Water damage costs STR hosts $15,000-30,000 per incident. Learn the documentation requirements, platform deadlines, and proof strategies to win your claim.

# Water Damage in Short-Term Rentals: How to Document, Prove, and Actually Get Reimbursed

Water damage is the most expensive type of damage you’ll deal with as a property manager. It’s also the hardest to get reimbursed for.

The average water damage claim runs around [$15,400](https://www.iii.org/media/facts/statsbyissue/homeowners/), but that’s across all homeowners. For short-term rentals specifically, Proper Insurance reports the [average sewer backup claim hit $18,000 in 2024](https://www.proper.insure/blog/which-claim-are-you-most-likely-to-encounter-as-a-host-in-2020/). And that’s before accounting for lost bookings.

Here’s the problem: insurers and platforms almost always ask the same question when you file a water damage claim. “Was this pre-existing?” Without documented proof of your property’s condition before the guest checked in, you’re going to have a hard time answering that.

## Types of Water Damage in STRs

Not all water damage is treated the same when it comes to claims. Understanding the categories helps you know what’s actually coverable.

**Guest-caused damage** is your best shot at reimbursement. This includes:

- Overflowed bathtubs or toilets left running

- Windows left open during rain

- Clogged drains from improper disposal

- Appliance misuse (dishwashers, washing machines)

**Maintenance failures** are trickier. A pipe that bursts suddenly might be covered. A pipe that’s been slowly leaking for weeks probably won’t be. [Standard home insurance typically excludes gradual leaks and maintenance-related water damage](https://www.kiplinger.com/personal-finance/home-insurance/surprising-things-home-insurance-doesnt-cover).

**Weather events** are generally excluded from platform protection entirely. [Airbnb’s Host Damage Protection explicitly doesn’t cover acts of nature](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2869) like hurricanes or flooding.

## Why Water Damage Claims Get Denied

Two main reasons water damage claims fail more often than other damage types:

### 1. The Timing Problem

Insurers and platforms need to know *when* the damage started. Was it during this guest’s stay, or has that water stain been growing under the flooring for three months?

This is the fundamental challenge. Water damage is often hidden. It seeps under flooring, behind walls, into subfloors. By the time you see visible damage, the actual water event might have happened days or weeks earlier.

Without timestamped documentation showing your property’s condition before each stay, proving the damage occurred during a specific guest’s booking is nearly impossible.

### 2. The Mold Trap

Here’s something a lot of hosts don’t realize: [Airbnb explicitly excludes mold, mildew, fungus, and spores from Host Damage Protection](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2869).

The [EPA recommends responding to water damage within 24-48 hours](https://www.epa.gov/mold/mold-remediation-schools-and-commercial-buildings-guide-chapter-3) to prevent mold growth. Once water damage becomes a mold problem, platform reimbursement may no longer be available, even if the original water event was clearly guest-caused.

Mold remediation costs [average around $2,364 but can hit $10,000-30,000 for whole-house situations](https://www.angi.com/articles/how-much-does-mold-remediation-service-cost.htm/). That’s a significant expense that might fall entirely on you if you don’t act fast.

## What Documentation You Actually Need

Airbnb’s Host Damage Protection terms spell out exactly what they want to see:

- **Time, cause, and origin** of the loss

- **Photos and videos** as proof

- **Complete inventory** of damaged items including make/model, purchase date, condition, and estimated repair/replace cost

- **Detailed repair estimates** for property damage

- **Receipts and supporting documents**

For water damage specifically, you need:

- **Baseline photos** showing the condition before the guest arrived

- **Discovery photos** showing the damage after checkout

- **Progression documentation** if damage is ongoing

- **Moisture readings** if you can get them

- **Professional assessment** from a restoration company

- **Repair estimates** from licensed contractors

The baseline is the critical piece. Without before photos that are clearly timestamped, you can’t prove the damage wasn’t already there.

This is exactly what we built RapidEye to solve. The platform automatically compares current inspection photos against your baseline, flagging changes and creating timestamped documentation you can actually use in claims. When you’re managing dozens or hundreds of properties, manually reviewing every photo from every turnover isn’t realistic. But that visual record is exactly what you need when a $20,000 water damage claim lands on your desk.

## Platform-Specific Deadlines

### Airbnb

- **14 days after checkout** to file a reimbursement request in the Resolution Center

- Guest has **24 hours to respond** before you can escalate

- [Airbnb may charge the guest’s payment method up to $500](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2857) and pursue other recovery for amounts beyond that

[Source: Airbnb Help Center](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/279/)

### Vrbo

- **14 days after checkout** to file a damage deposit claim

- Funds typically deposited within **3-7 business days** (up to the deposit amount)

- Keep all communication in Vrbo messaging for documentation

[Source: Vrbo Help Center](https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-file-a-damage-deposit-claim)

Both platforms give you two weeks. That sounds like plenty of time, but water damage has a way of revealing itself slowly. A small leak during a stay might not show visible damage until days later.

## The Insurance Claim Process

Platform protection has limits. For serious water damage, you’ll likely need to file with your STR insurance provider.

Key things insurers look for:

- **Sudden vs. gradual**: Sudden, accidental water damage is typically covered. Gradual leaks from deferred maintenance usually aren’t.

- **Mitigation efforts**: Did you act quickly to prevent further damage? Insurers can deny claims if you didn’t take reasonable steps to minimize the loss.

- **Documentation timeline**: When did you discover the damage? When did you report it? When did you start mitigation?

The industry uses standardized categories for water damage. The IICRC S500 standard defines three contamination categories and four classes of loss severity. Restoration companies use these classifications, and your insurance adjuster will too. Understanding that hidden moisture (Class 4) requires specialty drying helps explain why costs escalate quickly.

One sobering stat: [Weiss Ratings found that 42% of U.S. homeowners claims were closed without payment in 2024](https://weissratings.com/en/weiss-news/14-large-u-s-insurers-closed-nearly-half-of-homeowner-claims-with-no-payment-in-2024). You can do everything right and still face friction. Strong documentation is your best defense.

## Prevention and Early Detection

The best water damage claim is the one you never have to file.

**Between stays:**

- Check under sinks during every turnover

- Inspect around toilets, tubs, and appliances

- Look for water stains on ceilings (indicates issues above)

- Test water shutoff valves periodically

**Monitoring options:**

- Water leak sensors near appliances and water heaters

- Smart water shutoff valves that trigger automatically

- Humidity monitors in basements and bathrooms

**Documentation habits:**

- Photograph water-prone areas during every inspection

- Create a visual baseline you can compare against

- Review photos systematically, not just when something goes wrong

That last point is where most property managers fall short. You’re taking photos during turnovers, but is anyone actually looking at them? At scale, manual review just doesn’t happen. The photos sit in Breezeway or whatever system you use, unreviewed until there’s a problem. By then, you’re trying to dig through hundreds of images hoping you captured the right angle of the right area at the right time.

Water damage will happen eventually. The question is whether you’ll have the documentation to prove when it started and get reimbursed. Build your baseline now, before you need it.


Wear and Tear vs Damage on Luxury Vacation Rental Finishes

Where the line falls between normal wear and claimable damage on marble, hardwood, designer upholstery, and stainless steel in luxury vacation rentals.

# Wear and tear vs damage on luxury vacation rental finishes

Marble scratching, hardwood wear, designer upholstery pilling, stainless steel patina. Where's the line between normal use and a claimable incident?

## The line for each luxury finish

Each material has different wear patterns and different thresholds for what constitutes claimable damage. Here's the breakdown for the finishes most common in luxury vacation rentals.

- Light surface dulling from regular cleaning

- Minor water spotting from daily use

- Slight warmth variation near heat sources

- Acid etch rings from wine, citrus, or vinegar

- Chips or cracks from dropped objects

- Deep scratches from abrasive scrubbing

- Staining from oil, dye, or rust left overnight

- Surface scratches from foot traffic in high-use paths

- Finish fading from UV exposure near windows

- Light compression marks from heavy furniture

- Deep gouges from dragged furniture without pads

- Water damage from spills left unattended

- Pet claw scratches cutting past the finish

- Burn marks or chemical staining

- Missing or broken boards

- Cushion compression and softening from regular sitting

- Light fabric pilling on high-contact areas

- Slight color fading from UV exposure

- Food or beverage stains that weren't cleaned promptly

- Tears, rips, or snags in the fabric

- Pet hair embedded deep enough to require professional cleaning

- Ink, dye, or makeup marks

- Cigarette or candle burns

- Fingerprint marks and smudges from use

- Minor surface haze from cleaning products

- Dents from impact

- Deep scratches from abrasive pads or metal utensils

- Rust spots from leaving wet cast iron on surface

- Discoloration from harsh chemical cleaners

- Gradual grout discoloration from moisture

- Minor tile glaze dulling in shower areas

- Cracked or chipped tiles from dropped objects

- Grout damage from using abrasive tools

- Staining from hair dye or strong chemicals

- Missing caulk that a guest removed

- Slight loosening of hardware over time

- Minor finish wear on frequently opened drawers

- Broken hinges or ripped-off hardware

- Water damage to cabinet interiors from spills

- Deep scratches or gouges in wood finish

- Delamination from heat or moisture misuse

## Why the distinction is harder in luxury rentals

In a standard rental, wear vs damage is usually clear. Nobody disputes that a broken window is damage or that carpet flattening is wear. In luxury properties, the materials are more sensitive and the cost difference between "normal" and "claimable" can be thousands of dollars.

According to [Airbnb's Host Damage Protection Terms](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2869), "ordinary wear and tear" and "deterioration, rust, corrosion" are explicitly excluded. But when marble etching from a single wine glass left overnight costs $800 to fix, is that "ordinary wear" or a guest incident? The platform decides based on evidence. If you have a timestamped photo showing the countertop was pristine before the guest and etched after, it's damage. Without that comparison, it defaults to wear.

According to [Hospitable's analysis of Airbnb damage policy](https://hospitable.com/airbnb-damage-policy), "scuffed walls, faded furniture, and limescale buildup" are examples of wear that platforms won't cover. But in a luxury property with hand-painted wall finishes, "scuffed walls" could mean $2,000 in restoration. The material cost makes the classification consequential in a way it isn't for standard rentals.

