Great questions, we’ll make changes so it’s clearer. Here’s a follow up to your specific questions:
How do the guests use it?
Once you add items to your list you get an option to share the list with a guest (via airbnb’s inbox, sms, or however you’d like). From there, it’s very similar to Airbnb’s rental flow. The guest chooses which items they’d like to rent and what days, their credit card is charged, and you’re paid.
Can this work if the guests don’t have cellphone service?
Yes, as they rent the items shortly after they rent your home. When they arrive at the home, they just pick up the item at the location you specified.
Is anything insured?
We’ll work with hosts to compensate them if something gets broken and make sure they’re satisfied with the outcome (it’s critical that we understand potential pain points like this and make sure the outcome is happy for you).
LizinMN, we agree guests shouldn’t feel nickel-and-dimed. We’ve spoken to hosts that were interested in a service like this because often times they had a camera, bike, etc that they were interested in renting to a guest, but it was too high value to lend for free. On the flip side, guests have been interested in renting things they can’t bring with them (like a bike) and packing lighter/trying new things (like cameras). Finding the sweet spot for items will take some time, but we do think there’s opportunity to make both host and guests happier with this service.
Thanks and keep the feedback coming!