Check-in and check-out photos
Guides about damage in holiday rentals are written for hosts. This one is for the guest: ten minutes of photos when you arrive and ten more when you leave are enough to show how you found the place and how you left it. Rules differ by platform and by country: this is a general guide.
Seal your check-in photos, free
1. Before you unpack
Walk through the place with your phone before you settle in. Photograph each room from the doorway, then close up anything already broken, stained or missing. If you find something, tell the host through the platform’s messages the same day, with the photo: a message inside the platform is dated and both of you can see it.
Damp stain above the window
2. What to photograph
- Mattresses, sofas and rugs: stains are the most common claim.
- Floors, walls and doors, above all marks and scuffs.
- Kitchen and bathroom: dishes, appliances, taps, shower screen.
- Bed linen and towels, counted.
- Remotes, keys and anything on the inventory or the house rules.
3. If something breaks during the stay
Say so straight away in the platform’s messages, with a photo and what happened. A broken glass reported the same day is a conversation; one that turns up in a claim a week later is an argument.
4. When you leave, the same photos
Follow the check-out instructions (rubbish, dishes, keys) and take the photos again in the same order and framing as on arrival (move-in and move-out checklist). If you leave early in the morning or without seeing anyone, they are the only thing that shows how the place was left.
5. If a claim arrives later
Deadlines depend on the platform. For example, Airbnb’s Help Centre says a host has 14 days after check-out to request reimbursement in the Resolution Centre, and the guest has 24 hours to respond. That is why it pays to have the photos ready before the message arrives. Reply inside the platform, calmly, with the arrival and departure photos of the item in question. You can adapt this message:
Hello [name]. Thanks for letting me know. This is how [the sofa / the rug / …] looked when I arrived on [date] and how I left it on [date]: [link]. I reported it on [date] in this chat. Happy to sort it out.
6. If you book direct, with a deposit
With no platform in between, agree in writing on the deposit amount, when and how it comes back, and send the link to your arrival photos on the first day. If something is deducted at the end, see how to get your deposit back.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Rules and deadlines depend on your country, your city and your lease.