**The practical rule:** if you can show the condition changed during a specific guest's stay with before-and-after photos, you have a damage claim. If the change accumulated gradually over many stays and you can't attribute it to one guest, it's wear. Baseline photo comparison at every turnover is what converts ambiguous "wear or damage?" situations into clear answers.

## Frequently asked questions

Can I claim for marble etching caused by a single guest?

Yes, if you have timestamped photos showing the marble was unetched before their stay and etched after. Acid etching from wine, citrus, or cleaning products is an incident, not wear. The key is the before-state photo proving the surface was undamaged when the guest arrived.

Is hardwood floor scratching from normal foot traffic claimable?

Light surface scratches from foot traffic are wear. Deep gouges from dragging furniture without felt pads are damage. According to Artisan Wood Floors, surface-level scratches from shoes or chairs scooting are wear, but scratches that cut past the finish into the wood are tenant-caused damage.

How do I prove upholstery damage wasn't pre-existing?

Photograph upholstered pieces at every turnover from the same angle. Focus on seat cushions, armrests, and the front edge. A stain that appears between turnovers is attributable. Gradual pilling over 50 stays is wear. The comparison between the two photo sets is the evidence.

Should I budget differently for wear on luxury finishes?

Yes. According to PriceLabs, the standard guideline is 5% of gross rental income for repairs. For luxury properties with marble, hardwood, and designer furniture, budget 6 to 8%. Marble needs re-sealing annually ($200 to $500 per counter). Hardwood needs refinishing every 3 to 5 years in high-traffic areas ($1,500 to $4,000 per room). Designer upholstery has a 5 to 7 year life in STR use versus 10 to 15 years in residential.

Does Airbnb cover gradual degradation of luxury materials?

No. Airbnb's Host Damage Protection explicitly excludes "ordinary wear and tear" and "deterioration." Gradual degradation, no matter how expensive, is the owner's maintenance responsibility. This makes proactive maintenance budgeting essential for luxury properties. The only way to recover costs is to catch specific incidents and attribute them to specific guests with evidence.

### Related reading

- [What Damage Gets Missed in Luxury Inspections](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/what-damage-gets-missed-luxury-vacation-rental-inspections/)

- [How to Document Damage for High-Value Claims](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-to-document-damage-high-value-vacation-rental-claims/)

- [How to Prove Which Guest Caused the Damage](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-to-prove-which-guest-damaged-luxury-vacation-rental/)

- [Wear and Tear vs Damage Assessment Tool](https://rapideyeinspections.com/tools/wear-and-tear-vs-damage/)

### Sources

- [Host Damage Protection Terms](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2869) - Airbnb Help Centerhttps://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2869

- [Airbnb Damage Policy: Everything Hosts Should Know](https://hospitable.com/airbnb-damage-policy) - Hospitablehttps://hospitable.com/airbnb-damage-policy

- [What Is and Isn't Considered Normal Wear and Tear on Hardwood Floors](https://artisanwoodfloorsllc.com/hardwood-flooring-blog/what-is-and-isnt-considered-normal-wear-and-tear-on-your-rentals-hardwood-floor/) - Artisan Wood Floorshttps://artisanwoodfloorsllc.com/hardwood-flooring-blog/what-is-and-isnt-considered-normal-wear-and-tear-on-your-rentals-hardwood-floor/


11am is the standard vacation rental checkout time. Airbnb defaults to 11am if no time is set. Earlier checkouts (10am) give more turnover buffer but risk lower guest satisfaction.

# What Checkout Time Should Vacation Rentals Use?

## The tradeoff

According to [Rental Recon](https://www.rentalrecon.com/host-advice-and-ideas/what-is-a-typical-airbnb-check-out-time/), most hosts choose a checkout time of 11am or later. If no time is specified, Airbnb assumes 11am. For weekday guests, a 10am checkout is often acceptable since they tend to be up early. Weekend guests generally prefer the later time.

| Checkout Time | Turnover Window (3pm check-in) | Best For |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 10:00 AM | 5 hours | Large properties (3BR+), back-to-back bookings, properties far from cleaner base |
| 11:00 AM | 4 hours | Most properties, standard turnovers, guest-friendly default |
| 12:00 PM | 3 hours | Small units (studio/1BR) with fast turnovers, low-season flexibility |

## Why it matters for operations

The checkout time directly determines your turnover window. With a 3pm or 4pm check-in and an 11am checkout, your cleaning team has 4 to 5 hours. For a 2-bedroom property that takes 3.5 to 4.5 hours to clean (according to [CleanBnB](https://getcleanbnb.com/blog/how-long-should-it-take-an-airbnb-cleaner-to-clean/)), that is cutting it close on a same-day turnover.

A 10am checkout buys you an extra hour, which can be the difference between a comfortable turnover and a scramble. According to [iGMS](https://www.igms.com/vacation-rental-check-out-instructions/), clear checkout instructions with specific departure times reduce late checkouts and the cascading delays they cause.

## Late checkouts

Some operators offer paid late checkouts (12pm or 1pm) as an upsell when there is no same-day arrival. This generates incremental revenue without operational risk. When there is a same-day turnover, late checkout is not an option, and having a firm, clearly communicated time is critical.

### Related

## Sources

- Rental Recon. [What Is a Typical Airbnb Check Out Time?](https://www.rentalrecon.com/host-advice-and-ideas/what-is-a-typical-airbnb-check-out-time/)

- CleanBnB. [How Long Should It Take an Airbnb Cleaner to Clean?](https://getcleanbnb.com/blog/how-long-should-it-take-an-airbnb-cleaner-to-clean/)

- iGMS. [What to Include in Vacation Rental Check Out Instructions](https://www.igms.com/vacation-rental-check-out-instructions/)


What Damage Gets Missed in Luxury Vacation Rental Inspections

The specific types of damage that cleaners and inspectors routinely miss in luxury vacation rentals. Room-by-room breakdown with repair costs and why each gets overlooked.

# What damage gets missed in luxury vacation rental inspections

Cleaners check that the property is guest-ready. Inspectors check that it meets standards. Neither is looking for the subtle, gradual, or hidden damage that costs luxury property owners thousands.

## The damage nobody catches, by area

According to [Breezeway's analysis of over 300,000 reported issues](https://www.breezeway.io/blog/top-vacation-rental-issues), kitchens, bathrooms, and hot tubs are the top problem areas in vacation rentals. But in luxury properties, the highest-cost misses happen in areas standard inspections don't cover.

## Three reasons damage slips through

**Cleaners optimize for cleanliness, not condition.** A cleaning team's job is to make the property guest-ready: beds made, surfaces clean, trash removed, supplies stocked. They're checking whether the property is clean, not whether it's damaged. A marble countertop with a new etch mark that's been wiped clean passes a cleaning inspection. A wine fridge with a scratched panel that's been polished passes too. The damage is there, but it's not what they're trained to see.

**Inspectors check against a list, not a baseline.** When a property does have a dedicated inspector, they work from a checklist: smoke detectors present, linens correct, amenities stocked. They verify the property meets a standard. But they don't compare it to how it looked last week. Without a visual baseline, gradual damage is invisible. The hardwood floor looks fine today because it looked almost the same yesterday. It's only when you compare today's photo to a photo from three months ago that the wear pattern becomes obvious.

**Luxury properties have too many surfaces to notice.** According to the [Wander 2026 study](https://www.wander.com/article/why-vacation-rentals-disappoint), 52% of travelers experienced trip disruption due to rental issues, and 31% reported maintenance problems. These issues exist in properties that were inspected before the guest arrived. In a 5,000 sq ft luxury home with hundreds of surfaces, fixtures, and items, the probability of a human noticing a new scratch, stain, or shift on every one of them is effectively zero.

### The gap between checking and comparing

A checklist tells you whether a property meets a standard right now. A baseline comparison tells you whether the property has changed since the last turnover. Most damage that gets missed in luxury inspections would be caught by a comparison system, because the damage is visible in photos even when it's not obvious to a person walking through 15 rooms in 10 minutes.

## The damage you can't see yet

Some damage in luxury properties isn't visible at all during a standard inspection because it's developing behind surfaces or below the threshold of human perception.

**Water intrusion behind tile and stone.** Luxury bathrooms with stone tile, steam showers, and multiple fixtures create many potential points of water intrusion. According to [Minut](https://www.minut.com/blog/vacation-rental-water-damage-costs-prevention), water damage and freezing account for nearly one in five of all home insurance claims, costing U.S. property owners over $13 billion annually. Mold begins growing in 24 to 48 hours of moisture exposure. In a luxury bathroom that gets used by different guests 3 to 4 times per week, a small grout failure can become a $10,000 mold remediation project before anyone notices.

**HVAC strain from guest behavior.** Guests leave doors open, adjust thermostats to extremes, and create humidity patterns different from owner occupancy. The HVAC system works harder, filters clog faster, and efficiency drops. None of this is visible during a turnover inspection, but it translates to premature system failure. A luxury home's HVAC system can cost $15,000 to $40,000 to replace.

**Appliance wear beyond surface condition.** According to [InspectorPro Insurance](https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com/specialty-homes/vacation-rental-inspection-tips-and-practices/), vacation rental appliances experience significantly more stress than residential use. Guests run dishwashers and washing machines more frequently and with heavier loads. The appliance looks fine during a visual inspection, but internal components are degrading faster than the maintenance schedule accounts for.

## Frequently asked questions

How often should luxury vacation rentals get a deep inspection?

Beyond turnover-level photo documentation at every stay, luxury properties benefit from a comprehensive deep inspection quarterly. This should include mechanical systems (HVAC, plumbing, pool equipment), structural elements (deck condition, exterior), and a detailed comparison of all surfaces and finishes against the original baseline. Items like grout condition, stone finish, and appliance performance degrade on a timeline measured in months, not days.

What's the difference between damage and normal wear in a luxury rental?

Normal wear is gradual deterioration from expected use: slight fabric pilling from sitting, minor floor finish wear in traffic paths, paint fading from UV exposure. Damage is a specific incident: a stain from a spill, a scratch from dragging furniture, a chip from dropping something. The distinction matters for claims, but both represent condition changes that should be tracked. In luxury properties, even "normal" wear can cost thousands to remediate and should be budgeted for proactively.

Can a checklist catch the damage described in this article?

A checklist can catch binary issues (broken/not broken, present/missing) but struggles with gradual condition changes. A checklist item "kitchen countertop in good condition" will pass every time because the change from one turnover to the next is imperceptible. Only a comparison between photos taken weeks or months apart reveals the cumulative degradation. Checklists and photo comparison serve different purposes and both are needed.

