Waivo vs Safely: damage waiver or per-night insurance

Waivo vs Safely is a choice between two different kinds of protection against guest damage. Waivo sells a damage waiver priced per booking. Safely sells insurance priced per night.

I read both companies’ own pages on November 11, 2026. I also have the prices an Ohio cabin owner I work with was quoted by both in November 2026, and I use them here as marked examples. This is general information, not insurance advice.

Both sit on the damage side of a direct booking. The guide to the vacation rental security deposit covers deposits and card holds, which can run beside either one.

Waivo vs Safely at a glance

Question	Waivo	Safely
What it is	A damage waiver program	Insurance, offered through an affiliated agency
How it is priced	Per booking. No published prices	Per night. Prices published for some booking systems
Published limits	$500 to $5,000 as standard, up to $20,000 with extra requirements	$1,500 to $25,000 of contents and dwelling cover on its partner pages
Deductible	None	$0 on the partner pages I read
Intentional guest damage	Covered	Covered
Pet damage	Covered	Covered, less any pet fee charged
Theft by a guest	Covered with a police report	The homepage says the policy may help. A police report is required
Liability for guest injury	Not included	Up to $1,000,000 stated on the homepage. An add-on on one partner page
Guest screening	Not offered on the pages I read	Offered. Left out of the quote I saw
Deadline to report damage	3 days after checkout on WaivoNow, 14 days on Enterprise	60 days after departure
Contact with the guest	Waivo says it never contacts guests	Not stated on the pages I read

The table uses each company’s public pages. Your agreement or policy is what counts, so read it before you rely on any row.

What Waivo is

Waivo is a damage protection program for short-term rentals. The stay is covered by a waiver, and Waivo reimburses the host for guest-caused damage up to the limit bought.

It comes in two versions. WaivoNow is self-serve, for hosts with one to three properties or fewer than 10 bookings a month. You log in, enter the reservation, pick a limit from $1,500 to $5,000 and pay.

Waivo Enterprise is for managers. It starts with a consultation and an agreement, with limits from $500 to $20,000 and pricing based on booking volume.

Waivo is not insurance, and it says so. Its sample waiver terms read: “This is not an agreement to provide insurance.” Its FAQ adds that liability cover is not part of the program.

What Safely is

Safely is an insurance platform for short-term rentals. Its site says coverage is offered through its affiliate, On Demand Insurance Agency, LLC, and only in states where that agency is licensed.

Cover attaches to each reservation and is active only while the guest is staying. The price is per night, so an empty month brings no premiums.

Safely also runs guest screening. Its FAQ describes a background check on the primary guest for covered stays. The quote I saw was for insurance only, with screening left out, so ask what yours includes.

OwnerRez’s support page describes Safely as primary insurance. It says Safely handles a covered incident alone, with no claim made on your regular homeowner’s policy.

What each one covers

Waivo

Waivo’s FAQ lists accidental and intentional damage to the building and its contents, pet damage, and theft by a guest when a police report is filed. There is no deductible, so a claim is paid from the first dollar.

A sample waiver on its site lists what is left out. The list includes acts of God, prior damage and normal wear and tear, loss of use, infestation, motor vehicles, and fine art and collectibles. It also names costs such as odor, clogged plumbing and general maintenance.

That sample excludes theft, which the FAQ includes. Terms differ by program, so go by the agreement you are sent.

Damage above the limit stays with you. Waivo’s knowledge base says its protection is not a replacement for a homeowners policy.

Safely

Safely’s homepage lists guest-caused damage including intentional acts, pet damage, and host liability for guest injury of up to $1,000,000. It says the policy may help replace items a guest stole.

Its page for Lodgify users gives more detail. Covered items include extra cleaning after stains or biohazards, and smoke remediation in non-smoking homes.

The same page lists exclusions. They include wear and tear, acts of nature, loss of income, formal events such as weddings, mysterious disappearance and damage reported after 60 days.

