The things that cause actual damage
Everything in this section is about preventing a claim rather than improving a review.
- Shut off and drain exterior taps before the first hard freeze, and disconnect every hose.
- Insulate pipes in unheated spaces: crawl spaces, garages, and any run against an exterior wall.
- Set a minimum thermostat temperature that a guest cannot override downward. A guest who turns the heat off on checkout day in January is a real and recurring event.
- Clear the gutters before the first freeze. Ice dams are a roof and ceiling problem, not a gutter problem.
- Service the furnace and change the filter. The worst time to discover a heating fault is with a booking in the property.
- Know where the water shutoff is and make sure whoever responds to an emergency knows too.
The things that cause bad reviews
- Snow and ice clearance on the walkway and driveway. A guest arriving at eleven at night to an uncleared path is the most common winter complaint in this region. Have the arrangement in place before it snows, not after.
- Salt or grit, where the guest can find it. A small bucket by the door does a lot of work.
- A snow brush and ice scraper left somewhere obvious, ideally mentioned in the check-in message.
- Extra blankets, plainly available rather than in a locked cupboard.
- Lighting on the approach. Dark at four thirty in the afternoon changes what a guest can see on the way in.
- Clear parking instructions, including what happens during a municipal snow event and where a guest must not leave a car.
Safety, checked and dated
Winter is when heating systems run hardest and when carbon monoxide risk is highest. Test every smoke and carbon monoxide alarm, write the date on the unit, and replace batteries on a schedule rather than on failure. Confirm the fire extinguisher is charged and that a guest could find it without being told.
If the property has a fireplace or a wood stove, decide deliberately whether guests may use it, and if the answer is no, make that unambiguous in the house rules and the house guide.
The message that prevents most of it
A short pre-arrival message in December through March, covering the parking situation, where the salt is, how the heating works and what to do if something fails, prevents more winter complaints than any physical preparation. It costs nothing and it takes two minutes.
On our full service plan the seasonal checks, the guest messaging and the vendor coordination are handled for you. Start with a free consultation.