S MAGAZINE ★ 11 AUGUST 2019 29
In fact, when I tell people we do
short-term lets, most ask about
the damage that could be caused.
To avoid any disasters, you need
to ask the right questions before
taking the plunge. Making money
from your home is a “commercial
activity” not normally covered by
home insurance, so make sure
you are properly covered.
I was referred to Guardhog,
which, as well as now being my
employer, provides cover for myMODERN LIFE
Home and away
Renting out your
house when
you’re on holiday
can pay huge
dividends. But
beware of the
pitfalls, warns
Jo McGivern
“I
got the idea to rent out our
home for short-stay guests
after friends revealed they
were going to earn £1,000
just for a weekend. Theirs
was a family house with kids’
bedrooms in a tiny village and
until then I assumed only people
in cities were able to make money
that way.
We came home and immediately
listed our house for New Year
when we were away with friends.
Within days we had a four-day
booking, so decided to see if we
could rent it out for Christmas as
well. We then landed a five-day
booking for the festive period and
were set to earn enough money to
pay for our family summer holiday.
But there are perils when it
comes to having strangers to stay.
The third time we rented out our
home was over an Easter
weekend. We were abroad and got
a phone call at 9pm on Easter
Saturday saying water was pouring
out of a pipe in the bathroom.
I was lucky and managed to get
hold of a plumber who’d done
some work for us. He drove to a
pub, collected a guy who owned
a plumbing shop who opened up
so he could get the part he
needed before he went back to our
house and fixed it. But if the stars
weren’t aligned, the damage would
have been terrible and we would
have received a bad rating.Don’t let out your home without...
● Locking things away. Have a
room or cupboard you can lock
valuable or precious items in.
● Letting your neighbours know.
It is not only polite, but sensible
to let your neighbours know.
If guests misbehave, having
a friendly neighbour to take
photos will be helpful.
● Getting the right insurance.
Don’t assume your homeinsurer will cover you – they
probably won’t.
● Paying for help. If you are
working, preparing and cleaning
for guests is a handful. If you
don’t have time to do it properly,
it will have repercussions.
● Writing a good house manual.
Explain everything guests might
need to know, from house rules
to instructions for appliances.home and guests. At Guardhog we
have seen some big claims over the
years – and the damage can be
immense. Our biggest was £90,500
for a party that got out of hand.
Like many of our party claims,
the damage ranged from wrecked
soft furnishings and damage to
fixtures and fittings as well as
designer clothing, champagne,
wines and spirits being stolen
and the entire property needing to
be redecorated.It seems some people turn into
party animals when they pack
their overnight bag. We once paid
out to replace a hob and worktop
where a stiletto had got caught
while a ‘guest’ was dancing on
the worktop – filmed live on
Facebook. A ‘resourceful’ 15 year
old also used someone else’s
accommodation booking account,
invited his mates and completely
trashed the place.
People can do strange things
when they aren’t in their own
home. Another claim was where a
guest thought it would be a good
idea to put the showerhead, (that
was turned on), down the loo.
They flooded the property and the
neighbour’s below. Or there was
the case where a guest stole
multiple items of the host’s
clothing, including worn pants,
socks and vests.
New Year is one of our
busiest times of the year, as
are weekends. Saturdays and
Sundays see three times as
many claims made as the other
days of the week.
From my own experience I’d
always suggest taking a deposit
and locking stuff away you don’t
want guests using. My little study
looked like one of those houses
from the TV show Hoarders by the
time I’d done this.
Preparing a busy family home
with messy children for ‘guests’
is quite a lot of work. But don’t
be put off by the horror stories or
initial preparation. Once you’ve
bought the linen, written the
manual and made sure you’ve
got the right cover, it is definitely
worth the financial return.
I’ll be off on holiday again this
year, all paid for by letting my
spare space.” ●SJo McGivern is a mother of
three, Airbnb host and marketing
director at pay-per-stay
home-sharing insurance
GETTY IMAGES specialist Guardhog.