Aircover - Is it any good?

[Christoffer17]

I started being a host 7 months ago, and also became a superhost.  In that time I've had only a few instances of minor damages in the 20-30$ range.

Which all was either paid by the guest or paid by airbnb if they declined almost immediately.

However a week ago I had my worst experience with a guest so far : Everything was ok untill their last night in my apartment. Where they had been cooking some stew in a pot, and lacking all common sense and basic judgment they took this pot directly of the kitchen plate and carried it into the living room and placing it on my wood dining table (there were coaster and plates in plain sight in the kitchen, but these were ignored) And by the look of things they left it there quite awhile leaving a circular, very deep and dark burn mark.

They did not tell me about this either, I guess they had hoped that I wouldn't see it untill next guest arrived. But I did see it that following morning and I confronted them with it. And they admitted they had an "accident"

This table costed 700$ new and is a hole wood table meant for 6 people and weighs 60kilo/140pounds (not an IKEA table that comes in parts that needs to be screwed together) This is bought in one big piece and can't be taken apart.

I requested 160$ (which is what a professional furniture restoration service which is 1km away from me told me it would cost over the phone to sand file the table and re oil it) he said 150-200$.  So I think my request is actual modest in consideration.

However this was instantly declined by the guest, and then when I contacted Airbnb aircover about this is when the story becomes interesting ;

I provided the following things

1) pictures of the damaged areas

2) screen shots of the guest admission of guilt

3) a link to the website that sells the table with price and model number

4) a link to the website of the shop I intend to use 

I get a reply from Airbnb stating I need to provide the following information

invoice and receip of cleaning/restoration of the table

original receip of the table (who saves a paper receip for furniture? it's not like it has warranty like electronical products, not to mention those paper slips fade in a year)

And I have to provide this within December 8 or the case will close

I tried sending a email reply to their email (2 days ago no reply) Which I point out the problems with this, I have to rent a van (provided a link to the app I'll use) because this table cannot be carried 1Km down the street or taken on metro, and it doesn't fits in a normal car. I cannot  physically carry this by myself down my apartment block outside. 

So what I have to do is this : I have to get a friend to help me carry it, rent the van that day, take it to the shop (up to a weeks waiting time untill they fix it as it's a queue) Once it's fixed get the receip, have a friend come with me again, rent a van again and take it back home. All this before December 8? And I don't even know if it will be approved. 

I get a feeling Airbnb is making this as difficult and bureaucratic as possible, so that hosts will fail or give up claiming damages.

This ordeal has turned me of continuing to host, what sort of nasty issues I could get it if someone actually damages something more valueable, like TV/couch or worse, structural damages like the wood panel floors. Put at burn mark there or water damages and it can be 4000-5000$ easily. 

I would love to hear other hosts stories with damages that are substanial and how airbnb dealt with it. Thanks

[Chill-and-Relax0]

You should've included the cost of shipping and handling in your claim just to get better negotiating power. The cost of a rental van (including rent of additional equipment such as straps, blankets, dolly, etc.) is also a cost of mitigating a loss; if you have to hire a team to move the table to the shop or pay extra for fixing it in your home that's the cost also. 

As for receipt for the item, they probably used copy-paste response and will drop out that requirement once you ask them what they need it for. 

[Christoffer17]

Got a reply last night and it said 

"Hi Christoffer,

This is Sílvia here again,

Thank you for you response and for sharing your concerns regarding the damage. 

Please understand under Host Damages protection terms, you must provided a professional repair invoice or estimate.

Please provide your complete documentation by 8th December 2021.

I also want to let you know that I’ll be out of office until 13th November 2021.

As always, if you have anything to add to the case, please reply directly to this message.

I will address any queries as soon as I return. I appreciate your patience and kind cooperation in the meantime.

Best regards,

Sílvia"

So it's not a copy paste reply, so yeah. I have to just deal with the damage asap and get some sort of receip for it and then hopefully they will pay me back. But honestly if I just buy a new table it will be delivered to my door by a big truck and guys who will carry it up the stairs and everything. 

Intsead I been opting for the cheapest and least expensive refund in terms of doing all this **bleep** myself and only claiming damages for a restoration. But takes hours of my time with the transport + I'll not have a dining table for up to a week in my house. 

I am very tempted to simply buy the same table again if Airbnb would actually pay for that. But it simply doesn't feel right to get a new table just because it's marked with a burn.

[Chill-and-Relax0]

"Please understand under Host Damages protection terms, you must provided a professional repair invoice or estimate.

Please provide your complete documentation by 8th December 2021."

It clearly says you must provide documentation, i.e., invoice OR estimate by December 8th, not to complete repairs by then. 

You just need to provide an estimate for repair, an estimate for roundtrip transportation (rental van, moving company, etc.), and possibly an estimation for renting another table for the time of repair. 

[Huma0]

@Christoffer17 

---

@Christoffer17 wrote:

Please understand under Host Damages protection terms, you must provided a professional repair invoice or estimate.

So, no you don't necessarily have to wait until the work is done and produce an invoice. They have said that you can provide an estimate. You got this over the phone, but you need to get it in writing.

