"The Trouble with Airbnb & How Agents Can Help Airbnb has grown from a small startup to the leading online home sharing website in just a few years. The concept of Airbnb is simple: you have an extra room in your house and want some additional money. You list your room or house on the website after Airbnb verifies you as the owner, and you can accept or deny people who request to stay with you. You set your own prices and dates. It seems simple, right? It can be, if you’re prepared for it. While guests must be verified through a license or other form of ID, and while the majority of reservations go smoothly, there can always be an incident. There have been cases of renters destroying properties, whether through partying, drugs or simply lacking respect of keeping it tidy. There can be holes in walls, rips in furniture, stolen electronics and broken appliances. Unfortunately, the damages are mainly left on the homeowner rather than renter. Airbnb and Insurance After a few destructive cases where the homeowner was faced with thousands of dollars of charges, Airbnb stepped up its insurance policy. Now, they offer all hosts a $1 million insurance policy to protect against destructive incidences. However, as a host you may want your own personal protection. Is your own homeowner’s insurance policy enough? Most likely not. Your homeowner’s insurance policy may not cover injuries or property damage caused by guests. Additional liability or landlord coverage may be needed to protect you and your home. Renting homes for profit may also be considered a home based business, thus requiring you to have personal business insurance. How can SAIS help? Airbnb can benefit you as an insurance agent by increasing your business. When speaking with customers, it’s important as an agent that you learn whether your customer needs homeowners insurance for personal use, or whether they plan on using their home to rent out for profit. As an agent using the Superior Access platform, you can modify their policy to give them additional liability and landlord protection to make sure that they stay safe and protected from potential incidents while using Airbnb or a similar room sharing website. In addition, you can give them the proper insurance needed for a home based business. Not only does this satisfy your customer and fulfil their insurance needs, but it increases the business you are able to do with that customer by selling them additional insurance. With your help, you can keep your customers protected while they take advantage of the emerging business of Airbnb."