Who is responsible for catching hidden damage like slow leaks?

Hidden damage like water intrusion and HVAC strain falls outside the scope of turnover cleaning and inspection. It requires scheduled maintenance checks by qualified technicians. The best approach combines regular photo documentation (catches visible surface changes) with quarterly mechanical inspections (catches hidden system issues). For water specifically, leak detection sensors under sinks and near water heaters provide early warning at minimal cost.

### Related reading

- [How to Get Cleaners to Report Damage in Luxury Homes](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-to-get-cleaners-report-damage-luxury-rentals/)

- [How Many Photos Per Turnover for a Luxury Rental](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-many-photos-per-turnover-luxury-vacation-rental/)

- [How to Prove Which Guest Damaged a Luxury Rental](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-to-prove-which-guest-damaged-luxury-vacation-rental/)

- [Damage Detection for Luxury Short-Term Rentals](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/damage-detection-luxury-short-term-rentals/)

- [Vacation Rental Damage Detection Methods](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/vacation-rental-damage-detection-methods/)

### Sources

- [We Analyzed Over 300,000 Issues in Vacation Rentals](https://www.breezeway.io/blog/top-vacation-rental-issues) - Breezeway
 https://www.breezeway.io/blog/top-vacation-rental-issues

- [More Than 50% of Vacation Rentals Leave Guests Disappointed](https://www.wander.com/article/why-vacation-rentals-disappoint) - Wander (2026)
 https://www.wander.com/article/why-vacation-rentals-disappoint

- [The Hidden Cost of Water Damage in Short-Term Rentals](https://www.minut.com/blog/vacation-rental-water-damage-costs-prevention) - Minut
 https://www.minut.com/blog/vacation-rental-water-damage-costs-prevention

- [4 Tips for Vacation Rental Inspections](https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com/specialty-homes/vacation-rental-inspection-tips-and-practices/) - InspectorPro Insurance
 https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com/specialty-homes/vacation-rental-inspection-tips-and-practices/


What Happened to Transparent (the Short-Term Rental Data Company)?

Transparent, the Madrid-based short-term rental data company, was acquired by OTA Insight in March 2022 and rebranded as Lighthouse in October 2023. The seetransparent.com domain now redirects to mylighthouse.com. Here is the full timeline.

# What happened to Transparent (seetransparent.com)?

If you've gone looking for the Madrid-based short-term rental data company and ended up on a different brand entirely, this is the explanation, with sources.

**Transparent was acquired by OTA Insight in March 2022.** In October 2023, OTA Insight rebranded the combined company as Lighthouse. The seetransparent.com domain now redirects to mylighthouse.com. The Transparent dataset and team still exist, but as part of Lighthouse's unified hotel-and-short-term-rental platform.

## The full timeline

Transparent founded in Madrid

According to the company's own materials, Transparent was founded in 2016 and built up to aggregating data on "more than 35 million" short-term rental listings from sources including Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and industry partners, both proprietary and public.

OTA Insight acquires Transparent

Belgium-based hotel-revenue-management data company OTA Insight buys Transparent. The press release describes the combined entity as "the world's first cloud-based commercial platform to serve both hotel and short-term rental industries." Skift covered the deal that same week.

OTA Insight rebrands as Lighthouse

The company consolidates multiple products and acquired companies (Transparent, Kriya RevGen) under one Lighthouse brand on a unified commercial platform. Short Term Rentalz and HFTP both reported the rebrand. The Transparent.com / seetransparent.com properties begin redirecting to mylighthouse.com.

Transparent data integrated into Lighthouse

The Transparent feed is now part of Lighthouse's offering rather than sold as a standalone product. According to Lighthouse's site, the combined platform tracks "1.7 billion" hotel rates daily across "185+" countries and is used by "80,000+ hotels," with Transparent's STR listings layered in.

## What that means if you were trying to cite Transparent

Most stats that were once published under the Transparent brand (listing counts by city, professionalisation rates, average daily rates) are now produced under the Lighthouse brand. When you find a 2020-2023 news article citing Transparent, you should generally cite the original article as published rather than retrofit the name. For new citations as of 2026, "Lighthouse, formerly Transparent" or simply "Lighthouse" is the accurate attribution. The underlying methodology (aggregation of Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com listings) has not been publicly described as changing.

## Why this consolidation happened

Hotel revenue-management and short-term-rental data used to be cleanly separate industries. As big property management companies began running both hotels and vacation rentals through the same revenue desks (and as STR supply professionalised), the buyers wanted both feeds in one place. OTA Insight's acquisition of Transparent was the most explicit move in that direction. The Lighthouse rebrand a year and a half later finished the integration story.

## The other related fact people search

Transparent.com (without "see") had at times redirected through different properties during the integration. As of May 2026, both [mylighthouse.com](https://www.mylighthouse.com/) and the legacy Transparent properties resolve to Lighthouse. If you find a third-party reference to "Transparent Intelligence" on LinkedIn or in older articles, that is the same entity.

### Related verified answers

- [Did Deckard Technologies acquire AllTheRooms?](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/did-deckard-acquire-alltherooms/)

- [Who owns AirDNA?](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/who-owns-airdna/)

- [Did AirDNA acquire Rabbu?](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/did-airdna-acquire-rabbu/)

- [AirDNA vs Key Data Dashboard: methodology comparison](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/airdna-vs-key-data-dashboard-methodology/)

### Sources

- [Lighthouse acquires Transparent to better serve short-term rentals](https://www.mylighthouse.com/resources/blog/lighthouse-acquires-transparent) - Lighthouse (acquisition announcement)https://www.mylighthouse.com/resources/blog/lighthouse-acquires-transparent

- [OTA Insight Buys Transparent to Offer Both Hotel and Vacation Rental Data](https://skift.com/2022/03/10/ota-insight-buys-transparent-to-offer-both-hotel-and-vacation-rental-data/) - Skift, March 10, 2022https://skift.com/2022/03/10/ota-insight-buys-transparent-to-offer-both-hotel-and-vacation-rental-data/

- [OTA Insight acquires Transparent to form the world's first cloud-based commercial platform](https://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4109377.html) - Hospitality Nethttps://www.hospitalitynet.org/news/4109377.html

- [OTA Insight rebrands as Lighthouse](https://shorttermrentalz.com/news/lighthouse-rebrand-ota-insight/) - Short Term Rentalz (October 2023 rebrand)https://shorttermrentalz.com/news/lighthouse-rebrand-ota-insight/

- [OTA Insight Rebrands as Lighthouse](https://www.hftp.org/news/4118913/ota-insight-rebrands-as-lighthouse-to-illuminate-new-capabilities-and-launch-of-a-unified-commercial-platform) - HFTPhttps://www.hftp.org/news/4118913/

- [Lighthouse company site](https://www.mylighthouse.com/) - mylighthouse.com (current platform scope)https://www.mylighthouse.com/

Last verified: May 13, 2026. Transparent and Lighthouse refer to the same company under different names at different points in time.


What Happens When a Guest Gets Injured at Your Vacation Rental

When a guest is hurt at your short-term rental, premises liability, platform coverage, and your own policy all collide. An operator's guide to your real exposure and what reduces it.

# What happens when a guest gets injured at your vacation rental

A slip on a wet deck, a fall from a loose railing, a cut from broken glass. Here is your real exposure as an operator, what platform coverage actually does, and what reduces the risk.

## Are you actually liable? The duty-of-care test

Liability for a guest injury is not automatic. Under premises liability law, a host owes guests a duty of care to keep the property reasonably safe and to warn of known dangers. Whether you are on the hook usually comes down to three questions a court would walk through.

### Was there a dangerous condition?

A loose railing, a broken stair, a faulty lock, inadequate lighting, a slippery surface, an unsecured pool or hot tub. A genuine hazard has to exist. A guest who trips over their own suitcase has no claim against you.

### Did you know, or should you have known?

This is the heart of it. You are generally liable for hazards you knew about or that a reasonable inspection would have caught before the guest arrived. "I didn't know the railing was loose" is not a defense if a routine turnover check would have found it. This is exactly where documentation decides the outcome.

### Did the guest contribute to their own injury?

Comparative fault matters. Personal injury attorneys note that a guest hurt through their own recklessness, intoxication, or ignoring posted warnings may recover little or nothing. A signed waiver helps set expectations, but it does not erase a genuine negligence claim. You cannot waive your way out of a hazard you created.

### The waiver myth

Many operators believe a rental agreement waiver or a "use at your own risk" sign immunizes them. It does not. Negligence generally cannot be waived: a waiver may support your defense and set expectations, but it will not bar a guest from suing over a hazard you should have fixed. Treat waivers as one layer, not a shield, and never let a signed form become a substitute for actually maintaining and documenting a safe property.

## What actually covers the claim

If you are found liable, four different sources of money might be in play, and they are not interchangeable. The most common and most dangerous mistake is assuming your homeowners policy has you covered. It almost certainly does not.

| Source | Guest-injury coverage | The catch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Airbnb AirCover | $1M, free and automatic on Airbnb stays | Covers your liability to the guest, not your own property; excludes intentional acts; nonexistent for off-platform bookings |
| Vrbo $1M Liability | $1M per occurrence plus $5,000 medical payments, automatic on Vrbo checkout | A 25% deductible applies if you carry no liability policy of your own; meant to sit alongside, not replace, real insurance |
| Your STR / commercial policy | Whatever limit you buy; the only coverage you fully control | You have to actually carry it; the platform programs are not a substitute |
| Homeowners policy | Typically none for rental guests | Excludes business activity; an insurer can deny the claim and even cancel your policy once it learns you rent short-term |

According to Airbnb, Host liability insurance under AirCover provides $1 million in coverage if you are found legally responsible for a guest getting hurt, free and automatic, but it does not insure damage to your own property and excludes injury done intentionally. According to Vrbo's $1M Liability Insurance program, administered by Generali, coverage runs up to $1 million per occurrence plus $5,000 in medical payments, applies automatically on online checkout, and carries a 25% deductible if you have no liability policy of your own. The gap both leave: bookings taken off-platform, and operators who assume these backstops replace a real policy.

