About Hosting on Houfy
Please follow the steps below to snooze or re-activate your Houfy listing:
To snooze the listing go to Listings
Click on the snooze in the listing block.
What snooze will do?
- Snooze will not allow anyone to select dates on your listing, it will hide your calendar from the listing page.
To activate a snoozed listing, please follow below steps:
Click on the activate in the listing block.
Create a "Houfy collection": Collections provide a helpful way to group related posts and or stories together (in this case videos), and to quickly inform readers what the posts & stories are about. Collections make it easier for people to find content in a grouped form.
- Log in > + > Create a Collection
Name the Collection, add a description, picture, location etc. You can always edit/remove the collection
- Write a Story and add as many urls as you wish. (A story is much more than a simple post; you can embed multiple url's as well as add highlights and change formats)
- Post the story to the Houfeed
- After posting, Bookmark the post or story to the "video" collection you made earlier
- Last step: add the collection to your listing(s): Menu > Collections > Select the collection > edit > add your listing
Preview your listing and your guide should show with the post(s) or story(s) in there
You can make collections about anything: Activities - Events - Restaurants - Weather - Video's etc. Think what you would like to know when you visit a place. Wouldn't it be wonderful to have a perfect set of collections (recommendations) from the owner ready for you to explore.
At Houfy you can easily edit the collections, posts and stories whenever you want. Try something new at Houfy and have look at some popular collections to give you ideas.
If you have more questions, please join our facebook member group
Larger properties booked for family or group gatherings usually require stricter policies.
Owners or managers often require:
- A larger reservation deposit due (50% or more due at reservation date)
- An earlier balance payment due date before the arrival date (90-60 days before arrival)
- And stricter cancellation policies
Rebooking larger properties often requires more effort for owners/managers compared to smaller properties.
At Houfy as an owner/manager you can set your own policies:
My Listings > Edit > Settings > Payment information
Hosts can create a personalized web address to direct people to their listing with a custom link.
A custom link gives you a better chance your guests remembering and finding your listing in the future. As a result, you can capture more repeat bookings and grab the attention of new guests.
Log in > Menu > My Listings > Custom Link
Another way would be to go to your profile:
Menu > Profile > View Profile
- Please select menu > Manage Listings.
- Scroll down to Hidden listings and select the listing that you want to activate.
- Click on Activate, and the listing will be reactivated.
Are you wondering why your listings on Houfy aren't getting any traction? Don't worry, you're not alone--many new members struggle with the same issue.
The reality is that there are a few key steps to successful promotion of your property on Houfy, the most important of which include having up-to-date pricing, pictures, and text as well as keeping your calendar current. Additionally, if you want to maximize your bookings it's a good idea to connect a payment method such as Stripe or Square and use the Houfy booking and messaging systems.
Houfy is work in progress and is still very much being designed. Houfy is free for anyone to use with a basic listing and does not charge guests service fees or commissions. Houfy does not have the 100s of Millions needed to market listings worldwide as the plan is to disrupt the current systems in place.
Houfy is a grass roots movement which requires hosts to promote their Houfy listings themselves to get direct bookings without "service" fees/commissions.
Why do some members get bookings and others not? Here some examples:
- Updated price/pictures/text ----------> Outdated pictures/pricing/text
- Updated Calendar -------------> Outdated calendar
- Connected to Stripe/Square --------------> Did not connect a payment method
- Use the Houfy booking/messaging system -----------> Forward inquiries to their own website
- Market their Houfy listing ---------------> Do not market/share their Houfy listing(s)
- Spend 15-30 minutes a week on Houfy --------------> Do nothing and hope something will happen
What can you do to get bookings?
Spend a little time on Houfy and share your listing socially/with friends/previous clients. Find out what others are doing to get bookings and Houfy dances in our Facebook Group. Ask questions and GO For IT! 🙂
You can view your listing number in the details of your listing at manage listings or by going to your listing and scrolling down to the bottom
- Log in
- Menu (top right)
- Manage Listings
Or
- Pull up your listing (you do not need to be logged in).
- Scroll to the bottom.
To hide your listing on the Houfy marketplace:
Log in > Menu > Manage listings > Hide
To remove your listing from Houfy:
Log in > Menu > Manage listings > Remove
If you are new to renting or renting from a new owner, here is some information to help. If you don't know the owner or if if the aren't recommended by someone you trust, be careful. To protect yourself, consumer advocates suggest:
1. Pay with a secure method, like a credit card, that allows for dispute resolution. NEVER WIRE FUNDS. If the owner ask you to wire money to a bank. Run.
2. Use a site that verifies the owners, like Houfy.com or use a management company or realtor you trust.
3. Research the property to see if it is listed elsewhere. Search the address and property tax records to see if you are actually communicating with the REAL owner. Beware of properties that are for sale or foreclosure.
4. Talk to the contact on the phone, NOT by text or email. You should be able to find them on Facebook, Linkedin, or other social or professional sites.
5. Check out Google maps to see if the neighborhood and house match the pictures.
6. If the deal seems too good to be true, it is! A deal is only a deal if it is real. And usually it isn't
HOUFY is currently a free platform for all hosts. To grow our platform and market your properties Houfy will need to start charging hosts a monthly subscription fee. We are reviewing options and plan to roll this out later in 2023.