That Lodgify program also excludes bodily injury, while the homepage advertises liability cover. The product differs by booking system and by quote, so confirm which one you are being offered.

What each one costs

Waivo does not publish prices. Its FAQ says Enterprise pricing is based on volume, and its WaivoNow page shows limits and no dollar amounts.

Safely publishes per-night prices on its pages for two booking systems. Every level carries a $0 deductible.

Contents and dwelling cover	Lodgify page, per night	iGMS page, per night
$1,500	$8.25	$8.25
$3,000	$9.90	Not listed
$5,000	$11.29	$11.00
$10,000	$12.72	$12.50
$25,000	Not listed	$13.75

The iGMS page also lists limited liability add-ons, at $0.38 a night for $100,000 and $1.30 a night for $500,000. I did not find a published price list for OwnerRez users.

What one Ohio cabin was quoted

An Ohio cabin owner I work with asked both companies for prices in November 2026. The cabin takes its bookings through OwnerRez. These are that owner’s quotes, not list prices, and yours may differ.

Waivo cover per booking	Quoted fee per booking of 1 to 10 nights
$1,500	$39
$3,000	$50
$5,000	$79

Waivo quoted no monthly fee. It said the fee can be passed to the guest at booking.

Safely option, quoted November 5, 2026	Per night	Most paid per reservation
$100,000 dwelling and limited liability, plus $1,500 contents	$13.30	$100,000
$100,000 dwelling and limited liability, plus $5,000 contents	$15.73	$100,000
$500,000 dwelling and limited liability, plus $5,000 contents	$21.13	$500,000

The Safely quote showed a $0 deductible on contents and dwelling and listed bed bug cover as included. It added a $25 policy administration fee for each month that has premiums. It was valid for 60 days and said every reservation flowing through the owner’s OwnerRez account would be covered, on all channels.

The proposal was priced for one property and breaks the nightly rate down. Of the $13.30, $9.81 is premium, $0.49 is surplus lines tax and $3.00 is a Safely fee. It lists guest screening, chargeback protection and loss of income as not included.

Its disclosures say the cover is placed with a surplus lines insurer. An optional waiver of the terrorism exclusion would add 5% of the premium. Ask an agent what surplus lines cover means in your state.

Safely’s public FAQ lists bed bugs among its liability exclusions. Ask which bed bug costs the quoted line pays for.

Why the two prices are not like for like

The quotes buy different things. Waivo’s $39 buys up to $1,500 of guest damage protection for one booking. Safely’s $13.30 a night buys $1,500 of contents cover plus up to $100,000 for the dwelling and limited liability.

So a lower total does not mean a better deal. Guest-caused damage to the structure can run far past $1,500, and an injured guest is a liability matter. A waiver with a $1,500 limit is not built for either.

Many owners already carry a commercial short-term rental policy for those risks. If you do, per-stay dwelling and liability cover may overlap with it. Ask a licensed agent before you pay for both.

A worked comparison by stay length

Here is the cost per booking at the lowest level of each. This is example arithmetic from one owner’s quotes.

Stay length	Waivo at the $1,500 level	Safely at the lowest option
2 nights	$39	$26.60
3 nights	$39	$39.90
5 nights	$39	$66.50
8 nights	$39	$106.40
9 nights	$39	$119.70

The two cross at about three nights. Below that, the per-night price is lower. Above it, the flat fee wins by more with each night.

The monthly fee adds to Safely’s side. Take a month with four three-night bookings. Waivo comes to $156, and Safely comes to $159.60 in premiums plus the $25 fee, or $184.60.

Safely’s published Lodgify price for $1,500 of cover is lower, at $8.25 a night. Against a $39 flat fee, that moves the crossing point to between four and five nights.

Claims and deadlines

The reporting window is the biggest practical difference.

Waivo’s knowledge base gives WaivoNow clients 3 days after checkout to submit the rental details and a summary of the damage. Enterprise clients get 14 days. Photos and receipts can follow within 90 days of the first submission.

