Airbnb refuses to cover damamges done by guests.

[Caleb110]

I keep a extremely clean and well maintained home. I had a guest check in with his mother and all of the sudden my whole toilet became loose and the seal completely broken after a couple days after their arrival. Another guest reported that the bathroom toilet was loose. I immediately checked and it was definitely broken from heavy, heavy use. I dont know if they were standing on it but it was in good shape before they arrived. Long story short I confronted all my guests and of course they all denied breaking it or knowing it was broke. It was probably 2-3 days before we were made aware and water had already leaked through the floorboards and into the ceiling which started showing water spots. In panic I ran to the store and replaced the seal and took pictures of the waterlogged floorboards and ceiling and broken grout because the floor had water damage. It even soaked the vanity bottoms which are made of particle board and caused them to swell ruining the vanity as well. All within 3 days. I immediately contacted airbnb and they closed my case and denied me any help for the thousands of dollars in repair. The toilet was definitely broken by one of our quests and only a quest. We can say who it probably was but how do I know when it's a private room. Airbnb basically said they wont cover it because I cant blame one guests and it doesnt fall into the host guarantee. I absolutely take very good care of my home and the seal on that toilet wasnt old nor had problems. Airbnb should be covering the expenses for this damage especially because of my quick response to the damage. This was not neglect on my part but definitely damages done by a guest. I thought I was protected and cared about but obviously I have been overlooked and I feel as if I was swept under the rug. I'm glad airbnb is treating a new superhost this way especially during a pandemic. Should I contact outside support or legal aid because I feel they dont want to help because of the pandemic and trying to save themselves instead of the people making them continued cash flow by providing great service especially during these very hard times.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

Your evidence may be enough to take your case to arbitration, and the costs involved would be less than the costs to AirBnb to fight it (as well as them needing to pay for arbitration). It might take a little time but possibly the sensible option.

[Caleb110]

I wish I knew how to take it to arbitration. I'm the only one left in my family with a job during thos pandemic and every cent goes to pay my mortgage. Airbnb is the only thing keeping us afloat and they don't seem to care even though I was urgent about the damages. They just brushed me aside. 

[Gordon0]

I think you'll struggle to get any help from Airbnb, @Caleb110. I have to say my first avenue would have been to approach my home insurance company. Most policies (with accidental damage) would cover this, if not the associated damage caused?

[Sarah977]

@Caleb110  It's clear in Airbnb policy that damages have to be reported before the next guest checks in. If you rent out multiple rooms to unrelated guests, of course there is no way of knowing for sure who was responsible. It's important for you, as the host, to check regularly that everything is working properly, especially after one guest checks out and before another checks in.

Aside from that, you really can't rely on Airbnb to be forthcoming with $ for damages- their host guarantee is a PR stunt and really hard to get them to pay out on. 

[Caleb110]

I check all bathrooms and rooms thoroughly and check toilets vanities for leakage or damage. I used to do real estate and am quite aware if something is wrong. There was nothing wrong with this bathroom beforehand and it definitely happened when we had a full house during the guest stay within a 3 day window. When it comes to a toilet seal you cant tell exactly when the damage is done because nobody is going to undo their toilet bolts and replace their toilet seal everytime a guest checks out. All insurances cover this because it's very common and you cant know its damaged until you see water damage or puddles on the floor. In my case the seal was broke during a guest stay and it's a shared bathroom between 3 rooms. I reported the damage immediately and they said too bad basically. I feel like they just dont want to pay because they're loosing money during the pandemic. The fact that I might have to quit airbnb means they're loosing out on 3-4 fully booked rooms all year. They're making like 300-400 a room a month off me so.. really shady on them.