Damage & rule violations

We place a $250 pre-authorization on the card used to book, roughly 3 days before arrival. A pre-authorization is not a charge — it reserves the amount against your available credit and no money moves unless we bill against it.

• The hold is released after check-out, typically within 7 days. How quickly it clears your statement is up to your bank, not us.
• The hold is a floor, not a cap. It does not limit your responsibility if actual damage exceeds it, and it does not function as a damage waiver or insurance.
• If your card is declined for the hold, we will contact you for another card. An unresolved hold can delay your access code.

These homes are meant to be lived in for a week. Ordinary use is priced into the rate.

• Normal wear and tear — scuffed floors, faded linens, a worn cabinet pull
• Mechanical or appliance failure that was not caused by misuse
• Small accidents you tell us about before check-out: a broken glass, a stained towel, a wine spill we can treat
• Anything already documented in the home before your arrival

• Damage beyond normal wear to furniture, flooring, walls, appliances, or fixtures
• Stains, burns, or odors that require replacement rather than laundering
• Damage to the owner's personal property, landscaping, or a shared common area
• Cleaning that goes materially beyond a standard turnover
• Any violation on the published fee schedule
• Fines assessed against the owner or manager by an HOA, condo association, or the City of Pensacola as a result of your stay

These amounts are agreed to at booking. They are not punitive — they reflect what remediation actually costs us and the nights a home cannot be rented while we fix it. A fee is separate from, and in addition to, any repair or replacement cost.

Every one of these traces back to a rule in our House Rules, which form part of your Rental Agreement.

1. 1

   We reach out first

   For anything that can be corrected — noise, an extra car in the wrong spot, a visitor who stayed late — you get a text or a call before anything else happens. Most issues end here.

2. 2

   Written notice

   If the issue continues, you receive written notice by email describing the violation and what has to change. Any fee from the schedule below is quoted in that notice.

3. 3

   Termination of the stay

   Smoking, a party, illegal activity, exceeding occupancy after notice, tampering with safety devices, or harassment of neighbors or staff ends the stay immediately. You will be asked to leave, no remaining nights are refunded, and the applicable fee still applies.

4. 4

   Assessment and documentation

   After checkout we photograph anything we intend to charge for and email you the photos, an itemized cost, and the invoice or estimate behind it — within 14 days.

5. 5

   Your chance to respond

   You have 7 days from that email to reply with your side before we charge the card on file. If you show us we got it wrong, we drop it.

Reply to the assessment email within 7 days with photos, context, or anything else that tells your side. A person reads it. If the evidence does not clearly support the charge, we drop it — we are a small local company and we would rather lose a repair cost than a guest.

Please come to us before filing a card chargeback. A chargeback filed without contacting us first does not pause the assessment, and we will respond with the documentation described above. Unpaid amounts may be referred for collection, and you may be charged reasonable costs of collection where Florida law permits.

Your booking is a transient occupancy license for vacation use, not a tenancy. Ending it for a material breach does not require an eviction proceeding under Florida landlord-tenant law. If the stay is terminated for cause, remaining nights, the cleaning fee, and taxes already collected are not refunded, and applicable fees still apply.

The security hold is not insurance. It does not cover your personal belongings, your medical costs, or your trip. Many homeowner and renter policies extend some coverage to short-term stays, and travel insurance is worth considering for trips during hurricane season. Damage you cause may be reported to the property owner's insurer where the amount warrants it.

If any of this gives you pause, ask us at support@walnutcoast.com. We publish this in detail specifically so nothing on it is a surprise after a great week in Pensacola.