Traveler FAQ

A place to book vacation homes straight from the people who host them. Hosts pay us a flat monthly fee instead of a cut of every booking, so we don't add a service fee to your stay: the price you see is the host's price.

Search, listings, checkout, trips and messages work the way you're used to on other booking sites.

You pay no guest service fee here, ever. Many homes on HomeShared are also on Airbnb, listed by the same host, and because hosts here don't pay a percentage of each booking, many of them price their homes lower than they do there.

Each home's host still sets its own rules, cancellation policy and check-in.

No. HomeShared is a separate company and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Airbnb. A booking you make here is a HomeShared booking, and you manage it here.

Yes: swap airbnb.com for homeshared.app. airbnb.com/rooms/12345 becomes homeshared.app/rooms/12345, and the dates and guests in the link come along.

If that host has brought their listing over, you'll see it with our prices. If not, you'll see a page where you can join the waitlist for that home or send the host a ready-made note asking them to list it.

Fictional homes that show how listings look while real hosts join in a city. They're always labelled, can't be booked or messaged, and disappear from a city once enough real homes are listed there.

You can search and browse without one. To book, message a host or save homes, sign up with your email, or continue with an account you already have, like Google.

Open a home, choose your dates and guests, and select Reserve. Checkout shows the full price, the cancellation policy for your exact dates and the house rules before you pay.

Homes with Instant Book confirm straight away. Other homes send the host a request first; you'll find both under Trips.

With Instant Book, your booking is confirmed and paid the moment you check out.

With a request, your card is authorized but not charged, and the host has 24 hours to accept. If they accept, the payment goes through and the stay is confirmed. If they decline or don't answer in time, the authorization is released and you're never charged. Your dates are held for you while you wait.

Hosts can ask that guests who book instantly have a verified ID, a positive review from another host (4 stars or better on average), or both. If you don't meet those yet, you can still book: it just goes to the host as a request. Verifying your identity is the quickest way to clear the first one.

Yes. Select "Message host" on the listing, with or without dates, and ask anything. The conversation lands in your Messages and carries on there if you book. Each listing shows how quickly its host usually replies.

Usually one of the host's booking rules:

• a minimum or maximum number of nights (some homes set a different minimum for certain dates);
• advance notice, so the home can't be booked for tonight or tomorrow;
• preparation time, which keeps a night free before and after each stay;
• an availability window, so dates too far ahead aren't open yet;
• the dates are already booked, here or on another site the host uses.

If the dates matter, message the host. They can sometimes open them up.

Right before you pay, we check the host's calendars on the other sites they use, and we hold your dates for about 35 minutes while you check out, so no one else can take them here. If the dates were taken somewhere else in that time, the booking doesn't go through and any payment is returned automatically.

Each home shows its guest limit. Some prices cover a set number of guests and add a fee for each guest above it; if so, it's included in the total before you pay. Infants don't count toward extra guest fees. If you're bringing more people than you booked for, ask the host first.

Yes. Some hosts run their own booking site through HomeShared. When you select Reserve there, checkout opens on homeshared.app with the same account, prices and protections as a booking made here, and the trip shows up under Trips.

The host's price. There's no guest service fee, and we never add a markup. A home listed at $169 a night costs you $169 a night.

Everything you'll be charged, itemized before you pay:

• the nightly prices for your dates (weekends, holidays and seasons can be priced differently);
• a cleaning fee, if the host charges one;
• an extra guest fee, if you're more guests than the price covers;
• a pet fee, if you're bringing pets (never for service animals);
• minus any weekly or monthly discount the host offers for longer stays.

Where local occupancy or sales taxes apply, they're on their own line in the price details before you pay, and you can see each one. Search results show prices before taxes, as on Airbnb. HomeShared adds no service fee, and the total at checkout is what you pay. Depending on how the host takes payments, the host or HomeShared pays the taxes to the tax office.

For Instant Book, when you book. For a request, your card is authorized when you send it and charged only when the host accepts. If you choose to pay in two parts, the second part is charged automatically before check-in.

For stays far enough ahead, yes: checkout offers "Pay part now, part later". On most homes that's 50% when you book and the rest 30 days before check-in; hosts who take payments on their own Stripe account can set different terms, and checkout always shows the amounts and the date.

