Frequently Asked Questions

Question: What is your cancellation policy?

Answer: Full refund up to 30 days before arrival. Half up to 14 days before arrival. For cancellations made within 14 days prior to the arrival date, no refund will be issued. All refunds are subject to 6% payment processing fee.

Question: Can you explain how the security deposit works?

Answer: We aim to provide a consistent experience whether you book directly with us or through other platforms like VRBO or Airbnb. These days, holding a security deposit on a credit card is a standard practice. Rest assured, your card is not charged for the deposit unless there are damages. The hold is automatically released within about a week after check-out, assuming everything is in good condition—this is the same as VRBO. For Airbnb, the process is slightly different: they place a hold without specifying an amount, which will only be charged if damages are reported. Important: Please note, your booking is incomplete until you authorize the security deposit hold on your credit card.

Question: I’m confused about all the different fees—can you help explain?

Answer: You’re not alone! Even many hosts and property managers find the fee structure confusing. Let’s break it down, starting with Airbnb:

Airbnb Fees:

Host fees: 3%

Guest fees: 14–20%

Airbnb offers two fee models for hosts:

Split Base Service Fee:

Hosts pay 3% of the booking total (before taxes), and guests pay around 14.2%. This totals 17.2%.

Airbnb prefers to move hosts away from this model in favor of the second.

Host Base Service Fee:

Hosts are charged a flat 15%, and no guest fee is directly shown. Hosts are expected to recover this by raising their nightly rates or adding extra fees.

So, what’s the problem? While 15% looks better than 17.2%, Airbnb calculates the 15% on everything—even fees like cleaning or extra charges. This can drive the total up to as much as 23%! For example, on a $2,000 stay with a $100 cleaning fee, the difference in fees ends up being $443. Guest's total is $2398.20 and $2841.19 accordingly. Please follow this link to Airbnb Community forum for more details.

VRBO works a bit differently but with a similar result. Depending on whether a host subscribes annually or not, their total fees can range from 15% (for those paying the $699 subscription) to 27.5% (3-13% host fees + 12–18% guest fees).

Anyway, the typical difference for $2,000 vacation rental between renting direct or using OTA channels after fees and tax is about -$500 to -$600.

Question: Who are Superhog and is it safe to share my email/phone/address with them?

Answer: Successful completion of both host and guest verification is a requirement for our insurance. Before you arrive you will be asked to complete guest verification through third-party provider Superhog (it is same/similar verification to Airbnb and VRBO). This is done to ensure we are keeping up-to-date with short-term rental regulations as well as providing both our guests and our properties with extra protection. Superhog will contact you via email and/or text to complete the verification. Please do so prior to arriving at the property to enable a quick and easy check-in process. Superhog is committed to keeping your data safe and secure. They consistently review their security protocols to ensure compliance with the highest industry and global standards in data handling. They will never sell your information to a third party. Details on their data protection policies can be found here. Superhog is registered with the ICO under registration number ZA518818.