Questions, answered straight
Including the uncomfortable ones. Every answer says where it comes from, so you can read the clause yourself rather than take our word for it.
56 answers
Getting started
A marketplace where people who own robots and equipment list them, and people who need them book them. We run the platform that connects the two and holds the agreement between them. We are not the rental company and we do not own any of the equipment.
No. Rental Bots is a marketplace. We do not own, operate, or inspect any equipment listed.
No. Rental Bots does not provide, arrange, or procure insurance of any kind.
Source: Rental Agreement §10.1
No. The host and renter arrange handover between themselves.
Source: Rental Agreement §11
Not currently.
Source: Terms §16 — third-party services
Not yet. Card payments are not enabled.
Source: Pricing — when you are paid
Hosts pay nothing; renters pay a 2.9% + $0.30 service fee shown at checkout. No listing fee, subscription, or minimum.
Source: Rental Agreement §3.2
Anyone 18 or over with an account and a payment card in their own name. Identity verification is not performed at this time. Nobody booking through Rental Bots today has been identity-verified by us. The agreement also requires identity verification before booking — read §2 and judge it against that sentence.
Anyone with an account and equipment they own, or that they are allowed to rent out with the owner's permission. There is no separate application — your account is both a host account and a renter account.
It means the marketplace is open and the money is not moving yet. Card payments are not yet enabled. You can list and receive booking requests today; no money moves until we turn payments on. No Rental Bots coverage is in effect.
Source: Pricing — when you are paid
Renting
You pick your dates and send a request. It is a request, not a booking — nothing is confirmed until the host approves it. A host may decline any request for any lawful reason.
Source: Rental Agreement §2 and §3.3
An account, and a payment card in your own name — not a friend's, not a company card you are not authorised on. When card payments are switched on, a refundable $100 authorization hold will be placed on the renter's card at the time of request. It is not a charge, and it is not in effect today.
Source: Rental Agreement §2 and §4.1
You and the host arrange handover between yourselves — where and when is up to the two of you. There is no delivery and no courier. Both of you photograph the item through the platform as it changes hands.
Source: Rental Agreement §11 and §7.1
Not more than 150 miles from the pickup location on the booking, unless the host gives written permission through the platform before the item travels further. The radius is measured from the host's pickup address.
Source: Rental Agreement §9.3
Its intended purpose, following the manufacturer's instructions. Commercial use is allowed — you may use a rented item to do paid work.
Source: Rental Agreement §9.1
You may not sublet, re-rent, lend or sell it, use it outside its intended purpose or against the manufacturer's instructions, modify or repair it without written permission, use it unlawfully, or let anyone who has not accepted the agreement operate it. Prohibited use is a material breach, and the $2,500 liability cap does not apply to it.
Source: Rental Agreement §9.2 and §9.4
Up to ten days. No rental may run longer than that.
Source: Rental Agreement §5.1
Back to the host, at the agreed time and place, in the condition you got it, ordinary wear excepted. Photograph it again at return — those photographs are the record if anything is disputed.
Source: Rental Agreement §5.2 and §7.1
Yes, and the rental ends when you do. No refund is due for the unused days — the host reserved the item for the whole period. A host may refund them voluntarily.
Source: Rental Agreement §5.5
A late return is a breach, not an extension. For each day or part-day late you owe 150% of the daily rate, charged to the card on file. If an item is more than 72 hours late with no communication it is treated as unreturned.
Source: Rental Agreement §5.3 and §5.4
Free up to 24 hours before the start. If you booked inside that window, free for one hour after booking or until the rental starts, whichever comes first. After that you are charged one day's rate, which goes to the host for the blocked calendar; service fees are refunded in full.
Source: Rental Agreement §6.1
Refuse it and report it through the platform before you take possession. A refusal reported before possession is refunded in full, including all fees.
Source: Rental Agreement §7.4
Hosting
During early access the replacement value of an item cannot exceed $2,500. Equipment worth more than that cannot be listed yet. This is enforced by the listing form, not a guideline — and it exists because a renter's total liability for damage is capped at $2,500 per rental, so anything above it would be uninsured exposure you carry alone.
Tap HOST on the homepage. That is the first step. It opens your host dashboard; if you are not signed in you are sent to sign in first, and your account is a host account and a renter account at the same time.
Source: Terms §5 — Host terms
Four things are required: a title of up to 80 characters, a category from the list, a daily rate between $1 and $100,000, and a replacement value. A description, a city and photos are optional — the form will take a listing without them, though a listing without photographs is a listing nobody can assess.
No. You approve or decline every request, and you may decline any of them for any lawful reason. Approval is the point the rental becomes real and it is one-way — there is no path back from approved.
Source: Rental Agreement §2 and §3.3
You pay no fee of any kind — you receive the rental total in full. There is no listing fee, subscription or minimum. Card processing is handled by Stripe, and Rental Bots pays that cost out of the renter's service fee. It is never deducted from a host's earnings, and a change in Stripe's rate does not change what anyone pays or receives. The pricing page has the worked example on a real booking.
Source: Pricing — what hosting costs
When you approve, the renter's payment is captured and the fee comes out of that same transaction — there is no invoice and nothing to reconcile. Your share reaches you through your own connected Stripe account. Card payments are not yet enabled. You can list and receive booking requests today; no money moves until we turn payments on.
You owe $50 if it is within 24 hours of the start, $25 if earlier, deducted from your next payout — hosts give no payment card. The renter gets a full refund plus that fee as a credit, and the cancellation is recorded against your account and may show on your public profile. Repeated cancellations can mean removal.
