Having insurance in place eliminates potentially awkward conversations with your guest about damage; who caused it, what it costs and who going to pay for it. With damage insurance, that conversation does not have to take place and the guest can depart having enjoyed their vacation experience and hopefully return in the future for another stay, helping to increase overall nights booked and revenue.
Consider the scenario where your cleaning staff calls to let
you know that the guest broke an expensive lamp during their stay. You’ve got to make the call to your guest to
let them know that you need to retain some (or all) of their damage deposit to
cover replacement of the broken lamp.
How many times have you heard the response “it was that way when we
arrived, we didn’t break it.” Perhaps it
was one of the kids who didn’t say anything to the parents or maybe just a
situation where the guest felt the cost of the stay was already expensive enough. Regardless, you now have a situation where
there is not going to be a winner, but instead everyone will lose.
With a protection plan in place, the claim process is easy …
the lodging provider uploads a photo of the damage along with the receipt for
repair and replacement and a check is sent to you for full reimbursement. The guest benefits by transferring much of
the risk to the insurance company as they pay a small damage waiver fee at the time
of reservation. As the lodging provider, you didn’t have to have that
conversation to let them know that their vacation is going to cost a little more than what was
anticipated & budgeted.
Fortunately, you put insurance in place with each
reservation. The guests in the above scenario departed happy
and will be back again for another stay down the road! Damage protection is like any insurance … it
transfers financial risk to the insurance underwriter. It’s not always needed but when accidents
happen (and they will), everyone is happy the insurance is there.
Protection Brands provides damage protection
underwritten by TERN Financial and administered by Rental Guardian. Coverage can be purchased online at www.damageprotection.insure. Lodging providers are encouraged to register
as a Protection Brands partner at www.getdamageprotection.com
and enjoy special pricing discounts.