## The homeowners-policy trap

This is the costliest misunderstanding in short-term rental operations. According to [Proper Insurance](https://www.proper.insure/blog/does-homeowners-cover-short-term-rentals/), standard homeowners policies contain a business-activity exclusion, and renting to paying guests is a business activity. That exclusion gives the insurer the right to deny a claim, even a routine fire or storm claim, the moment it discovers the home is being rented short-term, and in many cases to cancel the policy outright.

So an operator who relies on a homeowners policy can face a guest-injury lawsuit with no coverage at all, and then lose their property coverage on top of it. The fix is a dedicated short-term rental or commercial liability policy written for paying guests. The platform programs are a backstop on top of that, not a replacement for it. For a fuller breakdown, see our guide on [what short-term rental insurance actually covers](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-to-choose-str-insurance-what-policy-actually-covers/).

## Where guests actually get hurt

The injury claims operators see most are not freak accidents. They cluster around a handful of predictable hazards, almost all of which a consistent turnover inspection can catch before a guest ever arrives.

#### Slips and falls

Wet decks and bathrooms, loose rugs, uneven thresholds, and poorly lit steps. The single most common injury claim category.

#### Stairs and railings

Loose or low railings, broken treads, and missing handrails on decks and staircases. High-severity falls live here.

#### Pools and hot tubs

Drowning, slips on wet surrounds, unsecured covers, and chemical or electrical hazards. Often the highest-dollar claims.

#### Burns and fire

Faulty wiring, unguarded fireplaces and fire pits, scalding water, and grills. Compounds fast where smoke and CO alarms are missing.

#### Faulty locks and security

Broken locks, malfunctioning gates, and inadequate exterior lighting can support both injury and negligent-security claims.

#### Missing safety equipment

No working smoke or CO detector, no fire extinguisher, no GFCI outlets near water. Absence of required equipment is itself evidence of negligence.

### Liability is a documentation problem before it is a legal one

Notice what every step of the duty-of-care test depends on: whether you knew or should have known about a hazard, and whether the property was safe when the guest arrived. Both are questions of evidence. An operation that documents the condition of every property at every turnover does two things at once: it catches the loose railing or unsecured hot tub cover before a guest is hurt, and it creates a dated record that the property was safe when you handed it over.

## Frequently asked questions

Possibly. Under premises liability law, a host owes guests a duty of care to keep the property reasonably safe and to warn of known hazards. You are generally liable when an injury is caused by a dangerous condition that existed when the guest arrived and that you knew about or reasonably should have caught, such as a loose railing, broken stair, or faulty lock. You are generally not liable when the guest was injured through their own recklessness. Liability turns on whether you met your duty of care, which is why documentation of the property's condition matters so much.

Yes, within limits. According to Airbnb, AirCover for Hosts includes Host liability insurance providing $1 million in coverage if you are found legally responsible for a guest being hurt, and it is free and automatic on Airbnb stays. But it covers your liability to the guest, not damage to your own property, and it excludes injury resulting from something done intentionally. It is a backstop, not a complete risk strategy, and it does not exist for guests who book off-platform.

Usually not. According to short-term rental insurer Proper Insurance, standard homeowners policies exclude business activity, and renting to paying guests is a business activity. An insurer can deny a claim, even a routine fire or storm claim, once it learns the home is being rented short-term without the right coverage, and may cancel the policy entirely. Operators generally need a dedicated short-term rental or commercial policy, not a homeowners policy, to be protected against a guest-injury claim.

Carry a real short-term rental liability policy rather than relying on a homeowners policy or platform coverage alone, fix and document hazards before every stay, and keep a dated record of the property's condition at each turnover. Premises liability turns on whether you met your duty of care. A consistent turnover process that catches loose railings, wet-floor risks, broken stairs, and missing safety equipment, and documents that the property was safe when the guest arrived, both prevents injuries and creates the evidence you would need to defend a claim.

### Sources

This article is general information for vacation rental operators, not legal or insurance advice. Premises liability law varies by state and policy terms vary by carrier. Consult a licensed attorney and insurance professional for your specific situation.

### Related reading

#### Vacation Rental Hot Tub Safety: What Managers Are Liable For

The single highest-risk amenity, with case law and state regulations.

#### Safety Hazards Your Inspectors Are Missing

The structural and fire-safety issues that slip past visual checks.

#### How to Choose STR Insurance: What a Policy Actually Covers

Reading the fine print on liability, property, and platform coverage.

#### The Amenities Inspectors Mark "Present" but Never Confirm Work

Why presence is not function, and how that becomes a safety gap.


What Is Damage Recovery Rate? (Vacation Rental Claims Math)

Damage Recovery Rate is the percentage of detected damage you successfully bill or claim. Airbnb claims approve at 56.75%, Vrbo at 68.29% per a 20,000+ booking Avada Properties analysis. What moves the rate up and what kills it.

# What Is Damage Recovery Rate? Why Detection Isn't Enough

**Damage Recovery Rate is the percentage of detected damage you actually get paid for.** A portfolio can be excellent at catching damage and still leave most of it on the table through late filing, thin documentation, or wear-and-tear misclassification. According to an [Avada Properties analysis of 20,000+ bookings](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/average-guest-damage-cost-vacation-rental/), Airbnb AirCover claims are approved at 56.75 percent and Vrbo claims at 68.29 percent on average. Elite operators exceed 80 percent through systematic documentation. Detection is the first gate; recovery is where margin lives.

Airbnb AirCover

56.75%

Platform average approval rate on filed damage claims. Coverage capped at $3 million per booking.

Vrbo damage policy

68.29%

Higher approval rate than Airbnb. Routes through a security-deposit model, not a platform guarantee.

Elite operators

80%+

Achievable with baseline photos, same-day filing, and professional-letterhead invoices.

## The five-stage recovery funnel

Recovery Rate is the end of a sequence that starts at damage detection and ends at dollars in the bank. Drop-off happens at every stage, and the compounding effect is why raw detection improvement alone rarely moves total recovery much. Each stage has its own leverage point.

## What moves recovery up, what kills it

Four of the five most common rejection reasons documented on our [AirCover claim guide](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/airbnb-aircover-damage-claim-guide/) are documentation-side, not damage-side. That means recovery is an ops problem to solve, not a platform problem to accept.

### What elite operators do

- Baseline photos on every property, refreshed quarterly

- Same-day filing, not end-of-week batches

- Replacement-cost research cited with the claim (links to retailer pricing)

- Professional invoices on company letterhead for any repair or replacement

- Incident report stating root cause (guest behavior, vs. normal use)

- Appeal on every denied claim — reversal rates are material

### Where claims die

- Missed 14-day filing window — single most common denial reason

- No baseline photo to prove pre-existing condition vs. new damage

- Damage classified as normal wear and tear by reviewer

- Invoices without company letterhead or lacking professional branding

- Insufficient incident documentation on mid-to-high value claims

- Giving up on first denial instead of escalating

## Frequently asked questions

### How do you calculate Damage Recovery Rate at a portfolio level?

Sum dollars successfully billed or approved in the period. Divide by dollars of damage detected and filed in the period. Multiply by 100. Track rolling 90-day because claim outcomes often take 30 to 60 days to finalize, and a 30-day window will be noisy. Segment by platform (Airbnb, Vrbo, direct) because approval rates differ meaningfully by platform.

### Should recovery include out-of-pocket billing to guests?

Yes. Out-of-pocket billing (security deposits on direct bookings, damage waivers, or direct guest invoices) is recovery. The metric tracks dollars returned to the operator, regardless of which channel paid. Segmenting platform vs out-of-pocket is useful for ops review but the top-line Recovery Rate includes both.

### What's the difference between AirCover approval and actual payout?

Approval is the platform's decision that the claim is valid. Payout is the dollar amount after depreciation and any reviewer adjustments. A $1,200 replacement claim can be approved and pay out $700 because the item was 4 years old and the reviewer applied a standard depreciation schedule. Track both: approval rate tells you about documentation quality; payout ratio tells you about replacement-cost citation and depreciation assumptions.

### Does damage waiver coverage count toward Recovery Rate?

Yes, when a damage is successfully attributed and the waiver triggers. If the waiver pays automatically regardless of attribution, it's more like an insurance premium the guest paid at booking and less like recovery. Most operators track "recovered dollars" (platform + direct + waiver) together in the numerator, which is fine as long as the definition stays consistent month to month.

## Related ops references

Hub page

Vacation rental operational KPIs: the ops scorecard for 100+ unit portfolios

Claim guide

Airbnb AirCover damage claim guide: how to file, what wins, what loses

Denials

Why STR damage claims get denied

## Sources

- [Avada Properties analysis of 20,000+ bookings (as cited in our guest-damage-frequency reference)](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/average-guest-damage-cost-vacation-rental/)
Airbnb 0.71% / 56.75% approval, Vrbo 0.43% / 68.29% approval

- [Airbnb Help Center — Host Damage Protection Terms ($3M coverage, 14-day / 30-day windows)](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2869)
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2869

- [Vrbo Help Center — How do I file a damage deposit claim?](https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-file-a-damage-deposit-claim)
https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-file-a-damage-deposit-claim


A healthy vacation rental portfolio runs an Inspection Pass Rate of 90%+ on the first inspection, 95%+ is elite, and below 85% means the cleaning process needs upstream fixes, not more inspections. Thresholds and benchmarks.

# What Is a Good Inspection Pass Rate for Vacation Rentals?

**A healthy vacation rental portfolio runs a first-pass Inspection Pass Rate of 90 percent or higher.** Elite operators run above 95 percent. Below 85 percent, the fix is almost always upstream in cleaner onboarding or checklist design, not downstream in more inspections. The rate is computed as turnovers passing first QC divided by total inspected turnovers, measured on a 30-day rolling window per cleaner and per property.

First-pass Inspection Pass Rate

### Broken

Cleaning or checklist process has systematic gaps. Adding inspections won't fix the cause; retrain the cleaning team or rebuild the checklist.

### Healthy

Fewer than 1 in 10 turnovers require rework. Maintain current inspection coverage and track trends per cleaner to prevent drift.

### Elite

Cleaner earned trust. Inspection frequency can drop to a 25–30% random spot-check. Same threshold used in industrial quality control.

## What counts as a "pass"?

The metric is only useful if "pass" and "fail" mean the same thing across cleaners, properties, and inspectors. Locking a pass definition is the first prerequisite. A turnover passes first-inspection QC when every item below is true.

### Pass criteria checklist

- All required photos per the property checklist have been submitted.