The second part is charged to the same card, and you can pay it sooner, or with another card, from your trip page. We email you a few days before. If it can't be charged, you'll have a few days to pay it (usually 4); after that the reservation is canceled and the first part isn't refunded.

You pay by card through Stripe's secure checkout. Your card details go to Stripe; neither HomeShared nor the host ever sees them. Depending on how the host is set up, the payment goes straight to the host's own Stripe account or through HomeShared; either way it's the same price, the same checkout and the same receipt.

Some do. If a home has one, it says so under "Things to know" on the listing and at checkout. It's a hold on your card, not a charge: it goes on the day before check-in (your bank may show it as pending), and on stays longer than about a week it's renewed before it runs out. If something is damaged, the host can charge part or all of it until 7 days after checkout, and you get an email with their reason; whatever isn't charged is released by then. If something gets damaged, tell the host through Messages; see Insurance below.

Yes, with a payment request, for damage or an extra fee such as extra cleaning or more guests or pets than booked. A host can send one from booking until 14 days after checkout, with the amount, what happened and any photos or receipts. You'll get it in Messages, by email and on your trip page, and it's your choice: pay it by card if you agree, or decline it and tell the host why. Nothing is charged unless you pay; HomeShared never charges your card for a request on its own and doesn't decide disputes between guests and hosts.

On your trip page: open Trips, choose the stay and look for the receipt, with every night and fee itemized.

Please don't. Pay only through checkout on HomeShared, and never by wire transfer, gift card or a payment app. Refunds under the cancellation policy, your receipt and our help all depend on the booking being here. If a host asks you to pay another way, report the listing.

Each home has its own, chosen by its host. It's shown on the listing under "Things to know" with the exact dates for your stay, again at checkout, and on your trip page. The four policies:

• Flexible: Full refund up to a day before check-in. After that, the first night isn't refunded.
• Moderate: Full refund up to 5 days before check-in. After that, 50% until the day before check-in.
• Firm: Full refund up to 30 days before check-in, or within 48 hours of booking if check-in is 14+ days away. 50% up to 7 days before.
• Strict: Full refund only within 48 hours of booking, if check-in is 14+ days away. Otherwise 50% up to 7 days before check-in.

The policy saved with your booking is the one that applies, even if the host changes it later.

Open Trips, choose the stay and select Cancel. The trip page shows exactly how much comes back if you cancel now, before you confirm. You can cancel any time before check-in day. If you're paying in two parts, the refund comes out of what you've paid so far and the second part is never charged.

You get a full refund of everything you paid, whatever the home's policy says, and we email you right away.

We send it the moment the booking is cancelled. It goes back to the card you paid with, and banks usually take 5 to 10 business days to show it.

Yes, from the trip page. Nothing was charged, so the authorization on your card is simply released.

Yes, before the stay starts. On your trip page, choose Change reservation and pick the new dates, guests, pets, early check-in or late checkout. Your host has to accept; if the new total is higher you pay the difference before it applies, and if it's lower the difference is refunded. Until then your reservation stays as it is.

Usually because it was an Instant Book stay and your identity wasn't verified by the host's deadline (see below), or because the host cancelled; either way you get a full refund. If you were paying in two parts and the second part wasn't paid in time, the reservation is canceled and the first part isn't refunded. The email we sent says which it was.

Hosts are opening their homes, so every guest verifies once, and every host does too. It's done by Stripe Identity: a photo of your government ID and a quick selfie. Your documents go to Stripe and are never uploaded to or stored by HomeShared.

Your host sees that you're verified, the name on your ID and whether it matches the booking, and nothing else. You only do it once per account: verify now.

Before you send a request to book. For an Instant Book stay it depends on the host: most let you book first and verify within a deadline they choose (24 hours unless they set another, shown at checkout and on your trip); if you don't, the booking is cancelled and fully refunded. Some hosts ask you to verify before you book. Some homes also need it before you sign their guest agreement.

Some homes ask you to register your stay: who's coming, the vehicles you're bringing and any pets, then read and e-sign the host's guest agreement. It's usually due 5 days before check-in, and your trip page shows the exact date. You can stop and finish later, and we'll send reminders until it's done.

Check-in instructions unlock once it's signed. You get the signed agreement as a PDF by email, and it's on your trip page too.

Some homeowners' associations require short-term guests to be registered with their office. For those homes, your registration fills in the community's form and it's sent to the office for you, with your host copied. You don't need to contact the community yourself unless your host tells you to.

