Policy: Guest Booking Extensions

Company Position:

Property Providers™ core purpose is to “Help People Live Better” through being Sydney’s most flexible residential rental company. This vision is driven by our core values: Passion, Performance and Partnership. This policy has been drafted in line with our guiding principle that all great partnerships have a strong foundation of mutual respect, mutual reward, mutual investment, and mutual risk. We are always trying to do the right thing with everyone in mind.

Document Purpose:

The purpose of this document is to clearly communicate Property Providers’ policy, as it relates to Booking Extensions for Short-Term Rentals (where the initial guest booking commitment is less 6 months or 180 days).

Background

Property Providers manages a diverse property portfolio of short-term rentals that are not centrally owned nor standardised. Our portfolio is a curated collection of individually owned properties with unique features and benefits. Availability of these properties can also vary depending on the owner’s individual circumstances and other confirmed bookings.

Due to the nature of offering a non-standardised product, it is extremely important for guests to provide adequate advance notice of their intention to change or extend their stay. By upholding consistent and open lines of communication, coupled with proactive engagement between our agency and you as our guest, we can consistently deliver the highest quality service, which is our primary objective. This approach not only safeguards the interests of property owners but also mitigates unnecessary stress for all parties.

For the purposes of this policy, we define extension as the process of prolonging the duration of a reservation, changing the end date from the original date of departure to a new date in the future. A booking extension allows a guest to extend their stay beyond the initially agreed-upon check-out date.

Policy Objectives:

To be clear, concise, consistent, and upfront regarding the company’s position in relation to an extension of a short-term rental.
To support the company’s guiding principle that all long-term relationships have a foundation of mutual respect, mutual reward, mutual investment, and mutual risk.
To effectively facilitate a fair and balanced solution for all parties involved: the guest, the owner, and the agency.

Agency Policy: Extensions

Lead Time: Guests must provide Property Providers with written notice of their intent to extend their booking at least 2 business days before the departure date shown on your booking confirmation. The sooner a guest informs us about an intention to extend a stay, the higher the likelihood that we can fulfil your request. For extensions with less than 2-days notice, Property Providers will make every effort to accommodate your needs; however, we cannot guarantee availability in such cases. Requests must be complete and in writing.
Availability: There is no guarantee the property will be availability for an extension. It is the guest’s sole responsibility to secure any extension of their accommodation, and should not assume the property will be available for an extension. There is never a ‘promise’ in a place where Property Providers will not accept future bookings that may overlap with your preferred extended dates. Property Providers will endeavour to provide current, in-house guests first right of refusal for the option to extend as a courtesy only if a new booking is taken on the same property while the guest is in house.
Payment: Complete payment for the extension must be settled in full using a credit card before the extension is confirmed. This guideline remains applicable regardless of the duration of the extended stay or the overall booking value. Should the extension notice be given more than 30 days in advance, the balance of the full accommodation value is due immediately. If a guest expects Property Providers to migrate an already confirmed booking so they can extend, they must pay for all migration fees and potential upgrades for the other booking. This can be an upgrade for the guest and ultimately lead to a significant amount. The alternative is to leave the property as planned and ask Property Providers to allocate another property available.
Surcharge: An extension fee will be applicable for all requests at the agency at the time of the request. This provides for the administration required including but not limited to; owner communication, trust accounting, housekeeping rescheduling, trade and maintenance plans changing, etc. If the extension request is within 2 working days of the original departure date a cleaning rescheduling fee will apply. Failure to process and communicate this fee at the time of booking grants us the right to either deduct this amount from the guest’s security deposit or initiate an additional transaction to cover the fee. Any corresponding nightly fee of the original booking will continue with the extension. This is not always at the same rate. Fees can include but are not limited to; Wi-Fi, utilities, and pet surcharges.
Fraud: In order to mitigate potentially fraudulent activities, guests will need to provide the agency with visual verification of the credit card displaying the same name, along with a copy of their driver’s license or passport. The guests of the original booking must remain the same for an extension. Property Providers MUST be notified of a new guest arriving at a property. The agency’s Anti-Money laundering policy and all booking terms and conditions apply.
Value: Extensions do not adhere to a predetermined minimum value, as pricing varies for each property based on supply, demand and seasonality. Property Providers are unable to assure that the nightly rate for the extension period will align with the rate of the original booking.
Standard: Regrettably, we are unable to assure or ensure the fulfilment of any specific requests or alterations. For instance, the check-in time (3 p.m.) and departure time (9 a.m.) for the new dates are to be adhered to as per our standard procedure.
Policy Consistency & Adherence: All extensions, including last-minute extensions must adhere to and not contravene any of our other business guest policies. Extensions requested or confirmed outside of regular business hours (9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday) or during weekends might not be feasible for us to accommodate. An extension is considered approved only after the required payment has been received and a confirmation email has been dispatched.
Access: Access for extensions is to match the original pre-arrival information provided for that property. The guest may be required to pick up keys from our office and/or in person. The person paying for the rental must be the person picking up the keys. If this is not possible, we require written authorization from the cardholder. Keys and access will not be provided to people under the age of 18 under any circumstances.
Abuse: We recognise that extensions can sometimes arise unexpectedly, leading to potentially stressful situations. Nevertheless, Property Providers will not tolerate any form of inappropriate, negative, or abusive conduct. In the event that such behaviour occurs, we retain the right to cancel both the original booking and the extension without providing compensation.
Rights Reserved: Property Providers are entitled to decline any extension request originating from external platforms without incurring any penalties. To circumvent potential confusion or conflicts, it is advisable to directly arrange extensions with the accommodation provider.

Rationale:

The above policy has been drafted to provide not only a process but clarity for all parties. It aligns with the agency’s values, and we feel it is fair and balanced.

Effective Date: This policy is effective from July 1st 2023. Last updated: 18 September 2023.