Tips for Hosts

General

The concept of letting out rooms in a family home on a short term basis to travellers and tourists is not new.

Bed and breakfast accommodation is the salvation of many travellers and a welcome income for homeowners.

But until now, a home owner who wanted to let out a room, especially on an ad-hoc basis, had no way of letting travellers know about this availability.

RoomFT, allows anyone who wishes to let out rooms to register as a host, record which days their room is available to let, how much they want in rent and then allow the website to match them with travellers.

Before registering, here are some ideas to think about:

Is your room in a fit state to rent out?

• Is it in good decorative order?
• Are the curtains, tables, beds and bedding in good condition?
• Is the lighting adequate for reading and dressing?
• Is there a mirror for dressing?
• Is there enough wardrobe space?
• Does the room have adequate locks?
• Does your household insurance cover you for accidents to travellers or theft whilst you are hosting.

Valuing your room

One of the fundamental principles of this site, is that the transaction between host and traveller is purely a private matter.

RoomFT does not get involved and has no vested interest in a high or low rental. It simply takes either £1, $2 US dollars, €1.50 or 250 Yen booking fee from the host, when the host confirms the traveller’s room request (see details below).

We have included a ‘value your room’ facility for homes in the UK to help you make an informed decision, but we suggest you also look at local hotel or B&B rates for similar accommodation, and also see what other hosts in your area are charging.

Remember, you need to make it worthwhile for the traveller to choose your room , above others, and so price accordingly.

How much does it cost?

It is FREE to become a member of RoomFT and FREE to become a HOST and register your room as available for letting.

RoomFT does not take any commission from the rent received, nor does it charge the traveller any fee, thus making this a very attractive option for both host and traveller.

When registering as a host for the first time, you receive 3 FREE complimentary bookings.

This allows a host to try out the site, without any cost whatsoever. Thereafter, the host must credit his or her RoomFT account before they can accept further room requests from travellers. 1 credit will be deducted on every successful booking, no matter how long the stay. 1 credit is equivalent to £1, $2 US dollars, €1.50 or 250 Yen.

How to top-up the RoomFT account?

When registering, RoomFT creates an account, which hold credits for future bookings.

Initially, the account has 3 FREE bookings, but in order to top up for future bookings, payment must be made to RoomFT, through the site, which will be credited to this account.

The minimum top up amount is either £5, $10 US dollars, €7.50 or 1,250 Yen. The payment has to be made by debit or credit card or using a paypal account. All payments are non-refundable.

Advertising your room on the website

Ensure you give your potential guests plenty of information about your room.

• Where is the property located?
• Is it near public transport?
• Is there off street parking?
• Take photographs and upload them to the site
• Will guests have access to the kitchen, lounge and garden?
• Are you providing breakfast and/or dinner?
• Are you going to provide towels?
• What are your preferred arrival and departure times?
• Do you allow or have pets?
• Do you allow young families with little children?

There is space within your profile to add this information or any other terms that are important to you or to travellers.

How can I increase the chances that my room will be chosen by potential travellers?

Apart from making your room attractive to stay in and pricing it correctly there are two important methods of improving your chances of letting out your room to travellers and tourists:

What is a verified Host?

Travellers may be concerned to ensure that the person they are staying with is bona fide.

RoomFT has an optional facility that will allow both hosts and travellers to be verified, so that each can be confident about the other.

Travellers may choose to only select ‘verified’ hosts and hence your chances are improved if you avail yourself of this facility.

Verification costs only £4.99, $9.99 US dollars, €7.49 euro or 1,250 Yen per year.

Receiving your guests/traveller

There are a few important points to remember to make your guests stay with you an enjoyable one:

Provide them with clear instructions on where you live and how they can reach you by public transport.

You may wish to have flowers in the hall and a paper on their bed.
Try and obtain tourist maps to hand them.
Ensure there is fresh linen on the beds for each new guest and change linen at least every 3 to 4 days, if they stay longer.
Explain clearly any house rules and consider having these printed out or on your RoomFT profile.
If the bathroom is to be shared, make clear arrangements about its use.
Have plenty of toilet paper available and ensure bathroom is clean.

Above all, make their stay comfortable, so that they recommend you to friends and post positive comments about you on the RoomFT site.

Remember to agree in advance what happens if the traveller decides to leave earlier than expected. You may wish them to pay just for the nights they have stayed or you may want to charge for the whole booking period. Whatever you decide, be upfront and clear before the booking is finalised. There is space on your profile to add in any special terms that you wish to make clear to travellers.

Getting paid by your guest/traveller

Do not be embarrassed to agree the amount to be paid for your room and to set out the terms you require.

If you want to be paid up front, then say so and ensure this is either in cash on the day or sent to you in advance, so it has time to clear.

You may want to have a deposit, in case of damage, but that is up to you.

Watch out for scams

Report any attempted fraud or suspicious emails by other members to us. You should also report any fraud/ illegal activity to the Police.

RoomFT does not offer any sort of host/traveller protection or payment programs. Any emails that talk about such systems are scams, even if they have our logo. If you receive any emails promoting these services, please report it to us.

One scam we have come across is where guests offer to send you a cheque for an amount that exceeds your room rates. The guest will then insist that you send the balance to them through payment services like Bidpay, Western Union or Money Gram. Under no circumstances should you enter into any such arrangements.

Please use common sense. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.