Customizing rules and fees

A defensible rule is short, specific, and disclosure-style. "No smoking" is too vague. "Smoking is not permitted anywhere on the property. A documented violation results in a $250 cleaning fee" is enforceable.

Three patterns work for most rules:

• Behavior → consequence. "No parties of any kind. A documented violation results in a $500 fee."
• Limit + threshold. "Quiet hours are 10pm – 7am local time. Documented disturbances result in a $100 fee per incident."
• Object + dollar amount. "Pets without prior approval result in a $200 fee per pet per stay."

The pattern works because it disclosed both the conduct standard and the consequence. AirCover and most insurance review processes look for both halves.

Each fee has an amount in cents, a label, an optional description, and a unit: "per stay", "per incident", "per night", "per pet per stay", and so on.

Common patterns hosts use:

• Smoking fee: $250 per incident
• Extra guest fee: $50 per guest per night
• Unauthorized pet: $200 per pet per stay
• Late checkout (without approval): $75 per hour
• Excess trash / cleaning: $150 per incident

The signing page renders each fee as a separate tappable line and captures the per-fee acknowledgment timestamp.

In the packet editor, open Check-in info. By default, WiFi, door code, check-in notes, parking, checkout, and local notes are held until signing is complete. You can change any field to Before signing when the booking platform, accessibility, or guest support requires it.

Use Always visible safety notes for emergency numbers, lockout fallback, fire extinguisher location, water shutoff, or other safety-critical information. Safety notes should not be gated behind a signature.

On a sent reservation, managers can use Release arrival details as a one-reservation override. It records who released the details, when, and why; it does not mark the reservation signed.

• Welcome message. One short paragraph at the top of the signing page. Sets the tone.
• Safety notes. Always visible before and after signing.
• WiFi and door code. Released after signing by default, then shown in the confirmation email and on the post-sign page.
• Check-in / parking / checkout / local notes. Field-by-field release controls, then bundled into the post-sign view as accordion sections.

On the property page, the Airbnb block button generates the listing-page "Additional Rules" text from your rules + fees. Paste it into Airbnb so the listing carries the same disclosure your signing page does.

AirCover looks for both: the rule disclosed in the listing AND acknowledged by the guest. The block is the listing half; the certificate is the acknowledgment half.

Set a default check-in and check-out time on the property (3:00 PM and 11:00 AM are the most common). When you set them, they render on the signing page, in the guest email, on the certificate PDF, and in the iCal feed, in the property's local time.

Set the property's IANA timezone (e.g. America/New_York) so "3:00 PM" reads correctly to the guest regardless of where they're booking from. Reservations inherit the property's defaults but can carry their own times when a stay needs a non-standard window (an early check-in for a Sunday redeye, a late check-out for a Monday flight).

See Showing check-in and check-out times for the full override chain and what shows up where.