Lots of businesses wrestle with the idea of investing in precautionary tools like supplemental insurance because it’s hard to part with your hard-earned money and easy to simply hope the worst won’t happen. But when you’re in the short-term rental space and regularly handing off the keys to your properties to strangers, you can’t afford to be hopeful when it comes to risks.
If these real-life, would-have-been horror stories from NoiseAware clients tell us anything, it’s that tools like noise-monitoring systems, guest screening solutions and insurance policies are more than just a heap of security blankets; they are necessary investments for any property management company serious about protecting its interests and running a professional operation.
3 times NoiseAware saved the day, as told by property managers
One Guest… and A Baker’s Dozen
Recently, we hosted a guest who was coming to town under the guise of “visiting local friends.” It was rather early in the evening when a NoiseAware event was triggered, so even though we have a “no party” rule, I decided to wait a little while to see if the event would correct itself. It didn’t.
Around 30-minutes prior to our posted quiet-hours, I called the guest to inform him that a member of our “on-site security team” (aka NoiseAware) had notified us that there was excessive noise coming from the apartment.
The guest assured us that he was attempting to keep the volume to an acceptable level. Just the same, we messaged him a reminder of our house rules, which forbid partying or the admittance of more guests than specified in the reservation.
When I checked my outdoor security cameras about 20 minutes later, I was shocked to see 13 people exit our one-bedroom apartment!
The Neighbors Who Cried Noise
On New Years 2018, we were contacted by the neighbors of one of our properties and told that our guests were being too loud while using the hot tub, which was confusing to us since our occupants at the time were a couple and their daughter. The neighbor claimed that the noise started around 7 am and threatened to complain to the city if we failed to correct the situation.
Remembering that our NoiseAware system could show us the volume levels at each and every minute of the day, we checked our dashboard and found that the noise levels remained consistently acceptable throughout the day, including the period the neighbors specified.
We reported our findings to the neighbors, preventing them from making false claims to the city and potentially jeopardizing our permit.
Two’s Company, One Hundred Fifty’s a Crowd
I recently received an alert from NoiseAware and, upon checking my mobile app, noticed that the volume at one of my properties was exceeding acceptable levels.
I turned to my Ring doorbell footage to identify the problem and was glad I did when I saw over 150 people entering the property and gathering in the backyard.
By this time, the police had been called out to clear out the property. They shut down the party before anyone got seriously injured and before the property was damaged. Without those initial NoiseAware alerts, I wouldn’t have known what was going on at my property and wouldn’t have been able to resolve the situation in under an hour.
Take Control
We’d like to think that clearly stated rules on our listings are enough to dissuade guests from turning their rented accommodations into temporary party venues. We’d love to believe the best in our neighbors and assume they’d only make accurate claims. Unfortunately, these stories are just three among thousands in which guests have misused their rentals or disgruntled neighbors have bent the truth.
Take control by implementing NoiseAware and other security solutions found in Guesty’s Marketplace, so you can keep tabs on your properties at all times and nip potential disasters in the bud.
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