- No guest belongings, damage, or hazards visible in the photos or on site.

- Linen, consumables, and welcome supplies are in place at the stocked quantity.

- No unresolved maintenance flag raised during turnover (burnt bulbs, low batteries, HVAC, plumbing).

- No open QA note from the inspector requiring cleaner re-entry.

One failed item is one failed turnover. Partial credit breaks the metric. Inspectors should be trained to mark fail on any single-item gap and log what specifically failed so the data rolls up cleanly per cleaner.

## Why more inspections don't fix a low pass rate

The single most common mistake at 50–100 unit portfolios is to respond to a low Inspection Pass Rate by inspecting more. It doesn't work. Inspection is a detection tool, not a prevention tool. A pass rate stuck at 78 percent is not an inspection problem; it's a cleaning problem that the inspection is correctly surfacing.

### Downstream: more inspections

Add an inspector. Require 100 percent inspection. Schedule second passes.

- Catches more failures (symptom)

- Pass rate does not move

- Inspector capacity burns out

- Turnover windows get tighter

### Upstream: cleaner onboarding

Rebuild the checklist with reference photos per task. Retrain any cleaner scoring below 85 percent. Standardize room order.

- Addresses the cause

- Pass rate moves 5–10 points in 30 days

- Reduces inspector load as rate recovers

- Compounds across portfolio

## When a cleaner earns reduced inspection frequency

Once a cleaner runs a rolling 30-day pass rate of 95 percent or above, inspection frequency can drop to a 25 to 30 percent random spot-check. The 25 to 30 percent rate is not arbitrary. Research protocols from [J-PAL](https://www.povertyactionlab.org/) recommend spot-checking at least 15 percent for survey-level quality control, and the ISO 2859-1 acceptance sampling standard uses the same principle: inspect heavily until quality is proven, reduce frequency once the data justifies trust, and increase again when problems surface. Vacation rental operators run higher than J-PAL's floor because the cost of a miss is a permanent guest review, not a revisable survey answer.

Three exceptions always get full inspection, regardless of cleaner score: high-revenue properties where a single bad review costs more in booking loss, turnovers following guest complaints from the prior stay, and cleans performed by substitute or new cleaners. The rest of the rotation can sit on spot-check once the pass rate proves it.

This structure is covered end to end in our [QC scaling framework for 50 to 200+ unit portfolios](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-to-scale-vacation-rental-quality-control/).

## Frequently asked questions

### How is Inspection Pass Rate different from Ops Failure Rate?

Inspection Pass Rate is a pre-arrival cleaning-quality metric: did the turnover pass QC before the guest arrived? [Ops Failure Rate](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/what-is-ops-failure-rate-short-term-rentals/) is broader: it also counts missed maintenance, missed supplies, damage missed during turnover, and guest-reported issues in the first 24 hours. A turnover can pass inspection and still log an ops failure if the guest reports an issue after check-in.

### What is the industry-average Inspection Pass Rate?

There is no single published industry average for first-pass Inspection Pass Rate because most operators don't publish it. Based on portfolio data across professional operators at 50+ units, new ops organizations typically start at 75 to 82 percent, mature at 88 to 92 percent, and hit 95%+ only with standardized onboarding plus reference-photo checklists plus rolling per-cleaner scorecards. According to [Breezeway](https://www.breezeway.io/) survey data, over 70 percent of professional vacation rental operators plan to inspect every property before arrival, so the denominator (inspected turnovers) is usually near-total.

### Should I separate Inspection Pass Rate by cleaner, by property, or both?

Both. Per-cleaner is how you decide when to retrain or reduce frequency. Per-property is how you find problem units that are failing regardless of cleaner, which usually means a checklist issue or a property-specific quirk (hard-to-reach dust traps, complex appliances, feature drift).

### Can photo review replace on-site inspection?

For a majority of turnovers, yes. Photo-based review captures cleanliness, staging, and most visible damage at a fraction of the labor cost of an on-site inspection. On-site inspection still matters for high-revenue properties, post-complaint turnovers, and first-time cleans. Photo-based workflows with automated damage detection are how operators at 100+ units keep first-pass rates above 90 percent without a linear growth in inspector headcount.

## Related ops references

Hub page

Vacation rental operational KPIs: the ops scorecard for 100+ unit portfolios

Sibling metric

What is Ops Failure Rate for short-term rentals?

QC framework

How to scale vacation rental quality control (50 to 200+ units)

## Sources

- [J-PAL (Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab), research protocols on spot-check sampling rates](https://www.povertyactionlab.org/)
https://www.povertyactionlab.org/

- [Breezeway, survey data on inspection coverage across professional STR operators](https://www.breezeway.io/)
https://www.breezeway.io/

- ISO 2859-1 acceptance sampling standard — industrial quality-control basis for tightened, normal, and reduced inspection levels.


What's a Good Re-Clean Rate for Vacation Rentals?

A healthy vacation rental re-clean rate is under 5%, with 2 to 3% best-in-class and anything above 10% a red flag. The benchmark tiers, why the number doubles as a cost figure, and how to drive it down.

# What's a Good **Re-Clean Rate** for Vacation Rentals?

**A healthy re-clean rate is under 5%. Best-in-class operators run 2 to 3%, and anything sustained above 10% is a red flag.** Re-clean rate is the share of turnovers that fail inspection and get sent back for rework before a guest arrives. It is one number that doubles as a cost figure and an early warning.

According to RapidEye's operational benchmarks, re-clean rate belongs in the same tier system as the metrics we track across [portfolio KPIs](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/vacation-rental-operational-kpis/). The reason it deserves its own number is that it is the cheapest quality signal you have: it catches problems before the guest, while they still cost you a redo instead of a review.

## The benchmark, by tier

These tiers line up with the broader operational-failure benchmarks we have documented: per our [ops failure rate analysis](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/what-is-ops-failure-rate-short-term-rentals/), the industry average for operational failures runs around 12.5%, the professional target is below 5%, and best-in-class operators hold 2 to 3%. Re-cleans are a specific, controllable slice of that, so the same tiers apply.

## The number is also your cost

A re-clean means paying for that turnover twice: the original clean plus the redo. So your re-clean rate is, almost exactly, the percentage you are adding to your cleaning bill. That makes the cost of slipping from good to mediocre easy to see.

| Re-clean rate | What it costs you |
| --- | --- |
| 2–3% (best in class) | ~2–3% added to cleaning spend |
| 5% (good) | ~5% added to cleaning spend |
| 10% (acceptable ceiling) | ~10% added, plus schedule risk on back-to-backs |
| 15%+ (red flag) | ~15%+ added, and re-cleans start blowing turnover windows |

And the dollar cost is the smaller problem. Every re-clean is a turnover that was about to ship dirty. The ones you catch cost you a redo; the ones you miss cost you a cleanliness complaint, a lower [cleanliness rating](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/airbnb-star-rating-impact-on-bookings/), and a booking. That is why re-clean rate is the best leading indicator of the cleanliness problems covered in [reducing cleanliness complaints](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-to-reduce-cleanliness-complaints-vacation-rental/).

## How to drive it down

A high re-clean rate is almost never a "lazy cleaner" problem. It is an unclear-standard problem. The fix is upstream: standardize the checklist and the photo requirements so guest-ready means the same thing to everyone, give new cleaners closer oversight until their personal rate settles, and root-cause your repeat failures by category instead of treating each re-clean as a one-off. Measuring the rate [per cleaner](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-many-cleaners-per-supervisor-vacation-rental/), not just portfolio-wide, is what turns "our quality slipped" into "this cleaner's rate doubled," which is something you can act on.

You cannot lower a re-clean rate you are not measuring, and most operators only catch the re-cleans an inspector happened to look at. **RapidEye reviews the turnover photos and video from every clean**, so every miss is flagged the same day and every cleaner gets a real, per-person re-clean rate, instead of a portfolio average that hides the outliers. That is how you move from a 10% guess to a 3% number you can prove. [Start a free trial](https://rapideyeinspections.com/#contact).

## FAQ

Related

## Sources

- RapidEye. [What Is Ops Failure Rate for Short-Term Rentals?](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/what-is-ops-failure-rate-short-term-rentals/) Operational-failure benchmark tiers: industry average ~12.5%, professional target below 5%, best-in-class 2 to 3%.https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/what-is-ops-failure-rate-short-term-rentals/

- RapidEye. [Vacation Rental Operational KPIs](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/vacation-rental-operational-kpis/). Re-clean rate as a tracked quality metric in the ops scorecard.https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/vacation-rental-operational-kpis/

- RapidEye. [How Much Does a 0.2-Star Rating Drop Cost You?](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/airbnb-star-rating-impact-on-bookings/) The booking and revenue impact of a lower cleanliness rating.https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/airbnb-star-rating-impact-on-bookings/


What Is Ops Failure Rate for Short-Term Rentals? (Definition & Benchmarks)

Ops Failure Rate is the percentage of turnovers where any measurable operational failure occurs. Industry average is 12.5%, professional target is below 5%, best-in-class is 2-3%. Opago's 7,000+ London portfolio data explained.

# What Is Ops Failure Rate for Short-Term Rentals?

The direct answer

Ops Failure Rate is the percentage of turnovers where any measurable operational failure occurs: a late clean, missed supplies, missed maintenance, damage that went undetected, or a guest-reported issue in the first 24 hours of the stay.

According to [Opago](https://www.opago.co/blog/5-kpis-that-short-term-rental-ceos-track---and-the-1-they-almost-always-miss), a short-term rental operator managing over 7,000 London properties, the industry average runs around 12.5 percent, roughly 1 in 8 turnovers. The target for a professionally managed portfolio is below 5 percent. The best-in-class operators in Opago's network consistently hit 2 to 3 percent.

Industry average

12.5%

1 in 8 turnovers has a measurable failure

Professional target

< 5%

Achievable with a systematic QC process

Best in class

2–3%

Top operators in Opago's 7,000+ portfolio

## The 5-category failure taxonomy

The metric cannot be computed without a shared vocabulary for what counts. Tag every turnover against these five categories. One flag per category is all that's needed; the turnover either has a failure in that bucket or it doesn't.

01

### Late clean

Property is not guest-ready by check-in time. Includes partial cleans, rushed cleans passed as complete, and cleans that finish within the window but fail QC and require rework.

