Guestark

Terms of Service

Last updated: July 2026

1. Service Description

Guestark is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) booking tool for vacation rental hosts. We provide website hosting, booking management, guest communication, and payment processing tools.

Guestark is not a travel agency, marketplace, or property manager. We are not a party to any booking agreement between hosts and guests.

2. Host Accounts

Hosts are solely responsible for their property listings, pricing accuracy, tax compliance, and adherence to local laws and regulations. Hosts must ensure that their property descriptions, photos, and availability are accurate and up to date.

3. Guest Bookings

Bookings are contracts between the guest and the host. Guestark facilitates the booking process and processes payments on behalf of hosts via Stripe Connect. Guestark is not liable for cancellations, disputes, property condition, or any issues arising between hosts and guests.

4. Payments

Payments are processed by Stripe. By using Guestark with online payments, hosts agree to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement. The platform fee is a monthly subscription of $19 NZD. There is no commission on individual bookings.

5. Trial

New hosts receive a 14-day free trial starting from property activation. No payment is charged during the trial period. If the subscription is cancelled before the trial ends, no charges will be applied.

6. Prohibited Use

The following are prohibited:

  • Fraudulent or misleading property listings
  • Listings for illegal properties or activities
  • Deliberately misleading pricing or availability information
  • Using the platform to harass, spam, or engage in abusive behaviour

Guestark reserves the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms.

7. Intellectual Property

Hosts retain full ownership of their content, including photos, descriptions, and property information. By using Guestark, hosts grant Guestark a non-exclusive, worldwide license to display this content on the platform and in generated guest-facing pages for the purpose of providing the service.

Photos you add to places in your guest guide may, after our review, also be shown on cards for the same place in guides of other accommodations nearby, so every guide benefits from the community's photos. You can opt out per photo at upload, and you can keep any photo private to your own guide.

8. Generated Guide Content

Guestark can generate and maintain digital guest guides for your property, including recommendations for nearby places, descriptions, travel times, and photographs sourced from public and licensed third-party sources.

To keep guides accurate, Guestark updates this generated content automatically: new relevant places may be added, permanently closed places are removed, and outdated details (such as descriptions or travel times) are refreshed. We notify you of additions to a published guide by email, and every change is listed in your dashboard changelog.

You stay in control: you can hide or restore any entry at any time, and you can turn off automatic additions per guide in your dashboard settings. Content you have written yourself is never modified by automatic updates.

Generated content is provided for your guests' convenience. While we apply automated quality checks, we cannot guarantee that every detail (such as opening status or travel time) is accurate at all times; you are responsible for reviewing the guide you publish.

9. Guest Contributions

Guests who have unlocked a guide may submit photos, ratings and other feedback ("contributions"). By submitting a contribution you confirm that you created it, that it does not infringe anyone's rights, and you grant Ruru Ventures Ltd a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to store, moderate, edit for display, and show it in guest guides operated on the Guestark platform, including guides for other accommodations near the same place.

Contributions are reviewed before they appear; we may decline or remove any contribution at any time without notice. If you chose to display a name with your photo, only the name you entered is shown; we never display your email address.

To request removal of one of your contributions, use the "Remove my photo" link in the guide footer or email support@guestark.com; we remove it within a reasonable time.

10. Limitation of Liability

The Guestark service is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. Guestark is not liable for losses arising from:

  • Platform downtime or service interruptions
  • Third-party service failures (Stripe, email providers, DNS providers)
  • Data loss beyond reasonable backup measures
  • Actions of hosts or guests using the platform

11. Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of New Zealand. Any disputes arising from these terms or the use of Guestark shall be resolved in the courts of New Zealand.

12. Changes to Terms

These terms may be updated from time to time. For material changes, we will provide 30 days' notice via email to registered hosts. Continued use of Guestark after the notice period constitutes acceptance of the updated terms.