How can I keep a deposit Parking Pass through Airbnb?

[Tse405]

I have two parking spot and  usually provide two parking passes to my guests for free. Sometimes, guests forget to return them and take them back home, but they usually send them back by post. Until last year, a guest did not return the permit card. I sent her an Airbnb message and a text message to her phone number, and I even tried to reach her by phone call. I am sure she forgot or something, but she did not respond. Then, I requested the money, as my listing states that if a guest loses a parking permit, they need to pay for the replacement. However, she rejected it without providing an explanation.

For the final step, I wrote to Airbnb's help center. They responded that the guest left it on the bedside table, but I told them I searched everywhere. I asked Airbnb to investigate, but their response was that they are reviewing it. I did not receive any response for almost four months. Then, I wrote again to Airbnb, and they said I need to prove that she did not leave the parking pass.

I finally realized there is no way to prove if the parking pass was lost by the guest or if they did not return it. Now, I only have the parking pass, and I do not want to charge guests for it. How can I keep a deposit through Airbnb? I do not know how to handle this situation?

[Lorna170 · Accepted solution]

@Tse405  How much is a replacement parking pass?  How quickly can you obtain it?

If you want to charge the guest for the pass, you could add it as a management fee and then refund through the resolution center when the guest returns the pass.

If you do not want to charge a fee for the pass but want to have the money to obtain a replacement pass, you could add a few dollars to your nightly rate and allocate those dollars to a replacement fund.   Many hosts have a slush fund for minor expenses like replacing a plate or a property pass.