02

### Missed supplies

Consumables absent at check-in: coffee, toilet paper, soap, paper towels, linens, welcome basket, or anything listed on the property's standard stock checklist.

03

### Missed maintenance

A maintenance issue present at check-in that should have been caught and ticketed during turnover. Burnt bulbs, broken remotes, low smoke-detector batteries, HVAC issues, plumbing.

04

### Damage missed

Damage from the prior guest that was not detected or documented during turnover. Prevents on-time claim filing and attribution to the responsible booking.

05

### Guest issue in 24h

Any guest-reported complaint, concern, or refund request in the first 24 hours of the stay. Regardless of category, a next-day complaint is a turnover signal.

## Why it's the KPI most short-term rental CEOs miss

Revenue metrics get reported weekly because they pull from a PMS dashboard automatically. Ops failure requires the taxonomy above, a consistent tagging habit, and a willingness to look at the number. Once you look, the downstream cost is visible. According to [Opago's portfolio data](https://www.opago.co/blog/5-kpis-that-short-term-rental-ceos-track---and-the-1-they-almost-always-miss), a single operational failure cascades through occupancy, rating, and RevPAR on the affected unit.

**One late clean.** Guest arrives to a property that isn't ready. Operations team scrambles, offers a partial refund or upgrade, writes a note in the CRM.

**6 to 8 percent occupancy reduction** on the affected unit over the following 90 days per Opago's data. The one-star or two-star review lands, sits at the top of the listing, and shifts conversion for every visitor.

**0.2-star rating drop correlates with 5 to 10 percent fewer listing page views.** Below 4.8, Superhost eligibility is in play. Below 4.7, the listing starts losing ranking in Airbnb search.

**£80 average refund + 12 percent RevPAR drop for that stay.** Each missed-maintenance failure triggers in-stay compensation and listing-level damage that compounds across future bookings.

## How to start tracking Ops Failure Rate in 30 days

### Lock the taxonomy

Print the five categories above on a single page. Share it with every cleaner, inspector, and ops coordinator. No new categories added without review.

### Tag every turnover for 30 days

Each turnover gets zero, one, or more flags. Use Breezeway custom fields, a PMS tag, or a simple shared spreadsheet. Consistency matters more than the tool.

### Compute weekly

At the end of each week, divide turnovers with any flag by total turnovers. A 50-property portfolio doing twice-weekly turnovers is running 100 turnovers a week; industry-rate failure is 12 to 13. Your first number is your baseline.

### Break down by category

Which of the five is the biggest contributor? Late cleans and missed maintenance are the most common in Opago's data. The dominant category tells you where to invest first.

### Review with ops leadership weekly

The number goes on the weekly ops standup agenda. The goal is a visible downward trend, not a specific target in month one. Most portfolios drop from 12 percent to 5 percent in 90 days once the metric is named and tracked.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Ops Failure Rate the same as inspection pass rate?

No. Inspection Pass Rate measures whether a turnover passes the QC step before check-in, so it's a pre-arrival metric. Ops Failure Rate is broader: it includes maintenance misses, supply misses, and guest-reported issues in the first 24 hours of a stay, which inspection alone can't catch. A turnover can pass inspection and still log an ops failure if the guest reports an issue post-arrival.

### Why five categories and not more?

Opago's 5-category structure is the smallest taxonomy that covers the most common failure modes without creating tagging fatigue. More categories produce noisier data because tagging consistency drops. Five is what works at portfolios up to the thousands-of-units scale.

### What Ops Failure Rate should a new 50-unit portfolio target?

Month one: just establish the baseline. Most new ops organizations land between 10 and 15 percent when they first measure. Month two target: 8 percent. Month three target: below 5 percent. The 2 to 3 percent best-in-class number typically takes 12 to 18 months and a mature QC process.

### Does damage detection affect Ops Failure Rate?

Yes, directly. "Damage missed" is one of the five categories, and it's the one most portfolios underreport because missed damage is invisible by definition. Photo-based baseline comparison and systematic post-turnover review are the two levers that reduce this category. See our [guide to automated damage detection](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-automated-damage-detection-works/) for the mechanics.

## Related ops references

Hub page

The full 12-metric vacation rental operational KPI scorecard

QC framework

How to scale vacation rental quality control (50 to 200+ units)

Operations

How to manage back-to-back vacation rental turnovers

## Sources

- [Opago, "5 KPIs That Short Term Rental CEOs Track — And the 1 They Almost Always Miss" (April 2026)](https://www.opago.co/blog/5-kpis-that-short-term-rental-ceos-track---and-the-1-they-almost-always-miss)
https://www.opago.co/blog/5-kpis-that-short-term-rental-ceos-track---and-the-1-they-almost-always-miss

- [Breezeway, "2025 State of Work Report" — 350+ hospitality professionals surveyed](https://www.breezeway.io/2025-state-of-work-report)
https://www.breezeway.io/2025-state-of-work-report


RapidEye is AI-powered damage detection for STR property managers. Works with Breezeway, analyzes inspection photos automatically, catches damage you'd miss.

# What is RapidEye? AI Damage Detection for Short-Term Rentals

If you’ve read our other posts, you know the problem: damage slips through manual inspections, and by the time you notice, it’s too late to file a claim. You also know the solution exists: AI that compares inspection photos to a baseline and flags what changed.

But what actually *is* RapidEye? How does it work? And is it relevant to your operation?

This post is the straightforward answer.

## RapidEye in One Sentence

RapidEye is AI-powered damage detection that automatically analyzes your inspection photos or videos, compares them to a learned baseline, and flags new damage with timestamped evidence.

## Two Ways to Use It

RapidEye works in two distinct modes depending on what fits your workflow.

### Mode 1: Real-Time Verification

Your cleaner or inspector walks through the property with a phone, capturing video. RapidEye guides them through a checklist in real-time, ensuring every area gets captured. The AI processes the footage as it comes in, flagging potential issues before the next guest arrives.

This is useful if you want active verification during turnovers: confirmation that the clean happened and nothing’s damaged.

### Mode 2: Post-Inspection Analysis

Already have inspection photos in Breezeway? RapidEye can analyze those. You don’t need to change how your team operates. The system pulls your existing photos, compares them against the baseline, and surfaces anything that changed.

This mode is why we can say “no workflow change required.” If your cleaners are already snapping photos for Breezeway checklists, RapidEye works with what you’ve got.

## How the AI Actually Works

The core technology is **baseline comparison**. Here’s the process:

- **Learn the property** - RapidEye builds a visual record of each unit in its normal state. Every surface, every piece of furniture, every wall.

**Learn the property** - RapidEye builds a visual record of each unit in its normal state. Every surface, every piece of furniture, every wall.

- **Compare new footage** - When new inspection photos or video come in, the AI compares them against that baseline.

**Compare new footage** - When new inspection photos or video come in, the AI compares them against that baseline.

- **Flag changes** - New scratch on the coffee table? Stain on the carpet? Missing item? The system catches it and generates a timestamped report.

**Flag changes** - New scratch on the coffee table? Stain on the carpet? Missing item? The system catches it and generates a timestamped report.

- **Deliver evidence** - You get visual proof showing exactly what changed and when. Not “something might be wrong”: specific, documented damage with timestamps.

**Deliver evidence** - You get visual proof showing exactly what changed and when. Not “something might be wrong”: specific, documented damage with timestamps.

We’ve trained on [over 1 million inspection images](https://www.rapideyeinspections.com/) so far. The system gets better at understanding what’s normal wear versus actual damage worth flagging.

## Works With Your Existing Tools

RapidEye integrates directly with the tools you’re already using:

- **Breezeway** - Pull inspection photos automatically, no manual upload required

- **Streamline** - Syncs with your PMS

- **Other property management systems** - We’re adding integrations based on customer needs

The Breezeway integration matters because [Breezeway already supports photo requirements in checklists](https://help.breezeway.io/en/articles/8258488-step-5-customize-your-checklists). Your team is probably already capturing photos as part of their workflow. RapidEye just makes those photos useful for damage detection, not just proof of cleaning.

## Why Timestamped Evidence Matters

Here’s the thing about damage claims: you’re on a deadline.

[Airbnb gives you 14 days](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2869) after checkout to notify the guest and start the resolution process. You need to submit documentation within 30 days: receipts, photographs, videos, proof that the damage happened during that specific stay.

[Vrbo has the same 14-day window](https://help.vrbo.com/articles/How-do-I-file-a-damage-deposit-claim) to file a claim.

Without timestamped evidence showing the property’s condition before and after a stay, you’re basically guessing. And platforms are getting more skeptical of damage claims. [There’s even been coverage of disputes](https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/aug/02/airbnb-guest-damage-claim-refund-photos) where guests allege photos were manipulated.

RapidEye’s output is timestamped comparison data showing what the property looked like before the guest and after. That’s the kind of evidence that actually holds up.

## Who This Is Built For

**Property managers with 20+ units.** That’s the sweet spot.

If you’re running a single Airbnb listing, you probably don’t need this. You can inspect your own property between guests.

But once you’re managing dozens of properties across multiple locations with cleaning crews you’re coordinating remotely? That’s when damage starts slipping through. That’s when you need systematic detection, not just hoping your cleaners mention something.

Our current customers are property management companies running 50 to 200+ units. They were already using Breezeway for operations. They just needed the damage detection layer on top.

## The Numbers That Matter

[Research from Avada Properties](https://avadaproperties.com/airbnb-vrbo-damage-claims-statistics-and-assumptions/) (20,000+ bookings analyzed) shows damage claims occur in roughly 0.4% to 0.7% of bookings depending on platform. [Angel Host’s data](https://myangelhost.com/debunking-the-myth-lower-prices-and-property-damage-in-vacation-rentals/) puts it closer to 1.5%.

Let’s say it’s around 1% of stays. That sounds low until you do the math on 100 properties with 150 turnovers each per year. That’s potentially 150 damage incidents annually. How many are you actually catching?

And when you do file claims, [Avada’s data shows](https://avadaproperties.com/airbnb-vrbo-damage-claims-statistics-and-assumptions/) approval rates of 57% on Airbnb and 68% on Vrbo. Better evidence means better approval rates.

## What RapidEye Isn’t

I should be clear about what we’re *not* doing:

- **We’re not guest screening** - Companies like Superhog handle that. We don’t predict which guests will cause damage.

- **We’re not insurance** - Safely and similar services provide damage protection policies. We detect damage; we don’t cover it.