Safely’s pages give 60 days from the departure date. A claim saved as a draft holds the filing date while you collect estimates.

On speed, Waivo’s FAQ says its team must respond to a damage notice within two business days. Safely’s homepage says most claims are paid within one week.

Waivo also says it never contacts the guest during a claim. If guest reviews matter to you, ask Safely how its process treats the guest.

A three-day window needs a habit. Inspect at every turnover and file the same day, which is good practice with any cover.

How each fits your booking software

Neither product lives on your website. Each has to connect to, or sit beside, the software that takes the booking.

Safely integrates with several booking systems, and OwnerRez is one. OwnerRez’s support page says the integration is for clients with 10 or more properties, and that smaller hosts can ask Safely for a quote directly. Once connected, each booking is issued its own policy automatically.

Waivo is not on OwnerRez’s list of insurance integrations as of November 11, 2026. WaivoNow is a separate portal where you enter each reservation and buy protection for it. Waivo’s FAQ says you do not have to buy it for every booking.

That last point cuts both ways. Buying per booking means more manual steps, and it also means you can cover a nine-night holiday stay and skip a one-night midweek stay. Safely’s partner pages say enrolled properties are covered on every booking.

Your booking software may also sell its own cover. OwnerRez’s Damage Protection lists $1,500 of accidental damage cover at $27 per booking, and Hospitable includes damage protection in its Direct Premium tier.

The OwnerRez website and Hospitable website pages explain how I build on each.

Charging the guest

Both companies expect many hosts to pass the cost on.

Waivo’s page for managers says most hosts use its protection in place of a security deposit and charge guests a small non-refundable fee. It adds that its separate liability product cannot be marked up or sold to guests.

Safely’s Lodgify page says managers may pass the cost to guests. The fee has to be set up and kept current in the booking software and on each channel. With per-night pricing, a per-night guest fee keeps the two in step.

On your own website this is one line at checkout, named clearly, with a sentence on what it covers. On a listing platform, the platform’s fee rules apply, so check them before you add a charge. The guide to Airbnb host fees explains how its single fee is worked out.

Which one suits which rental

I am not an insurance agent, so take this as a way to sort the question, not an answer.

• Mostly one and two-night stays: per-night pricing tends to cost less per booking.
• Mostly stays of four nights or more: a flat fee per booking tends to cost less.
• No commercial policy on the property: ask an agent first, because a $1,500 waiver does not address the structure or an injured guest.
• A commercial policy already in place: a waiver may be all you want on top, for small guest damage.
• Ten or more properties on OwnerRez: Safely can run automatically through the integration.
• One to three properties: both are open to you, Waivo through its self-serve portal and Safely by direct quote.
• A slow turnover routine: a 3-day reporting window is a risk, and a 60-day window is forgiving.

Questions to ask before you sign

1. Is this a waiver or an insurance policy, and who is the insured party?
2. What are the limits per reservation for contents, dwelling and liability?
3. Is intentional damage covered, and what about theft, pets and bed bugs?
4. How many days after checkout do I have to report damage?
5. Which bookings are covered: every channel, or only the ones I enter?
6. Are there monthly fees, minimums or a contract term?
7. How long is the quote valid, and is it specific to my state?
8. How does this sit beside my property insurance?

Where your website fits

The cover you choose changes what a guest sees when they book. A waiver or insurance fee becomes a line at checkout, and a card hold becomes a sentence in the terms.

When I build a direct booking site, I set those up with you. The fee is named in plain words, the vacation rental agreement repeats it, and the booking flow your software runs collects it.

If you are still choosing software, start with the booking software integrations page.

Final Thought

Waivo vs Safely comes down to what you are buying. Waivo is a deposit replacement with a flat fee per booking and a short reporting window. Safely is per-night insurance that can reach the dwelling and liability, with a longer window and a higher bill on long stays.

Get your own quotes, read the agreement and ask an agent how each sits beside your property policy. When you are ready to show the fee and the terms on your own booking pages, see vacation rental website design.