Terms of Service

What HostWorld is

HostWorld is a marketplace where hosts list homes for direct booking and a set of software tools, including AI agents, that hosts operate to run their properties. HostWorld is not a party to the rental agreement between a host and a guest, does not own or manage the homes, and does not act as a property manager or real estate broker. Hosts remain responsible for their properties, their listings, their guests and their compliance with local law.

Accounts

You must be 18 or older and give accurate information. Hosts must be able to legally rent the home they list and must keep their mobile number current, since the agents reach hosts by text and call. You are responsible for what happens under your account. Tell us right away at support@hostworld.ai if you think it has been used without permission.

Fees

Listing a home is free. HostWorld charges hosts 8% of the nightly subtotal on bookings made through hostworld.ai, deducted before payout. Guests pay the price the host set plus applicable lodging taxes; HostWorld adds no guest service fee.

Managed channels is an optional plan at $99.99 per property per month, billed through Stripe, with a free first month. It lets HostWorld's agents handle bookings and guest messages that arrive from other platforms in a mailbox the host connects. A $10 per month credit applies while the property's WiFi network is named hostworld.ai/id/ followed by the property's HostWorld ID; we may verify this through guest check-in questions and remove the credit if it stops being true. Cancel any time from the property page; the plan ends at the close of the current billing period.

Prices are in US dollars and may change with 30 days' notice by email. Taxes on HostWorld's fees, where applicable, are added.

Bookings, payments and payouts

Guests pay in full at booking through Stripe. HostWorld holds the funds and pays the host's share 24 hours after check-out to the host's connected Stripe account. HostWorld may hold a payout, or all payouts for a host, while a dispute, chargeback, damage claim or suspected fraud is reviewed, and will tell the host why.

Lodging and sales taxes. Where HostWorld has verified rates for a jurisdiction it collects those taxes from the guest at checkout, holds them, and remits them to the authority. Elsewhere, hosts may declare taxes they collect themselves, which HostWorld passes through in the payout. Hosts are responsible for taxes on their income.

Cancellations

Every listing shows both sides of the cancellation terms before a guest pays. The host declares a window before check-in during which they cannot cancel, and a buyout they will pay the guest, on top of a full refund, if they cancel outside it. The guest sees a free-cancellation window and the refund percentage after it. HostWorld enforces these terms automatically and refunds taxes in full whenever a stay is refunded. Hosts who cancel outside their window are not delisted; the cancellation is counted and shown on the listing.

AI agents

The agents act on the host's instructions and settings. Hosts choose which agents run on each property, whether they act automatically or wait for approval, and whether calls are recorded. Every action is logged for the host to review. Agents identify themselves as HostWorld's AI assistant in every message. They can make mistakes; hosts should review escalations promptly, and HostWorld is not liable for decisions a host delegates to an agent beyond the limits in the Liability section.

Spending limits. Agents will not commit a host to spending above the approval threshold the host sets without approval.

Connected mailboxes and other platforms

If you connect a mailbox, you authorize HostWorld to read booking-platform emails and send replies from your address as described in the Privacy Policy. You are responsible for complying with the terms of any other platform you use. HostWorld's tools work with email and calendar feeds those platforms provide; HostWorld does not log in to other platforms on your behalf and will not ask for your passwords to them.

Content and conduct

You own the photos and text you post and give HostWorld a license to display them to run the service and to promote your listing, including in link previews and search. Post only what you have the right to post. Do not misrepresent a home, discriminate against guests in violation of fair-housing law, use the platform to harass anyone, scrape the site, interfere with the agents, or list a home you are not entitled to rent. HostWorld may remove content and suspend accounts that break these rules, and will explain why.

Texts and calls

By providing a mobile number you agree to receive transactional texts and calls from HostWorld's AI assistant related to your bookings or your properties. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to stop, HELP for help. Consent to marketing texts is separate and never a condition of using the service.

Disclaimers and liability

HostWorld provides the service as is. We do not guarantee bookings, uptime, or that the agents will handle every situation correctly. To the fullest extent the law allows, HostWorld's total liability to you for any claim in a 12-month period is limited to the fees you paid HostWorld in that period, and HostWorld is not liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages, including lost bookings on other platforms. Some states do not allow these limits, in which case they apply to the extent permitted.

Hosts indemnify HostWorld against claims arising from their properties, their listings and their guests, except to the extent caused by HostWorld's own negligence.

Disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington. Before filing any claim, both sides agree to try to resolve it by writing to support@hostworld.ai and talking in good faith for 30 days. Claims that are not resolved go to the state or federal courts in Kitsap County, Washington, or small claims court where eligible.

Ending the agreement

You can close your account at any time from the host app or by emailing support@hostworld.ai; confirmed bookings are honored or refunded under their terms. HostWorld can suspend or close accounts that break these terms, with notice and a reason, and will pay out any balance owed that is not subject to a hold.

Changes

We will email account holders at least 14 days before material changes take effect. Continuing to use the service after that date means you accept the new terms.

Contact

HostWorld AI, Inc., 4952 Amherst Way Southwest, Port Orchard, WA 98367. support@hostworld.ai.