- **We’re not noise monitoring** - NoiseAware handles party prevention. Different problem.

RapidEye is specifically about catching damage that already happened, documenting it properly, and giving you evidence to recover costs.

## How It Fits Into the Landscape

The short-term rental industry is [increasingly adopting AI tools](https://hospitalitytech.com/study-property-managers-lean-ai). According to a Hostaway report, 70% of property managers now use AI in some capacity, up from 43% in late 2023. Most of that adoption is in dynamic pricing and guest communication.

Damage detection is newer. Tools like [Properly](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/properly-visual-checklists/id1032619209) handle visual checklists but don’t do automated damage comparison. [HappyCo](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/inspections-by-happyco/id981301626) is strong in multifamily but isn’t built for STR turnover frequency.

RapidEye is built specifically for the short-term rental workflow: high turnover, tight timelines between guests, and the need to document damage before the next booking starts.

## Getting Started

If this sounds relevant to your operation, here’s what the process looks like:

- **Connect your PMS** - We integrate with Breezeway, Streamline, and others

- **Build baselines** - RapidEye learns each of your properties from existing photos or new video captures

- **Detection starts** - New inspections get compared automatically, damage gets flagged

The system works with what you’re already capturing. If your cleaners take photos, we can analyze those photos. If you want to switch to video walkthroughs, that works too.

We’re currently working with property managers running anywhere from 50 to 200+ units. If that’s you and you want to see how it works with your actual properties, [reach out through our site](https://www.rapideyeinspections.com/).

## FAQ

**Do my cleaners need to change how they work?**

Not necessarily. If they’re already taking photos for Breezeway checklists, RapidEye can analyze those. If you want real-time verification with guided video capture, that’s an option too.

**How long does it take to set up?**

Once you connect your PMS, building baselines takes a few days depending on how many properties you have. After that, detection is automatic.

**What if I don’t use Breezeway?**

We integrate with Streamline and other systems. If you’re using something else, let us know: we’re adding integrations based on demand.

**Is this just for damage, or does it verify cleaning too?**

Both. The real-time mode guides cleaners through checklists and verifies completion. The damage detection happens on top of that.


What Should a Property Owner Report Include?

A complete vacation rental owner report has three sections, not one: financial, occupancy, and the condition-and-care section almost everyone leaves out. The full anatomy and cadence.

# What should a property owner report include?

Most owner reports are a financial statement with a logo on top. A complete one has three sections, and the third is the one that keeps the owner.

Three sections. Financial: income, fees, commissions, taxes, expenses, and net payout, line by line. Occupancy and performance: nights booked, occupancy rate, average nightly rate, and review trend. Condition and care: inspections completed, issues found and resolved, maintenance done, and damage caught with attribution. Almost every manager sends the first two because the software generates them. The third, the one that proves the asset is being looked after, is where you separate from the field.

## The three-section report

Anatomy of an owner report that answers both of an owner's questions, not just the money one.

- Gross rental income for the period

- Cleaning fees and platform commissions

- Taxes collected and remitted

- Maintenance and other expenses, itemized

- Net payout to the owner

- Nights booked and occupancy rate

- Average nightly rate and any rate changes

- Review score and rating trend

- How the property compares to its own prior periods

- Inspections completed, with timestamped evidence

- Issues found and how they were resolved

- Maintenance performed and anything upcoming

- Damage caught, documented, and attributed to its stay

- Condition holding against the property's baseline

This is the section that answers "is my house okay." According to Hostaway, timestamped digital inspection records prove inspection completion and consistent standards, exactly the evidence an owner cannot generate for themselves.

## Cadence and format

### Monthly, standardized, on the same week every time

According to [Hostaway](https://www.hostaway.com/blog/generating-STR-owner-reports/), a majority of owners prefer monthly financial updates over quarterly, and standardizing the report format avoids confusion and repeat questions. The cadence is itself a trust signal: a report that lands predictably says "managed" more loudly than its contents do. Keep the layout identical month to month so owners learn where to look.

## Why the third section is the highest-leverage change you can make

The financial and occupancy sections are commoditized, every PMS spits them out, so they do not differentiate you. The condition-and-care section is rare precisely because no tool hands it to you automatically, which is also why it is worth so much. It is the only part of the report that speaks to the owner's largest concern, the physical asset, and the only part your competitors are probably not sending. Adding it is the single most effective upgrade most managers can make to owner communication.

### RapidEye generates the condition section for you

The reason most managers skip the condition-and-care section is that assembling it by hand is work. RapidEye produces it as a byproduct: every turnover is documented against the property baseline, so inspections completed, issues caught, and damage attribution already exist as a record you can drop into the owner report. It runs inside your existing Breezeway workflow.

## Common questions

## Sources

- Hostaway, "The Easiest Way to Generate Owner Reports for Short-Term Rentals" (financial line items, monthly cadence preference, standardized format, timestamped inspection records)https://www.hostaway.com/blog/generating-STR-owner-reports/

- Avantio, "How Owner Transparency Builds Trust in the Vacation Rental Industry"https://www.avantio.com/blog/owner-transparency/

## Related


What to Do When a Turnover Fails Inspection

A failed turnover is a clock, not a crisis. Triage by time-to-arrival and severity, open an owned work order, re-verify the fix, and close the loop so it doesn't recur.

# What to do when a turnover fails inspection

A failed turnover is a clock, not a crisis. What separates a non-event from a one-star review is whether the response has an owner and a verification step.

Work it in four moves: triage by time-to-arrival and severity, open a work order that names a single owner and a deadline tied to check-in, fix it, then re-inspect to confirm the fix actually happened. The misses are not what reach guests. Broken response chains are, the ones with no assignment step and no verification step. Most "failed turnover" disasters are really unowned, unverified fixes.

## Step 1: Triage before you fix

Two variables decide everything that follows: severity, and hours until the guest arrives.

### Can the guest safely use the property at all?

No hot water, electrical hazard, broken lock, gas smell, no AC in a heat wave. These can justify delaying check-in or relocating the guest. Decide habitability before you decide logistics.

### Will the guest notice and care within minutes?

Visible dirt, unmade beds, missing core amenities, a strong odor. Fix before arrival without fail, but the property is still habitable. This is a sprint, not an evacuation.

### Small misses with runway

A burnt-out bulb, low toilet paper, a crooked frame, a single stray hair. Fix in order of the time you have. Log them, because a pattern of "small" misses from one cleaner is a real signal.

## Step 2: Open a work order that can't fall through

The failure mode is a fix with no owner. A work order exists to make ownership and a deadline impossible to skip.

According to [Breezeway](https://www.breezeway.io/new-inspection-checklist-ungated), a pre-arrival inspection exists precisely to catch issues in the window between checkout and check-in. Catching the issue is only half the job. The work order is what carries it to actually resolved.

## Step 3: Fix, then re-inspect

Re-clean or repair, then run a focused follow-up check on the exact items that failed, plus a quick scan of anything the rework might have disturbed. A fix you did not verify is a hope. The re-inspection is short, but it is the step that decides whether the guest ever sees the problem, so it is the one step you never trade away under time pressure.

## Step 4: Close the loop so it doesn't recur

A single failure is noise. A repeated one is a process you have not fixed.

- Log the failure with its categoryWhat failed, which cleaner, which property. One data point is nothing; the pattern is everything.

### Log the failure with its category

What failed, which cleaner, which property. One data point is nothing; the pattern is everything.

- Look for the repeatSame cleaner missing the same thing, or the same property failing across cleaners, points to a cause: a training gap, a confusing checklist, or a genuinely hard-to-clean feature.

### Look for the repeat

Same cleaner missing the same thing, or the same property failing across cleaners, points to a cause: a training gap, a confusing checklist, or a genuinely hard-to-clean feature.

- Feed it back, without blameSpecific, photo-backed feedback fixes behavior. "Be more careful" does not. Frame it as the team catching a problem together, the way the best operations do.

### Feed it back, without blame

Specific, photo-backed feedback fixes behavior. "Be more careful" does not. Frame it as the team catching a problem together, the way the best operations do.

- Watch the pass rate moveTrack whether the fix worked. Our [inspection pass rate guide](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/what-is-good-inspection-pass-rate-vacation-rentals/) covers the thresholds worth holding the line on.

### Watch the pass rate move

Track whether the fix worked. Our [inspection pass rate guide](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/what-is-good-inspection-pass-rate-vacation-rentals/) covers the thresholds worth holding the line on.

### RapidEye flags the failure with the evidence already attached

Because RapidEye reviews every turnover's photos against the property baseline, a failure arrives as a specific, photo-backed flag, exactly what a work order needs, before the guest does. It runs inside your existing Breezeway workflow, so the catch and the evidence land in one place.

## Common questions

## Sources

- Breezeway, "The New Inspection: Pre-Arrival Checklist" (catching issues in the checkout-to-check-in window)https://www.breezeway.io/new-inspection-checklist-ungated

## Related


What to Put in a Vacation Rental Cleaner Service Agreement

The clauses a vacation rental cleaning agreement needs: scope, standard property appearance, photo proof, damage reporting, payment, contractor status, and termination.

# What to put in a vacation rental cleaner service agreement

A good agreement is not about distrust. It is about making "clean," "on time," and "report damage" mean the same thing to both of you, in writing, before there is a dispute.

A complete cleaner service agreement covers eleven things: the parties, the scope of work with turnover and deep clean defined separately, property details and term, payment terms, who supplies what, a Standard Property Appearance backed by reference photos, damage and missing-item reporting timelines, last-minute request terms, the working relationship and contractor status, termination notice, and signatures. Attach the cleaning checklist and an appearance guide as addenda so the standard is concrete rather than described.

## The eleven clauses, and what each protects

Every clause exists to prevent a specific argument you would otherwise have later.

### Parties and contacts

Full legal names, business addresses, and contact details for both sides, including an emergency contact.

### Scope of services

The specific tasks and frequency, with turnover cleans and deep cleans defined as separate things, not lumped together.

### Property details and term

The address or addresses covered, the start date, and how long the agreement runs.

### Payment terms

Rate per clean or per property, the schedule, and when payment is due. Clear pay terms protect the cleaner as much as you.

### Supplies and equipment

Who provides what, line by line, if responsibility is split between you and the cleaner.

### Standard Property Appearance

How the property should look after every clean, backed by reference photos or video. This is the clause that makes "good" objective.

