Broken Toilet - Guests Refusing to Pay

[Kira-Lauriel0]

Greetings! 

I have been hosting and managing my Sedona, Arizona airbnb property (owners of the house live out of state) for 8 months now, and I have never seen anything like this happen before. I had the guests send me a message late last night, not long after they checked in, only saying "the toilet tank cracked!". I responded promptly, asking them how that happened, and communication with them and trying to get photos was very frustrating to start with. They claimed that all they did was sit down on the toilet and caused the tank to not only crack, but it is broken completely in half. It looks like a violent break from a huge impact.....I do not believe they are being honest about it at all. I went and met them in person and they are saying toilet tanks are known to just explode out of nowhere (never heard of nor seen such a thing happen), and they are telling me it may have already been cracked before and "patched up" (never happened, toilet is almost brand new). They are not only refusing to pay for damages, but are requesting a discount on their 2 night stay, because the party of 5 is now stuck with only one toilet to use in the house... 

I would like some input from other hosts who may have had a similar experience, what would you do in this situation? I do not plan on trying to appease them by giving them a discount, because I'm sure they will still leave me a bad review by the way they were acting (it'll be my first bad review, unfortunately), and I want to know if it is worth going through airbnb resolutions to try and get the cost of a new toilet and installation paid for by the guest. I took a video of said bathroom only hours before they had checked in, so it has a time stamp on it, and you can see that the toilet tank is in perfect condition. 

Please let me know your thoughts and opinions, I always want to learn more about airbnb hosting to become better at it as time goes on. Thank you all so much in advance!

~Kira

[Helen3]

As you have a video a few hours before check in showing it wasn't broken presumably you've showed this to the guests and told them it was new  . What did they say ?  @Kira-Lauriel0 

When you went over did you bring a plumber with you to provide a report and a quote? Did they confirm to you these breaks can't happen naturally??

If so. Personally I would charge them and not offer a discount . If they want a leave a negative review they will anyway now you've raised the issue with them. 

you could have offered a penalty free cancellation if they didn't want to stay with one toilet if you couldn't arrange for an immediate repair/replacement. 

[Kira-Lauriel0]

I showed them the video and they just said it could have had an internal crack, or been defective, but they are adamant about not being responsible. I get it that it was a bad situation with the water all over the floor when it broke, but we have never had any problems with that toilet before. Just very strange, my ex boyfriend has been a general contractor since 1984 and he told me he has never heard of a tank exploding out of nowhere just from someone sitting on it. 

I could not bring a plumber over with me because it was a first morning thing, and a Saturday, so I can't get a plumber out until Monday. They were demanding to have it fixed and replaced first thing this morning but I just told them that it was not possible.

I also told them if they wanted to go and stay elsewhere I would give them a refund but they said they have no choice but to stay there because they cannot make last minute reservations anywhere else. That's about all of the discount I was going to offer them. I will see if I can attach a photo of the toilet to the original post, so you all can take a look at how bad it is.

[Angela3989]

Hi @Kira-Lauriel0  If they had broken the toilet it would have been with a great blow and there would be chipping and obvious point of impact with damage from for example a sledgehammer. I tend to believe them that it just cracked when someone sat on it. It could have been defective or damaged previously and just a ticking time bomb. I would not try to hold the guests as responsible if it were me. However you would have to use the overall picture. Have they done other things to make you think they would do something as crazy as cause themselves and inconvenience by destroying a toilet? I might split the difference and give a day discount and get a new toilet installed immediately. Are their reviews from other stays ok? If course there are crazy ones out there so anything can happen but if they seem like normal people you have to look at it from their side. They rented a place and the toilet broke. If it were me I'd be really ticked off at paying so much and having the bathroom out if commission. I'm actually in VRBO on family vacation now and I have a lot of complaints about the state of this rental as a guest! Try to see both sides.

[Kira-Lauriel0]

I was thinking more along the lines of maybe they sat on it too hard, maybe fell back and hit the tank with their back? I did add a photo to the original post so everybody can see the break, it's pretty severe, but it doesn't look like anyone hit it with anything. I looks like it started at the bast of the tank and broke all the way up to the top. They are a group of 5 older women, do not seem to be rambunctious or crazy in any way, so that part makes me want to believe that maybe someone just sat on it hard enough for it to finally give. It's just difficult to come to a decision, but I want to do what's best for both parties. 
All of their reviews have been great which is why I went ahead and allowed them to book! 

[Helen3]

I don't think as someone who isn't a plumber you can guess what did your plumber say when they inspected it @Kira-Lauriel0 

[Emilie]

Hi @Kira-Lauriel0, 

I'm sorry to hear this happened during a recent stay and you did not feel you got the support you needed afterward!

What did you think of Helen and Angela's advice? It would be great to know if there has been any development on your situation. 🙂

Thanks, 

Emilie

[Lorna170]

@Kira-Lauriel0   I am experienced with the same kind of damage -- this was caused by the person who sat down and LEANED BACK HARD, stressing the tank at the base.  This could have happened in an instant.  It was not necessarily intentional, but it was caused by the guest.  

IMO, a refund is not going to prevent the guests from leaving a poor review.  It is also probable that the guests will continue to refuse to pay for any repairs.  If you choose to mention the incident in your review of the guests, be very brief and non-specific;  "Guest caused damage to the property" and leave it there.  No mention of payment, refund or AirCover.

If the owner has a deductible on their home insurance, it is probably more than the cost of the toilet repair.  Requesting the guest to pay for a repair that they are already denying causing is a waste of your time. AirCover is a PITA too.  You might get 10 cents on the dollar as you would probably be asked when the original toilet was installed and provide the receipts.

After 20 years of hosting, I have an excellent insurance policy for my properties, a "slush fund" for major repairs like toilets and large appliances and a long list of service persons who can conduct repairs in short order.  Talk to the property owner and discuss how you are going to proceed in the future when damages occur and at what dollar amount or repair timeframe the guest is going to be pursued for compensation.