How Hostshare Works: ❓🏡 FAQs

Have a few questions before you take advantage of free travel?

‍

Check out some of our Frequently Asked Questions below!

How do I travel for free? 🌎

Our platform is exclusive to hosts of short-term vacation rentals, and each person who joins must add their property in order to join. Travelers must book on short notice (the stay must be within the next 5 days), this eliminates the likelihood of lost revenue from a paying traveler. The cost to a host is then most likely nothing (cleaning fees are charged to the traveler), and they are then provided access to other host's homes as well.

How does everyone get the same amount of nights to travel when values change so much from one listing to the next? How is this fair? ⚖️

Every member receives 21 nights of free stays, but not everyone shares that same amount of nights. Those with higher nightly rates than the average of the platform share less than 21 nights while those with a lower nightly rate may share more than 21 nights. Use the Hostshare calculator to see an estimate of how many nights you might share. 📱

Is there a way to book in advance and not last minute? ⏰

Currently we are focused on using short term rentals non-revenue nights, so that hosts don't lose money on nights that would have otherwise potentially been booked.  In the future we will look at adding some other options, but last minute, within 5 days is what we are focused on.

I have a seasonal home that is only available X months per year. Can I participate in Hostshare? 🗺️

Yes, we know there are some locations with seasonal access.  If your dates are listed on Airbnb, then they would be listed on Hostshare as well.  Even if your home is not accessible year-round, you can still participate.

Are all bookings instant bookings? Can I decline stays? 🤔

As long as the dates were available on other platforms, it is expectation that every request is accepted as long as the house has more nights to share which will automatically be calculated. If a host cancels, it will be viewed in the same way cancellation is negatively viewed on Airbnb. A small limit of cancellations may be allowed on a case by case basis before membership would be reviewed and revoked.

What if I am usually fully booked? 🏘️

Our platform is designed off of statical probabilities. As such, if you typically experience higher than 50% occupancy then you would be the exception. Most homes experience about 40-50% vacancy which is a lot of empty nights. Having no nights available to share would not impact your ability to travel and use other homes on the platform.

Who can book my listing? 🤝🏼

‍Hostshare is a private booking platform built by hosts. So only approved Hostshare members who are also sharing a short term rental listing on the platform can see or book your listing(s).

‍How often will my listing get booked on Hostshare? 📅

‍Every listing is different, and has a a different nightly rate value. After you submit your listing the Hostshare calculator will set your maximum number of nights you might share on the platform during the year of your subscription. This number is calculated based on your listings nightly rate compared to the average nightly rate across the entire Hostshare platform. This number is the maximum you might share, so if you share that number of nights, your listing will no longer be shared to travelers on the Hostshare platform, but you still get to travel with your available nights. Although you will be given a max number of nights to share, you can still enjoy 100% of the free stays benefits of being a Hostshare member even if nobody stays at your listing!

‍Can I block dates on my calendar that I don’t want another member to book? ❌

‍Since Hostshare is designed to utilize last minute unbooked nights (within 5 days), there is not currently a way to block dates from being booked. However, statistics show that high demand dates and paid bookings through Airbnb, etc commonly get booked further than 5 days out. Our goal is for Hostshare members to not lose booking revenue but also share their last minute unbooked nights (that likely would sit vacant) with other hosts in order to stay free across the Hostshare platform.

‍When can Hostshare members book my listing? 🏡

‍Bookings on Hostshare can only be made 5 days in advance. This is what we refer to as a “last minute booking”. So when booking a property on Hostshare, you can only book within a 5 day window, and likewise when other Hostshare members are trying to book your property, they can only book 5 days in advance. This is designed this way so Hostshare members don’t lose booking revenue from Airbnb, VRBO, etc but are still sharing last minute unbooked nights on the Hostshare platform for others to utilize. (edited)

Have a question that is not answered above?

Send us an email at: hello@hostshare.co 😄

‍