Source: Rental Agreement §6.2
That the item is in good working order, safe for its intended use, accurately described, and that you own it or are allowed to rent it out. That is a warranty you are giving, and the renter is entitled to rely on it.
Source: Rental Agreement §7.3
What happens if…
Report it through the platform, with photographs, within 48 hours of the return time. A claim made later is not eligible. If the renter disputes it, Rental Bots decides using the handoff and return photographs, and issues a written decision within 3 business days.
An item more than 72 hours past the return time with no communication is treated as unreturned. The renter stays liable up to the $2,500 cap and we may suspend their account.
Source: Rental Agreement §5.4
Where an item is unreturned we may release the renter's verified legal name and what else is reasonably necessary for you to pursue recovery — but only if you ask in writing through the platform and have filed, or are filing, a police report or a legal claim. We tell the renter we have done it, unless the law or law enforcement says otherwise.
Source: Rental Agreement §5.4
The renter's total liability for damage or loss is capped at $2,500 per rental. Above that, the loss is borne by you, the host. Rental Bots does not insure the item, does not guarantee it, and does not reimburse you for uncovered loss. The cap does not apply to intentional damage, theft, fraud, or prohibited use.
Source: Rental Agreement §8.5 and §8.7
Where a loss cannot be recovered from the renter — because the card cannot be charged, or because a charge is reversed — that loss is borne by you, the host. That is stated plainly in the agreement and you accept it before listing.
Source: Rental Agreement §8.7
Every user assumes the risks of renting and operating this kind of equipment, and releases Rental Bots from claims arising from it. That release runs to Rental Bots, not to you — it does not transfer a renter's claim against you, and it does not limit what you may owe. Read §7 before you list.
You agree to defend and indemnify Rental Bots against claims arising from an item you list — which means a third party's claim about your equipment is yours to answer, and you may owe our costs as well. This is one of the two or three things most worth taking to your own adviser before you list.
Source: Terms §19 — Indemnification
The renter is not liable for ordinary wear from normal use, for mechanical failure they did not cause, or for a defect that was already there and recorded in the handoff photographs. Those are yours.
Source: Rental Agreement §8.6
$50 within 24 hours of the start, $25 earlier, taken from your next payout. The renter is refunded in full and receives your fee as a credit, and the cancellation is recorded against your account.
Source: Rental Agreement §6.2
Free for the renter up to 24 hours before the start. After that they are charged one day's rate and it is paid to you for the blocked calendar.
Source: Rental Agreement §6.1
Rental Bots decides, using the handoff and return photographs as the record, against a written standard applied the same way to every claim, with a written decision in 3 business days. If one side did not take photographs, that substantially weakens their position and the claim may be decided against them.
Protection and risk
No. Rental Bots does not provide, arrange, or procure insurance of any kind.
Source: Rental Agreement §10.1
That is your call and worth making deliberately. The Terms say you are responsible for obtaining and maintaining cover appropriate to your use, and warn that many personal policies exclude commercial or rental activity — so verify yours before you list or book rather than assuming it responds.
When card payments are switched on, a refundable $100 authorization hold will be placed on the renter's card at the time of request. It is not a charge, and it is not in effect today. It is a verification measure and a partial security deposit. It is not insurance and it is not a cap on the renter's liability — the cap is $2,500 and it is set separately.
Source: Rental Agreement §4.1 and §4.4
Trust and verification
Identity verification is not performed at this time. Nobody booking through Rental Bots today has been identity-verified by us. The rental agreement §2 requires it before booking; where the two differ, the sentence above is what the product does today.
Reviews must be based on genuine firsthand experience, and we remove ones that are fraudulent, retaliatory or discriminatory. We do not guarantee that any review is accurate.
Source: Terms §15 — Reviews
Both parties to that booking, and Rental Bots when a claim is disputed. They are the official record of the item's condition and are what a disputed claim is decided on.
Source: Rental Agreement §7.1
Money
Hosts pay nothing. Renters pay a 2.9% + $0.30 Rental Bots service fee, shown at checkout. There is no listing fee, subscription or minimum. The pricing page has the full breakdown and a worked example.
Card processing is handled by Stripe, and Rental Bots pays that cost out of the renter's service fee. It is never deducted from a host's earnings, and a change in Stripe's rate does not change what anyone pays or receives. Rental Agreement §3.5.
Source: Pricing — what hosting costs
At request the renter's card is authorized and nothing is captured. At host approval the payment is captured. If the host declines or does not respond, the authorization is released in full. Card payments are not yet enabled. You can list and receive booking requests today; no money moves until we turn payments on.
Source: Rental Agreement §3.3
Legal
The Terms of Service cover use of the platform. The Equipment Rental Agreement covers a specific booking between a host and a renter. The Privacy Policy covers your data. All three are published in full and can be read before you sign up.
Each document carries a version and a date. The version you accepted is recorded against your account and does not change retroactively; when a new version is published you are asked to accept it before you can continue.
Through arbitration, with a class action waiver, under the Terms. That is a significant limitation on how you can bring a claim and it is worth reading before you accept.
Source: Terms §20 — Dispute resolution
The Privacy Policy sets out what is collected, why, how long it is kept, and how to get a copy or have it deleted.
Source: Privacy Policy
Company
Rental Bots Inc. — a Delaware corporation operating from St. Louis, Missouri.
Source: Terms §25 — Contact
support@rentalbots.co, for support and for legal notices. If you need a physical address for service of process, email and we will provide our registered agent's address.
Source: Terms §25 — Contact
Not here? support@rentalbots.co. The documents themselves are on the legal page.