When your booking is confirmed. Before that, listings show the general area so hosts' addresses aren't public.

Select "Report this listing" on the listing page, choose a reason and add details. Our team reviews every report. For anything urgent about a stay, email us too.

PremierHost is for hosts with a strong record over the past year: a 4.8+ rating, at least 10 completed stays, almost no cancellations and fast replies. It's reviewed every quarter.

Guest Choice marks homes guests rate highest: at least 5 reviews, a 4.8+ rating weighted toward the past year, and few host cancellations. As more homes qualify, only the top ones keep it.

Reviews come from guests who stayed. Some homes also show the reviews their guests left on Airbnb, which hosts can bring with them. When they do, every review comes over to the home it was written about; hosts can't pick which ones or edit them.

On your trip page, once the booking is confirmed (and registration signed, if the home asks for it): how to get in, Wi-Fi, the house manual and directions. Most hosts also send the details a few days before and on check-in day.

Through Messages or the trip page. Keeping the conversation on HomeShared means there's a record if anything goes wrong.

Message your host first, with photos if it helps: most problems are fixed fastest by the person who knows the home. If you can't reach them or it isn't resolved, pick your trip on Help and choose what's wrong: you can remind your host, send us photos, and see what else can be done.

In an emergency, call local emergency services first.

Check the house rules on the listing: hosts say whether pets are allowed and how many. Add your pets in the guest picker when you book, and any pet fee is included in your total.

Service animals aren't pets: they're welcome in every home, they don't count toward a listing's pet limit, and hosts can't charge pet fees for them. Hosts may ask whether an animal is required because of a disability and what task it's trained to perform, but not for documentation.

Emotional support animals aren't service animals under this policy, so if you're traveling with one, add it as a pet and message the host before booking.

Listings show the accessibility features their hosts have confirmed, such as step-free entrances, wide doorways or grab bars. If you need something specific, message the host before you book.

After checkout you can review your stay from the trip page, with an overall rating and scores for things like cleanliness and accuracy. Hosts can review you as a guest within 14 days of checkout, and good reviews from hosts let you book more homes instantly.

No. HomeShared isn't an insurer and no coverage comes with a booking. We offer optional third-party coverage through [tbd]. The policy is between you and [tbd], and its terms decide what's covered and how claims work.

If losing what you paid would hurt, it's worth considering. A cancellation policy only refunds what it says; trip protection from [tbd] or your own insurer can cover things it doesn't, like illness, travel delays or cancelling late.

Tell your host right away through Messages, with photos. If they think something is owed, they can send you a payment request, which you can pay or decline from your trip page. Whether anything is owed is between you and the host: HomeShared doesn't take deposits, decide damage disputes or charge your card unless you choose to pay. Any coverage either of you has, such as a policy from [tbd], may help.

With your email and password, or with the “Continue with” button you signed up with (Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft or Amazon). Log in.

If you signed up with Google, Facebook or another “Continue with” button, use that button. Otherwise email support@homeshared.app from the address on your account and we'll get you back in.

In Account → Personal info.

Select the heart on any home. Saved homes are in Wishlists.

Email support@homeshared.app. Include your confirmation code if it's about a booking.

Go to Account → Login & security → Delete account, on the site or in the app, type DELETE and press Delete my account. It happens right away and we email you to confirm.

Anything still under way has to be finished first, and that page lists it with a link to each: upcoming or current stays and open requests, money still owed either way (a payment request, a security deposit, a refund or a payout), and for hosts, published homes, your plan and booking site add-on in Billing, and domains set to renew. If you can't get in, email support@homeshared.app from the address on your account and we'll delete it for you within 30 days.

Deleting your account removes your profile, sign-in details, saved homes and the personal information tied to it, including anything that came from signing in with Google, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft or Amazon. We keep only what the law requires, such as booking, payment and tax records, and your hosts keep the record of your stays, with your name shown as "Deleted user". Your email is free again, so you can sign up with it later as a new account. The privacy policy has the details.

To stop signing in with Facebook or another account without deleting anything, disconnect it in Account → Login & security (keep a password or another connected account so you can still get in). Removing HomeShared in that provider's own settings, like Facebook's Apps and websites, also stops it, but doesn't delete your HomeShared account; delete it as above for that.