A plain-language account of what data AI Concierge handles, where it goes, and how cost is controlled, written for operators and procurement reviewers.
How a request flows #
- A guest types a message into the chat drawer.
- Your WordPress server constructs a prompt that combines the guest’s message with your property catalog data, brand voice, knowledge base entries, photo-derived room observations, and recent conversation context.
- That prompt is sent to OpenRouter (
openrouter.ai) over HTTPS. - OpenRouter routes the request to the language model you’ve selected (default: Anthropic’s Claude Haiku).
- The model’s response comes back the same path: model to OpenRouter to your server to the guest’s browser.
OpenRouter does not retain queries beyond the immediate request. They don’t train models on your data and don’t log query content. The underlying model providers (Anthropic, OpenAI, and others) follow their own published data policies, which OpenRouter’s terms inherit.
What guest data is sent #
Each request includes:
- The guest’s message and recent conversation context
- A compact index of your published property catalog (name, location, type, bed count, sleeping capacity, and amenities) so the assistant can search and compare across your whole inventory, not a hand-picked few
- Your brand voice text
- Knowledge base entries and photo-derived room observations for the property page the guest currently has open, when available
- The guest’s saved-home list, but only if you turn on Wishlist context (Chatbot settings, off by default) and only when the guest brings their wishlist up in the conversation (“compare my saved homes,” for example). Up to 10 saved-home IDs are read from the guest’s own browser and sent with that request. If you enable this setting, reflect it in your privacy disclosure.
What is not sent: payment details, guest account passwords, or any data unrelated to answering the question.
What is stored on your site #
AI Concierge stores the following in your own WordPress database:
- License key and validation status
- Brand voice text
- Knowledge base entries (per-property)
- Photo Analysis output
- Chat session log
- Search history
- Performance metrics
Nothing is stored at HomeRunner, OpenRouter, or the model provider beyond the inflight request. If you cancel your subscription, all this data remains in your WordPress database; you can re-enable it later or export it via the standard WordPress data tools.
Cost controls #
AI Concierge is priced as a flat percentage of your HR Core fee (see HomeRunner Add-on Pricing). You don’t pay per query.
The cost layer that can vary is the underlying language model, and we manage that for you by default.
Default cost handling #
There’s no per-query surcharge: AI Concierge’s flat add-on fee is what you pay regardless of how much guests use it day to day. The Daily spending limit described below is what keeps an unusual day from running up unexpected cost.
This works for the vast majority of operators. We size capacity against expected fleet usage and adjust subscription tiers if model costs ever materially change.
In-product cost dashboard #
The Performance tab in the admin panel shows your cost trajectory and per-feature breakdown so you can see exactly where spend is going. See Performance.
Built-in cost-saving features #
These are on by default and shrink your per-query cost without affecting quality:
- Response length ceilings: each AI reply has a maximum length, so a single runaway response can’t drive up cost
- Compact catalog context: your properties are summarized in the prompt as core facts (name, location, type, beds, capacity, amenities) rather than full descriptions, keeping the per-query footprint predictable as your catalog grows
Daily spending limit #
A single unusual day can quietly run up more AI cost than you planned for: a traffic spike, a large photo-analysis batch, or a misbehaving script can all push usage well past a normal day. AI Concierge gives you a hard ceiling so a runaway day can’t happen and your monthly AI cost stays predictable.
The Daily Spend Cap (USD) setting in the admin panel sets the most AI usage can cost in a single day. The day is measured in coordinated universal time, so the count resets at the same moment everywhere rather than at your local midnight. By default the limit is set to ten dollars per day. You can raise it, lower it, or set it to zero to turn the limit off entirely.
The limit covers every AI feature together, not just guest chat: the concierge, photo and vision analysis, and property assessment all draw from the same daily total.
Once the day’s estimated spend reaches your limit, AI features pause for the rest of that day and resume automatically when the day rolls over. Nothing breaks permanently. Guests still see a courteous message rather than an error, your booking flow and property pages are unaffected, and any photo-analysis batch that was interrupted simply picks up where it left off after the reset. Capped properties are never marked as failed; they wait for the next day and continue.
OpenRouter balance and spend cap #
The Daily Spend Cap above protects against an unusual day. It doesn’t tell you if the OpenRouter account behind your API key is running low or has hit its own separate spend cap, which can quietly stop the concierge from answering at any spend level. AI Concierge now watches both and surfaces them directly in your admin panel, before a guest notices.
On the API settings tab, next to your OpenRouter key field, you’ll see a live balance readout:
- OpenRouter balance: $X.XX (checked N ago) in green when your balance is healthy.
- The same line turns orange once your remaining balance drops under $2, and red once it reaches $0. At $0, the concierge stops answering chats until the account is topped up.
If your key also has its own spend cap configured on openrouter.ai (for example, a monthly cap), a second line shows that cap separately: Key spend cap: $X left of $Y (monthly). This is an independent gate from your account balance: a funded account can still stop answering once its key’s cap runs out, even while the account balance itself still shows green. Once that cap is used up, the line instead states plainly that the concierge can’t answer until the cap is raised or resets. Keys with no cap configured on openrouter.ai show only the account balance line.
Where there’s enough recent usage to estimate from, you’ll also see a rough runway: Recent spend: $X in the last 7 days, roughly N days left at that rate. This is advisory only, it doesn’t change when the warning or error state kicks in.
A Re-check now link next to the readout forces an immediate check, useful right after you’ve topped up an account or raised a cap and want the warning cleared without waiting for the next automatic check. Automatic checks run in the background roughly every 8 hours, and about every 10 minutes while a warning or error is showing, so a cleared problem stops alarming within minutes rather than hours.
When the balance or key cap runs out, guests see the same courteous fallback message described under Reliability and fail-safe behavior below; your booking flow and property pages are not affected. Below $2 remaining, at $0, or once a key cap is exhausted, the same warning or error notice also appears across your WordPress dashboard, not just on the API settings tab, so it’s hard to miss even if you’re not on the AI Concierge screen.
Reliability and fail-safe behavior #
If the model or OpenRouter is briefly unreachable, the Concierge fails gracefully: the guest sees a courteous message rather than an error, and your booking flow and property pages are never affected. Rate limiting protects against abuse, and operator-only actions (such as triggering Photo Analysis) are restricted to authenticated admins.
Multi-site notes #
- Each site requires its own license activation slot
- Brand voice, knowledge base, and analytics are per-site. No cross-site data sharing by default.
- Volume discounts available. Contact sales@homerunner.io.
Compliance summaries #
For procurement, security, or legal review:
- GDPR: AI Concierge is GDPR-compliant when used as documented. We can provide a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) on request.
- CCPA: same as GDPR. No guest data is sold or used beyond the immediate request.
- PCI-DSS: AI Concierge does not handle payment data. PCI scope is unaffected.
- SOC 2: HomeRunner can provide a SOC 2 attestation summary for active subscribers. Contact support.
Questions about data, security, or cost? #
- General contact: support@homerunner.io
- Procurement / legal: sales@homerunner.io
- Security disclosure: security@homerunner.io
Last updated: 2026-08-14