While screening guests is not an Evolve obligation under our Vacation Rental Management Agreement (and it’s important to understand that you’re naturally exposed to certain risks when renting), we want you to feel safe and secure with each guest that books your home. That’s why we proactively take measures to protect our owners in the best way we can.
After handling hundreds of thousands of bookings, we discovered that the biggest red flags to screen for are related to fraud (though keep in mind this is still very rare, as less than 0.3% of all bookings deal with suspected fraudulent activity).
How Evolve Screens for Fraud
Together with our payment processing partner, Stripe, Evolve takes the following actions to prevent fraud:
- Each transaction is scanned for hundreds of fraud signals
- Past activity and payment methods are evaluated for risk level
- We automatically deny transactions over Stripe’s risk threshold
- Payment errors associated with a card are flagged
- We scrutinize bookings made by phone for signs of fraud, and deny any risky transactions
If you'd like to learn more about steps you as an owner can take to further reduce fraud risk, please submit a request in your Owner Account to connect with our team about fraud prevention.
Does Evolve Screen Guests for Anything Else?
In short, no. And here’s why: while many owners hope to prevent circumstances like accidental property damage before they happen by screening guests upfront, our research shows personal characteristics (like age) do not correlate with guest issues or damage.
That said, we’ve enacted policies to make sure you’re properly protected. All Evolve listings forbid guests from holding parties or large gatherings. And in the event damage does occur during any stay, our Property Protection Plus program safeguards you and your home.
Please also note: Evolve’s Inclusion and Community Behavior policy unequivocally prohibits rejecting or changing a booking discriminatorily — it’s up to us to make sure all feel welcome.
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How Does Property Protection Plus Cover Home Damages and Liability?
What Is Evolve's Cancellation Policy?