Finding Housing as a Guest

Start by searching with your destination city and dates. You can filter by:

• Property type: Entire place, private room, or shared room
• Price range: Set your budget per night
• Amenities: WiFi, kitchen, laundry, etc.
• Instant Book: Properties you can book immediately without host approval

Pro tip: If you're looking for housing near a specific school, many hosts specify which universities their property is convenient to.

Short Stays (1-29 nights)

For short stays, you'll pay the full amount at booking. This includes:

• Nightly rate × number of nights
• Cleaning fee (if applicable)
• Service fee (platform fee)
• Security deposit (refundable)

Mid-Term Stays (30+ nights)

For longer stays, especially in states like Massachusetts, New York, California, New Jersey, and Connecticut, we use monthly billing:

• At booking: First month's rent + security deposit
• Monthly: Rent is charged automatically on your billing date
• At checkout: Final month prorated if needed

This structure complies with local tenancy laws that limit upfront payment requirements.

All payments are processed through Stripe, a secure payment processor used by millions of businesses. We never store your full card details.

What's included in the price:

• Nightly rate set by the host
• Cleaning fee (one-time, if applicable)
• Service fee (helps us run the platform safely)
• Security deposit (fully refundable if no damage)

Before move-in: You can cancel with a tiered refund schedule:

• 14+ days before: Full refund
• 7-13 days before: 50% of first month retained
• Less than 7 days: First month retained

After move-in ("Early Termination"): Once you've moved in, you have tenant protections. If you need to leave early:

• Provide 30 days notice
• You owe rent through the notice period
• If the property is re-let sooner, your obligation ends at the re-let date
• Any prepaid rent beyond your obligation is refunded

This is called "early termination" (not cancellation) and follows landlord-tenant law in most states.

Security deposits protect hosts against property damage. They are fully refundable if you leave the property in good condition.

How it works:

1. Deposit is collected at booking (amount set by host, capped at 1 month rent in some states)
2. After checkout, the host has 7 days to file any damage claims
3. If no claims, your deposit is refunded within the state deadline (14-30 days)
4. If there's a claim, you'll receive an itemized statement with photos

Important: Deposits can only be used for documented damages—never as a penalty for cancellation or early termination.

• Communication: Use our messaging system to contact your host. This keeps a record of all conversations.
• Issues: If something is wrong with the property, document it with photos and contact the host immediately.
• House rules: Respect the host's rules about guests, quiet hours, pets, smoking, etc.
• Checkout: Leave the property clean and return all keys/access cards.