StayHome Rentals

The Challenge

StayHome Rentals is a vacation rental marketplace competing with giants like Airbnb and Vrbo. As a smaller player, they needed a way to differentiate and attract hosts from established platforms.

Their research revealed a key pain point: hosts worried about property damage and liability. While larger platforms offered basic protection, the coverage was limited and claims processes were frustrating.

StayHome saw an opportunity: offer superior host protection as a core platform feature, not an afterthought.

The Vision

StayHome wanted to build protection directly into the hosting experience:

• Automatic coverage for every booking
• Higher limits than competitors ($50K vs $10K)
• Faster claims processing (24 hours vs 2 weeks)
• No deductibles for verified hosts

The Solution

StayHome integrated CoverKit's rental protection API to power their "HostShield" program:

// Automatic protection for each booking
async function createBooking(listing, guest, dates) {
  const booking = await db.bookings.create({
    listingId: listing.id,
    guestId: guest.id,
    checkIn: dates.checkIn,
    checkOut: dates.checkOut,
    total: listing.price * dates.nights,
  });

  // Automatically create protection policy
  const protection = await coverkit.policies.create({
    quoteId: await getProtectionQuote(listing, booking),
    payment: { method: 'platform_billing' }, // Included in platform fee
    metadata: {
      bookingId: booking.id,
      listingId: listing.id,
    },
  });

  return { booking, protection };
}

// File a claim directly from the platform
async function fileDamageClaim(bookingId, damageDetails) {
  const booking = await db.bookings.get(bookingId);

  const claim = await coverkit.claims.create({
    policyId: booking.protectionPolicyId,
    type: 'damage',
    description: damageDetails.description,
    amount: damageDetails.estimatedCost,
    documents: damageDetails.photos,
  });

  // 90% of claims auto-approved within 24 hours
  return claim;
}

The Differentiation Strategy

StayHome marketed HostShield as a key differentiator:

The Results

Host Acquisition

HostShield became StayHome's most effective acquisition tool. In the first 6 months:

• 2,500 new hosts signed up, citing HostShield as a key factor
• 43% were switching from competitor platforms
• Host NPS increased by 35 points

Protection Adoption

89% of bookings included HostShield protection. Hosts loved the peace of mind, and guests appreciated the professional approach to property care.

Claims Experience

When damage did occur, claims were resolved quickly:

• Average resolution time: 24 hours
• 90% of claims auto-approved
• Host satisfaction with claims: 94%

Key Takeaways

• Insurance can be a powerful competitive differentiator for marketplaces
• Automatic, included coverage drives higher adoption than opt-in
• Fast claims processing is as important as coverage limits
• Platform-embedded insurance creates stickiness and loyalty