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about us

Home Sweet Host is a Sonoma County, California based business dedicated to managing and operating your Short Term Vacation Rental.

 

We serve Sonoma county and beyond; San Francisco, Marin County and beyond.

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Our mission is to help you reach new levels of income as we take care of your guests and maintain your property to high standards. We have years of experience in customer service and STR property management.

 

Prior to Home Sweet Host and over the last 7 years, we successfully managed at another local STR company to perfect what guests want and how to help each host succeed and profit.

 

We are trustworthy, reliable and keen on customer service.

Young Designer

why home sweet host?

  • Friendly service through and through = Happy Guests & Happy Hosts
  • Quick response rate to Guest's inquiries = a better chance at getting super host status
  • Vetting Guests to ensure they are a good match for your home = more respectful guests
  • Restocking consumable supplies and checking for damage = less complaints and airbnb claims
  • Scheduling cleaners after every reservation = your unit is always ready to receive guests
  • Optimization of your listing and calendar = puts your listing towards the top of the search
  • Revenue optimization, if you make good profits, so do we = the delicate balance of Happy Guests & Happy Hosts
  • It's your home, if you need it, feel free to use it = we encourage you to use your home
  • Direct booking site = more exposure to guests
  • No long term contract commitments = We want you to be happy, we understand if we're not a good fit
 
All of these are the formula to welcoming happy guests and obtaining Super Host status.
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WHY HSH
FAQs

Frequently asked questions

  • What cities does Home Sweet Host operate in?
    We are currently providing our services in the following cities: Santa Rosa, Rohnert Park, Petaluma, Windsor, Healdsburg, Sebastopol, Sonoma, Cazadero, Forestville, Penngrove, Monte Rio, Occidental, Novato, Marin County and San Francisco.
  • What do I need to get started?
    We can help you get your property ready to start accepting reservations within 5-7 business days, if not sooner. Your home should be furnished and stocked with household essentials that you'd expect to find in a hotel room. During our on-boarding process, we can provide you with a checklist of all items you should have ready to start hosting. Some additional things to consider before listing your home: - Supplemental short term rental insurance - Regularly scheduled bi-weekly landscape/pool service - Install smart door lock with code for easy guest access (Schlage is recommended)
  • How much can I expect to earn?
    Every property has a multitude of variables that help determine the potential earnings of a particular space. A home visit by one of our property experts will allow us to better gauge how much you can expect to earn but those amounts will vary throughout the year (i.e. high vs. low season).
  • How is tax collected?
    Most cities collect tax directly from Airbnb in the form of occupancy taxes. It's best to consult your local city and tax professionals.
  • How will I get paid?
    This depends on how your property is listed. Typically we list our clients properties under our Home Sweet Host Airbnb account. This will be the easiest and most convenient way to manage your property. Airbnb will payout funds on the second day of a given reservation, we will calculate all the reservations for a particular month and your payout will be deposited on the 10th business day of the following month. Our agreed upon service fee, and any cleaning fees are paid directly to Home Sweet Host for our services rendered.
  • What is the pricing of your services?
    Our simple, transparent pricing model allows us to get paid only when you get paid. Our service fee is calculated from when you receive confirmed bookings. Unlike other similar services, we also do not have contracted commitment terms since our service speaks for itself, 100% guaranteed. Management fees start at 18% of booked earnings depending on the size, location of home, amenities and amount of time you'd like it to be managed as well as what services you would like us to provide. Our flat rate cleaning fees that are paid by the guests, vary by the amount of rooms and the size of the home. Please contact us for more information.
  • Do you list on other platforms like VRBO, Booking.com, etc?
    We've found that Airbnb is beyond the best hosting platform for a multitude of reasons, which is why we exclusively list on this platform alone. Airbnb's quality of guests, customer support, and overall host guarantee is far superior than that of VRBO. Fraud, scams, and other illegal activities have become more prevalent on VRBO which poses a greater risk to our clients. It's also best to focus on one platform when building up your review base from guests, instead of having reviews and guest stays across multiple platforms.
  • What do your services include?
    Our standard all-inclusive management service encompasses everything you need to start making money from Airbnb. We handle photography, listing the home, pricing, inquiries, bookings, marketing, guest check in, check out, housekeeping, and coordinating maintenance tasks. Our cleaning service includes quality cleaning and supplies like toilet paper, paper towels, linens, towels, and more. We are always available 24/7 to both owners and guests, and always have staff on call to visit the home if needed. Our goal is to provide the best hospitality and services to guests to help ensure, the best reviews and placement on the site.
  • When are cleanings scheduled?
    We have a staff of excellent cleaners who are experienced hospitality industry professionals. Each guest/reservation is charged a cleaning fee as part of their stay. Our cleaning team will set a pre-determined price based on the size/time a standard cleaning should take for your home including outdoor areas, laundry, appliance wipe-down, organization and staging. We then pay the cleaners this amount. In instances in which our cleaners must charge more (excessive dirtiness, abnormal cleaning, etc.) we will work with the guests to recoup those extra costs or reach into the security deposit when applicable
  • How is my home protected while guests are using it?
    We screen guests to make sure they meet community standards. Each Airbnb user is verified prior to any stay and is often rated by previous hosts. Airbnb also offers a host protection guarantee, but we also suggest looking into a short term rental policy for supplemental insurance. Any damage is reported by our on site managers, and will be deducted from any applicable guest security deposits. We document and inventory condition of your property in case they are needed for claims.
  • Am I able to block out my home for use by myself, friends or family?
    Of course! It is your home after all... Please make sure to schedule these stays in advance so that we can block out the calendar to potential guests. The property will need to be cleaned after your stay to get it ready again for guests, so we can coordinate the cleaning and payment from you once you check out.
  • Can I cancel an upcoming guest reservation?
    The short answer is no, unless you have extenuating circumstances that warrant a cancellation. Airbnb takes this very seriously and will penalize your account and listing for any guest cancellations. This is also a poor experience for guests that rely on your home for their trip. This will also lower your listings on their search engines, making it harder to receive bookings and higher nightly rates. So we highly discourage any cancellations.
  • What if I have more questions?
    Please contact us via the form on the "Get Started" page, or by simply emailing us at info@home-sweet-host.com. You can even give us a call anytime at 415-742-2716 We'd love to hear from you and discuss any additional questions you may have!
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