We plan two simple host membership plans: 1) Lite and 2) Premium
Premium plans will include:
- Houfy Website builder tools (To view examples: click here)
- Use of all our widgets
- Option to hide price comparison
Featured listings & Last minute specials
Featured listings or last minute specials significantly increase your chances to be seen. You can expect to pay around $1.50 a day depending on your location.
- Your listing will be highlighted in another color that stands out.
- Your listing will be shown at the top of the search results as well as being amongst all the other properties, meaning double exposure!
- Featured listings and last minute specials improve attention and click-throughs by 50%.
- Chances to be seen on our homepage and/or destination pages if available.
To add your listing from Airbnb use this link:
With a little due diligence and homework, you can save yourself the embarrassing predicament of being scammed. But if you are, it isn't necessarily all your fault. Scammers are smart, crafty, and innovative. I have often thought that if they put as much thought and effort into a legitimate enterprise as they do into scamming people, they would find honest success. Read below for information from some the country's leading consumer advocates to help you avoid being taken advantage of by crooks.
Some more advice from the pros:
Talk in PERSON or ON THE PHONE! Don't rely on text or email or messaging systems. Scammers don't want to talk to you. They can't answer questions about the house without research and it is hard to pretend they are someone else over the phone. And if they won't talk, walk away. Many sites like Expedia group sites (like Vrbo and HomeAway) and AirBnB don't allow you to speak with owners until you book. That is one reason they only allow using a credit card to book. It doesn't always protect you, but can help you recapture funds if you act fast.
Use a credit card. But be aware of credit card fraud. To protect yourself, never give out your credit card number. Insist on using a 3rd party processor like PayPal or Stripe. But even scammers know this and use credit card processors. They just act quickly to move money from account to account so that the fraud can't be traced or the money recaptured. Check with your credit card company for their policies and do your checking up with owners as soon as you can connect. If they ignore your requests to talk, cancel and call the credit card company quickly to recapture the charge.
Once you get connected, ask questions about the property you can see in pictures on the listing or on Google Maps. If the "owner" can't answer without hesitation, or puts you off (while looking it up online), be suspicious. Simple questions like, "How many can the dining room table seat?" or "How many burners does the stove have?" can be answered easily by the real owner, but maybe overlooked by a scammer. Ask several questions that you already know the answer to.
Use a legitimate site to book. Houfy verifies owners, but not all do. Even Vrbo and AirBnb don't always verify the owners. A new listing with no reviews and many unprofessional typos can mean that it hasn't been verified yet. Always be careful. Look at reviews, and judge if you believe they are legitimate or fake. Many rentals have a website or Facebook page too. Check the internet for the real site by searching by image. Right click on a picture and you may search everywhere the image shows up. If other sites have different owners listed, or different numbers, contact them all and alert them. Legitimate owners will get the fakes removed.
Avoid being scammed by a real owner, but a misrepresented listing. Reviews are essential in this. Everyone has heard of the shipping crate that was advertised as an AirBnB in Amsterdam. Close ups shots of nice bedding, with no outside shots, meant that it appeared to be a nice place to stay. But do you really want your "private bathroom" to be a porta-potty? Pictures can be deceiving. Look at them with a skeptical eye. And ask questions.
Most owners are real and their properties are too. But occasionally you may run into an unscrupulous owner who doesn't follow best practices. This means the owner may change pricing once you arrive and demand more money, try to put you in a different condo or home than was advertised, or change the terms of the rental. Having a rental agreement that lists the terms of the rental, amenities included and the address and/or condo number is essential to protect you. If they don't have one, or their listing doesn't specify the number, ask for verification BEFORE you finalize your reservation. Some owners of multiple properties or property managers have been known to use their BEST properties as bait. Be sure the property you are renting is the one you think you are renting. Of course, things happen and a property you rented may be unavailable due to accident or repair issues. But the honest owner or manager will always contact you immediately and offer either an upgrade, or refund with their explanation. If you feel scammed, notify the platform you used and leave an honest, factual review.
If it is too good to be true, than it is too good to be true. Use open records and internet searches to find the information you need to verify the address, identity, and quality of your prospective rental. But most of all, verify the good deal is still inline with the market. When a scammed guest showed up to our rental during prime rental season, they thought they had gotten the deal of a lifetime. They saw it listed for five times what the scammer was asking for. They communicated by text message with him and thought he was just a compassionate and caring person who wanted to do them a huge favor. They traveled 1,500 miles, across the country, to show up to a home that wasn't available. Their "good deal" meant they were out the money they paid, and ended up paying even more to find accommodations. Not a deal at all. They had a fake rental agreement, copies of emails through Craigslist, bank wire receipts, all brought with them due to a "gut feeling" as the scammer was no longer returning calls and the number was no longer in service. The police were unable to help. Do your homework and trust your gut.
If you are looking for a great vacation rental, for the best price, use Houfy. There are no service fees and you have direct communication with verified owners.
- Please select menu > Manage Listings.
- You can see all your listings, and each listing block shows listing views information.
Another way is to preview/view your listing and scroll down to the bottom to see the number of views.
You can see the number of views you have had of your Houfy listing near the bottom of your listing page.
You can also set up Google Analytics to track and get more detailed Houfy activity and insights.
