Frequently asked questions
How renting and listing on Muse Rent actually works — the money, the deposit hold, the handoff, and what happens when something goes wrong.
How it works
What does a rental look like from start to finish?
Four steps. You send a booking request for the dates you want, the lister confirms it, you meet in person for the handoff, and you meet again for the return at the end of the rental. Every step is tracked in your dashboard, so both sides always know where a booking stands.
When does the lister decide?
A lister sees your request in their dashboard and can accept or decline it. Nothing is captured from your card until they accept. If they decline, or the request expires, the amounts held on your card are released.
Do I need an account to look around?
No. Browsing listings is open to everyone. You need an account to send a booking request, to message about a handoff, or to list an instrument of your own.
Pricing and fees
What does a renter pay?
The rental fee shown on the listing — the lister’s daily or weekly rate for the dates you booked. Muse Rent does not add a booking surcharge on top of it, so the price you see when you request a booking is the price you pay.
What is the platform fee?
Muse Rent keeps a platform fee of 15% of the rental fee. It is deducted from the lister’s payout rather than added to the renter’s total, so a lister receives 85% of the rental fee for a completed booking.
How and when does a lister get paid?
The rental fee is captured when the lister confirms the booking, and Muse Rent holds it from that point. After the return is confirmed it is held for a further 7 days — that window is when a condition problem can still be raised. Once the 7 days are up, Muse Rent transfers the rental fee minus the 15% platform fee to the payout account the lister connected in their dashboard.
Security deposits
How much is the security deposit?
It is calculated automatically as 25% of the instrument value the lister declared when they created the listing. It is not a flat fee, and it is not negotiated booking by booking.
Is the deposit taken from my card?
No. The deposit is an authorization hold, not a charge. Your bank reserves the amount, but you are never charged for it unless a damage claim is reviewed and approved. When a rental finishes without a claim, the hold is released and your bank returns the reserved amount to your available balance.
Why do I see two pending amounts on my statement?
Because checkout places two separate authorizations on the same card: one for the rental fee and one for the security deposit. They are handled independently — the rental fee is captured when the lister confirms the booking, while the deposit stays a hold.
Handoffs and returns
What happens at the handoff?
You meet at the time and place agreed on the booking. Before the instrument changes hands, the lister uploads condition photos of it, and the renter can upload their own photos of the same instrument. Those photos become the shared record of how the instrument looked when the rental started.
Do we photograph the instrument again at the return?
Yes. Both parties can upload condition photos again at the return, and the renter can confirm the instrument was handed back. A condition problem is judged against the handoff and return photos, so a few careful, well-lit shots protect both sides.
Can a photo be replaced later?
No. Condition photos are write-once: once a photo is uploaded against a booking, it cannot be overwritten, edited or deleted. That is what makes the record worth anything when the two accounts of a rental disagree.
Disputes and damage
What if the instrument comes back damaged?
Muse Rent holds the rental fee for 7 days after the return is confirmed before paying the lister out. That window is when a condition problem can be raised, so contact support at support@muse-rent.com with the booking reference and your photos inside those 7 days rather than after the payout has gone out.
Who decides?
A person on the Muse Rent team reviews the handoff photos, the return photos and the condition notes both sides recorded, together with each party’s account of what happened. There is no automated verdict.
What can the deposit be used for?
Reasonable repair costs, or replacement where an instrument cannot be repaired, up to the amount held and no further. Anything left over is released back to the renter. The full rules are in the damage policy.
Trust and safety
Who am I renting from?
Members sign up with a verified email address, and each profile shows who they are and what they have listed. Every booking also carries its own condition photo record from handoff through return, so neither side is relying on memory alone.
Where should we meet?
Somewhere public and well-lit where you both have time to inspect the instrument and take photos without rushing. Agree the meeting point on the booking before the day, and bring a case or a cover if the weather is against you.
How do I report a problem with someone?
Contact support at support@muse-rent.com with the booking and what happened. Card details never reach Muse Rent — they go directly to our payment processor — and your contact details are only shared with the other party to a booking you both agreed to.