a property. If you're new to the channel, well, you can go to Strict. You can find all of our prior episodes. We've done an episode specifically on lighting. The good news is, is that today there so many options for LED or low voltage lighting. That adds a lot to your property. It adds a lot to the ambiance, but it also makes things safer. Consider getting a dust to dawn sensor so that you don't have to change the time that your lights come on throughout the year. A lot of guests like to use candles to set the mood. We do not recommend this. In fact, it's actually in our house rules that you cannot use candles. If you need to update your house rules or you want to just take a look at ours, well, you can get a copy of them for free in the link down below. The reason we don't like candles is, is that they have an open flame. Right. It's a liability. Your insurance company doesn't want you to use them either. There are lots of good alternatives. So you can buy some LED candles, leave them in the property and you can get something that look really nice now, even with like the flickering flame. Okay, number six on our checklist is for when accidents actually do happen. Something that you will want to have at your property is a first aid kit. Again, this is one of those items that Airbnb asks for. And if you're not checking these safety items, like the carbon monopoly oxide detector or the smoke detector or the first aid kit or the fire extinguisher, well, that's a big no no for Airbnb. They don't want any issues coming up at your property either. Remember, they do offer a certain amount of liability through their air cover program. Make sure that you first buy these safety items, but then also check those boxes on Airbnb, because that's one of the things that's going to help boost your visibility. If Airbnb was comparing two properties were completely identical, one didn't have any of these safety items checked and the other one had all of them checked. Who do you think going to promote more in the search rankings? The one with the safety items. Right. We talked about fire extinguishers. Highly recommend to have one under your kitchen sink. But if you do have an open fireplace, well, it's highly recommended that you have one there as well. If you're running a multi unit building or anything that has shared areas, always a good idea to have one in the common area. In fact, that's actually the law in most states in the U.S. and lastly, you want to make sure that you're available 24 7. You have emergency contact information readily available in multiple places. In case something does happen. I like to put a A1 pager in all of my properties that has the most important details on the property. A lot of times I put it right on the back of the entrance store. But we also use a guidebook and of course you want to have this information in your listing. If you don't have someone available 24. 7 or you don't want to be available 247 for emergencies, well, our team at Coorsley would love to chat with you. We're managing properties in over 40 cities now. We've handled tens of thousands of guests. We've pretty much come across every sort of emergency and scenario you could imagine. But we don't just do that. We also help you grow your revenue, optimize your listings and really handle the whole operation for you. If you want to find out more, if you want to chat with us, go to strictest.com There's a little property management button there. And our team would love to chat with you. So make sure you have the most important contact numbers on there. Make sure you have locations of the nearest hospital, the nearest pharmacy, all these typical sort of safety things. The last point on our winter prep is to make sure that your communication with your guests is top notch. I've talked about expectations quite a few times during this episode and that is the name of the game. That means means having different expectations for your property during the winter than during the summer. If any of your appliances or your heaters or your furnaces or your gas stoves, if those things are complicated to use, make sure you have some easy to use instructions right next to the appliance. If you have an area that just doesn't get warm enough, well, make sure that you have extra blankets. Make sure you have space heaters, hopefully a secure one or a fireproof one. Double check all the things we talked about today in terms of lighting and fire in your kitchen and slippery areas. The reality is these things are not hard to check on if you're missing a few items here or there. They're not hard to order off Amazon and have right at your doorstep. If you don't have the expectations well laid out in your listing description or in your guidebook, make sure that you double check those things. It's going to go a long way in ensuring that you continue to get really good reviews and that you avoid any sort of crazy accidents with any of your guests or with your property. If you found this helpful, consider hitting the subscribe button. We release content every single week and our team is releasing content from real world experience all over the place. If you have a friend or family member that you think needs to hear this, well, we'd really appreciate if you could share it with them as well. Help spread the word. And if you already have these items knocked off the list and you're doing an exceptional job and you're earning five star reviews but you think you could be earning a little bit more, well then check out our episode number 280. That's how Five Star hosts can earn even more with a new revenue management strategy. Till next time, I hope you have a fabulous week.