How do we add a damage deposit to our listing? I'd had one for years, then Airbnb took them all away, but some hosts say they were able to add one to their listing. How?

[Lisa722]

I've been a host for several years, most of those as a SuperHost until Covid brought my numbers down. I had always had a $500 damage/security deposit, but never needed it. Until last summer when a guest destroyed the linens with blood and chewing gum. When I went to access the deposit through Airbnb to get reimbursed for the damage, I was informed Airbnb took away our deposits and we now had to rely on AirCover which is a total joke and I eventually got a whopping $96 instead of the $368 it costs to replace the destroyed linens. I went to the community to ask about this and found many other hosts having gotten screwed this way, too, but several hosts said they still managed to have a damage/security deposit on their listings and I want to know how to do that, too.

[Huma0]

@Lisa722 

Technically, you are not allowed to charge a security deposit form a guest. It is against Airbnb's ToC. That is, unless you're a large scale host, which they seem to make exceptions to the rules for...

[Lisa722]

I'd had a deposit on my listing for five years before I ever had any damage and then discovered Airbnb had taken them away from us without notice. I can't afford to host without any sort of security against guest damage. My $500 damage deposit would have taken care of the gross biohazard damages left  by a guest, but, instead, I had to go through the highly irritating process of begging for compensation from the guest who caused the damage, which, of course, got not response. Then I had to go through the arduous, ridiculous and unfair process of more begging from Airbnb's severely flawed "AirCover" policy which is supposed to protect hosts; it doesn't. I eventually got 30% of the cost of the damage, which is totally screwed! Some other Airbnb hosts in the Community indicated they had figured out a way to put back a damage/security deposit on their listing and I would like to know how to do that (and it wasn't for large scale hosts).

[Huma0]

@Lisa722 

I am not sure then how they did it, other than specify it in the listing and then make a request from the guest to pay it, but, as far as I am aware, they are not allowed to do this, so it probably just means they haven't been 'caught' yet...

[Lisa722]

Thanks, but I'm hoping someone who is doing it correctly sees my post and chimes in. Can't afford to stay with Airbnb if I can't protect my property and clearly, AirCover offers little to no protection for hosts and it isn't fair Chesky took away our only reasonable means of being made whole after a guest damages our properties.

[Huma0]

@Lisa722 

I agree with you. I would like a deposit too. However, when Airbnb did have a 'deposit', it wasn't actually real. I mean, they never actually collected it from the guest when they booked. You still had to beg the guest for money, and then go to Airbnb and beg them if the guest refused/didn't respond, so in a way, nothing has changed.

[Lisa722]

Well, that sucks. I had no idea since I've had five years of lovely guests until this "wrecking crew" I got last summer, so I hadn't had any need to access the deposit until now.

[Gillian166]

@Lisa722  there is nowhere in our listing dashboard to add a security deposit. you might be waiting a while to hear from someone "doing it correctly". 

[Lisa722]

It was real clear when setting up your property with Airbnb in the first place (in my case, 5 years ago) and since I'd never needed it until last summer, didn't realize it had disappeared until I needed help. Every single "ambassador" told me in their very broken English (various countries) that I had NEVER had one and it wasn't until I reached a woman in a Spanish-speaking country (I don't speak Spanish, but my father is Spanish so I can understand most Spanish-accented English, lol!) that I actually got some informational help: she assured me that yes, I had had a $500 damage deposit until last May '22 when Airbnb yanked them all without informing us.  Since I'm not setting up a new property, I don't know what shows and what doesn't now. I have certainly been bombarded with plenty of b.s. emails about how "...great and supportive..." this AirCover is supposed to be for hosts... I'm just so angry about this!