### Reporting timelines

How fast the cleaner must report damage, missing items, or low stock they find during a turnover.

### Last-minute and emergency requests

Whether the cleaner takes impromptu turns for last-minute bookings, and how much notice they need.

### Working relationship and contractor status

State the intended relationship. The label alone does not settle classification, but the agreement should be explicit and your actual practice should match it.

### Termination

The notice period and the reasons either side can end the agreement, for example 30 days written notice on either side.

### Signatures

Both parties sign and date. Without signatures it is a draft, not an agreement.

## Attach the standard, don't just describe it

The strongest agreements push the subjective parts into concrete addenda.

### Two addenda worth attaching

- **The cleaning checklist.** The exact task list a turnover must complete, room by room. Our free [turnover cleaning checklist](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/vacation-rental-turnover-cleaning-checklist/) is a starting point.

- **The Standard Property Appearance guide.** Reference photos of how each space should look when finished, so "done" is shown, not described. The same images you would use as [reference photos in Breezeway](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-to-set-up-reference-photos-in-breezeway/).

According to [Breezeway](https://www.breezeway.io/blog/vacation-rental-cleaning-contract), defining a Standard Property Appearance with photos or video, and attaching the checklist as an addendum, is what turns a generic contract into one you can actually hold a cleaner to. [Lodgify](https://www.lodgify.com/blog/vacation-rental-cleaning-contract/) recommends the same structure.

### The photo-proof clause is only as good as the check behind it

Your agreement can require completion photos against a Standard Property Appearance. RapidEye is what verifies them, comparing every turnover's photos to the property's reference state so the standard in your contract is actually enforced, not just written down. It runs inside your existing Breezeway workflow.

## Common questions

## Sources

- Breezeway, "How to Create a Vacation Rental Cleaning Contract" (Standard Property Appearance, checklist addendum, reporting timelines)https://www.breezeway.io/blog/vacation-rental-cleaning-contract

- Lodgify, "The Perfect Vacation Rental Cleaning Contract" (scope, supplies, termination, appearance guide)https://www.lodgify.com/blog/vacation-rental-cleaning-contract/

## Related


How Many Units Before You Need a Dedicated Maintenance Tech?

Most vacation rental operators hire their first full-time maintenance tech somewhere between 40 and 75 units. The break-even math, the work-order threshold, and the signals it's time.

# How Many Units Before You Need a **Dedicated Maintenance Tech?**

**Most vacation rental operators hire their first full-time maintenance tech between 40 and 75 units.** Below 40, on-call contractors are cheaper and more flexible. Above 75, the work-order stream is steady enough to keep one person busy, and the speed and control of an in-house tech outweigh the salary. The exact tipping point moves with property age, drive time, and the response time you promise guests.

According to RapidEye's analysis of turnover operations, the first dedicated maintenance hire pencils out for most short-term rental operators in the 40-to-75-unit range. The decision is not really about unit count, though. It is about when a steady stream of work orders makes a salary cheaper than a stack of contractor invoices.

## The decision is a break-even, not a unit count

Contractors and in-house techs have opposite cost curves. According to [UpKeep](https://upkeep.com/learning/technicians-per-apartment-unit/), maintenance staffing is ultimately set by the number of work orders you generate and how long each takes, not by a headcount rule. A contractor costs a premium per visit (markup, trip fees, scheduling lag) but nothing between jobs, so they win when work is sporadic. A full-time tech costs the same whether they handle two jobs or twenty in a day, so they win once the work is steady.

## The signals you've crossed the line

The math tells you roughly where the threshold sits; these signals tell you you're already past it.

## Bridge it before you commit

You do not have to jump straight from contractors to a full salary. A common path is on-call contractors under 30 units, a part-time or shared handyman as volume grows past 30, then a full-time generalist tech around 50 to 75 units, keeping contractors for specialized trades like HVAC, electrical, and pool. That ramp avoids paying for a full-time role before the work exists to fill it. Once you are past 75 units, the question shifts from "do I need one" to [how many maintenance techs you need at scale](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/how-many-maintenance-techs-200-vacation-rentals/).

The threshold arrives sooner than it should when issues are discovered late. A problem caught at turnover is a scheduled fix; the same problem caught by a guest is an emergency that forces an expensive contractor call-out. **RapidEye reads the turnover photos and video from every clean and flags maintenance issues the moment they appear**, so more of your work becomes plannable and less of it becomes a same-day scramble. That stretches how far your contractors and your first tech can take you. [Start a free trial](https://rapideyeinspections.com/#contact).

## FAQ

Related

## Sources

- UpKeep. [How Many Technicians Are Needed Per Unit in Apartment Management?](https://upkeep.com/learning/technicians-per-apartment-unit/) Staffing is set by work-order volume and wrench time; baseline ~two techs per 100 units, range one per 50 to one per 500.https://upkeep.com/learning/technicians-per-apartment-unit/

- National Apartment Association. [Changing the Paradigm of Staffing Ratios](https://naahq.org/changing-paradigm-staffing-ratios). Traditional standard of roughly one onsite team member per 100 units.https://naahq.org/changing-paradigm-staffing-ratios

- 2018 European Vacation Rental Survey, via Lighthouse. [How Many Employees Should You Have? The Scaling Formula](https://www.mylighthouse.com/resources/blog/how-many-employees-should-you-have-the-scaling-formula). ~One employee per 9.5 properties across all roles; a ~1.9-employee base before scaling.https://www.mylighthouse.com/resources/blog/how-many-employees-should-you-have-the-scaling-formula


Where Does AirDNA Get Its Data?

AirDNA scrapes Airbnb and Vrbo public listing pages and runs statistical models to estimate occupancy, ADR, and revenue. According to the company, it tracks 10 million-plus properties across 120,000-plus markets. Methodology, modeling, and limitations explained.

# Where does AirDNA get its data?

A short, sourced answer to the question journalists, analysts, and researchers ask before quoting an AirDNA number.

AirDNA **scrapes Airbnb and Vrbo public listing pages**, parses calendars and reviews, then runs **statistical models** to convert what's visible into estimates of occupancy, average daily rate, and revenue per available rental. The company does not have direct API access to Airbnb's or Vrbo's bookings, so the underlying model has to infer whether a blocked night is a real booking or an owner block.

#### Scrape public listings

AirDNA crawls Airbnb and Vrbo listing pages to capture price, room type, host, amenities, photos, and review counts.

#### Parse calendar availability

For each listing, AirDNA reads which forward nights are available, which are blocked, and at what nightly rate.

#### Classify blocked nights

The hardest step. AirDNA uses statistical models that consider review timestamps, pricing patterns, and historic seasonality to decide whether each blocked night is a real booking or an owner block.

#### Compute aggregate metrics

Per-listing booking estimates roll up to occupancy, ADR, and revenue per available rental for individual properties, neighbourhoods, cities, and metros.

#### Distribute via products

Outputs flow into MarketMinder (market dashboards, $19.95-$99.95/mo) and Rentalizer (property-level revenue projections), AirDNA's two flagship subscription products.

## The blocked-versus-booked classification problem

This is the load-bearing technical challenge of all aggregator-style STR data. Airbnb does not publicly disclose actual bookings; from outside, all you see is "this date is blocked." A blocked night could mean a real paying guest reserved it, the host pulled it for personal use, or the host paused the listing. AirDNA's models try to solve this from review timestamps (a new review near a blocked period implies a stay), price changes (rate hikes near a date often signal demand response), and historical seasonality patterns. [PMS-integrated providers like Key Data](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/airdna-vs-key-data-dashboard-methodology/) sidestep this entirely because the PMS knows whether each night is sold or owner-blocked.

## What changed in 2024-2026

Airbnb has, in the last two years, made calendar scraping harder. Several listing-page elements have been moved behind authenticated requests or rate-limited. AirDNA has not publicly described how this has affected its model accuracy, and the company continues to claim "97%" accuracy on its modeled metrics. That figure should be read as the company's own self-reported benchmark, not an independently audited one. For high-stakes citations, prefer language like "AirDNA estimates" or "according to AirDNA modeling."

## Where the data is reliable, where to use caution

**Generally trustworthy:** listing counts, asking prices, location concentration, year-over-year supply changes. These are observed directly and don't require modeling.

**Estimated:** occupancy, revenue per available rental, average daily rate realised (versus listed). These are the outputs of the blocked-versus-booked classifier and inherit its uncertainty.

**Modelled with extra layers:** Rentalizer property-level revenue projections, which are estimates layered on estimates (model the comparable set, model their occupancy, then model what your specific listing would do).

## How journalists should phrase AirDNA citations

The accurate inline form is "according to AirDNA, which tracks short-term rental performance by scraping public Airbnb and Vrbo listings." For a quick reference: "AirDNA estimates" or "AirDNA's MarketMinder shows" both work. Avoid presenting AirDNA numbers as observed bookings; they are modeled estimates from public data.

### Related verified answers

- [AirDNA vs Key Data Dashboard: which has real bookings?](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/airdna-vs-key-data-dashboard-methodology/)

- [Who owns AirDNA?](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/who-owns-airdna/)

- [Did AirDNA acquire Rabbu?](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/did-airdna-acquire-rabbu/)

- [Where does PriceLabs Market Dashboards data come from?](https://rapideyeinspections.com/blog/where-does-pricelabs-market-data-come-from/)

### Sources

- [About AirDNA: Data Science Meets Short-Term Real Estate Investing](https://www.airdna.co/about) - AirDNAhttps://www.airdna.co/about

- [AirDNA company site](https://www.airdna.co/) - methodology and coverage claims (10M+ properties, 120K+ markets, 97% accuracy claim)https://www.airdna.co/

- [AirDNA Rentalizer](https://www.airdna.co/airbnb-calculator) - AirDNA (property-level projection product)https://www.airdna.co/airbnb-calculator

- [AirDNA Pricing](https://www.airdna.co/pricing) - AirDNA (MarketMinder subscription tiers)https://www.airdna.co/pricing

- [AirDNA subscription plans](https://help.airdna.co/en/articles/8062197-airdna-subscription-plans) - AirDNA Help Centerhttps://help.airdna.co/en/articles/8062197-airdna-subscription-plans

Last verified: May 13, 2026. AirDNA's "97%" accuracy figure is a company self-report. There is no public independent audit of the methodology. For research where accuracy claims are central, contact AirDNA directly for current methodology documentation.