Check a vacation rental or hotel listing for red flags
A careful review of a lodging listing and its reviews to spot scams, hidden fees, and deal-breakers before you book.
The prompt
Help me check a vacation rental or hotel listing before I book.
Listing details (paste them): [DESCRIPTION, AMENITIES, HOUSE RULES, PRICE BREAKDOWN]
Recent reviews (paste a selection, including negative ones): [REVIEWS]
Where it's listed: [booking platform / direct website / social media / classified ad]
What matters most to me: [e.g. quiet, parking, walkable, good beds, kid-safe, accessible]
Dates and total price shown: [DETAILS]
Check:
1. Scam warning signs: requests to pay outside the platform, wire transfers or gift cards, prices far below similar places, pressure to book fast, a host who won't answer basic questions, and copied photos (suggest I do a reverse image search).
2. Hidden costs: cleaning fees, resort or service fees, deposits, taxes, parking, and early check-in charges. Compare the total, not the nightly rate.
3. Review patterns: recurring complaints (noise, cleanliness, misleading photos, Wi-Fi, safety), how the host responds, and whether reviews are recent.
4. Fit for my needs, and what the listing doesn't say (stairs, air conditioning, distance to transit, neighborhood).
5. The cancellation policy in plain words.
Return: a verdict (book / ask questions first / skip), the top 3 concerns, a short message to the host with my questions, and anything to confirm in writing. Only use the information I've pasted; don't invent facts about the property.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Personal Life & Wellbeing prompts
What to fill in
- DESCRIPTION, AMENITIES, HOUSE RULES, PRICE BREAKDOWN
- REVIEWS
- DETAILS
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
Related prompts
- Prepare for a doctor's appointmentOrganizes your symptoms and history and prepares the right questions — without diagnosing.
- Understand an investment before decidingExplains how an investment works, its risks, costs, and the questions to ask — not buy/sell advice.
- Make a smart buying decisionNarrows your options for a big or small purchase — car, laptop, appliance, home — based on what matters to you.
- Check whether a message or offer is a scamAnalyzes suspicious emails, texts, calls, or offers for red flags and tells you what to do.