The only time I claimed for guest damage, I provided photos of the damage and the quote from the locksmith and that was enough. The damage claim was handled quickly. I only had a quote via text, and they still accepted that. I would, however, request that the company provides a proper quote on letterhead or at least an email from a company email address with the quote attached as a PDF etc.

[Christine615]

I got reimbursed when my guests waited for two days after check-out to claim they were robbed (didn't mention it during their stay) and the spare keys were in the wallet (not likely).

I had to call an emergency locksmith to re-key the building. I uploaded the estimate, the final invoice, and photos of my attempts to contact the guest. Guest did not respond, Airbnb paid promptly.

Get the work done, or replace the table, then upload the invoice.

Remember, the paperwork seems onerous but if they didn't have a process, hosts could scam it. Make sure all communication with guests is in the message center before you bill them in the Resolution center. That provides a time-stamp in case Airbnb questions when it happened.  Good luck!

[Linda3345]

Have you considered sanding and refinishing the top of the table yourself, which would cost far less, not involve a van rental, etc..?

[Christoffer17]

ofcourse I did. but I don't own a sandfile machine. And doing it for hand will be extremely tidious and labor intensive. As the burn mark is probably quite deep. And the entire table needs filing even in the areas not effected by the burn to achieve a natural apperance.

Also it has  a type of "white oil" coating that I am not sure I can match without expertise looking at what type of color grade has been used. 

Simply getting a piece of sand paper and only filing down on the burn and then applying oil only on that area or on the entire top without filing down the rest of the table will result in a sloppy and noticeable poor look

[Katrina79]

@Christoffer17 @Can you get an invoice from the professional restorer on letter head? That is what you need to submit. You can send the quote in an email response to your support ambassador at Airbnb claims. You should also be able to attach a screenshot to your case in the resolution centre. It is tedious and this same thing could happen again in the future. You may want to consider using a table pad and table cloth going forward to avoid this from happening again. You may be granted an extension of 30 days if you ask for more time to resolve the issue. I think it is highly unlikely you would receive the amount for a brand new table at this point. 

[Christoffer17]

Yeah I'll get in contact with the service again tomorrow (they are closed on weekends) about getting an invoice in advance.

And about the table pad. I actually had a table cloth in frabric that covered the table. But they removed it when eating (guess they didn't want to spill food on it)

As I said these guests just lacked all basic common sense. 

They even destroyed a bath face towel when trying to clean up their mark before i noticed. Instead of using the kitchen cloths that are disposable after use and cheap. They decided to get a white face towel from the bathroom to scrub with ( and trying all sorts of cleaning products they found laying around without my permission) inlcuding chlorine (nice smell) 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Christoffer17  I am sorry for your trouble. Unfortunately, hosts quickly discover how many people don't use common sense. Hosting is very much like being a parent and dealing with kids. Hosts have to think in advance and predict every stupid thing guests could do... and even then some of them will surprise us. Everything should be fool-proved, easily replaceable, and not too expensive.

Unlike hotels, Airbnb hosts don't have a doorman, security and guest's credit card so ... 😞

I don't believe you can get 700$ if you buy a new table now bc you already requested 160$. Try to get an invoice from your repairman if he can't fix it by Dec 8th and the next time make sure you include transport costs as well.

Good luck

[Ananda11]

Over the 6+ years I have hosted I have experienced stolen items, broken items and misused items.   I have three ABBs, and have always been a Superhost .  It is so disheartening to go through the restitution process, as ABB makes it almost impossible for a host to recover damages or compensation for stolen items.  The numbers of guests staying in my ABBs who steal or damage things has been increasing throughout the years, and this trend is scary.  

[Kevin2301]

The @Airbnb "host guarantee" and "Aircover" plans are worthless!  My guests used the kitchen rinse wand off the sink, and WASHED the countertops and cabinets - therefore ruining the laminate countertops and sink base.  Furthermore, they installed a bidet in the bathroom, and WASHED the wooden vanity and sink area - ruining the vanity.  All told a $3000 claim.  Airbnb says it was due to "mold" and "faulty workmanship"  (even though the home is 5 years old... and was in perfect condition before these guests!!)     I call BS on AirBNB.   

[Helen744]

@Helen 744 Hi Kevin  I am intrigued at what type of guest does their own plumbing in your house How does one install a bidet in an Airbnb without the hosts approval  How long were you out of town that you missed that one?

[Max-And-Stephanie0]

AirCover is a joke and much worse than the previous system. We had about $6,000 in damages and were very meticulous to gather photos, videos, invoices, and statements from the cleaning and repair crews. And as expected, our request was slashed, but without any kind of reasoning. There were about thirty people staying for 4 days, drunk and smoking the whole time with unsupervised young children, from diaper age to preteens, running around wildly (per the Ring doorbell). One of the most frustrating examples is that for the smoke remediation service, we used the same crew we've used twice in the past, and we had no problem getting reimbursed 100%. This time, the invoice was cut from almost $1,000 to $250, with the only explanation being "That's industry standard." Excuse me, no, it's not. Industry standard in our area is $4,000 for a whole-house service. I've called three times and nobody knows where to refer me. The resolution team member who handled our claim said I didn't need to submit a written notice of dispute (which is what the fine print says to do, by the way), and instead he said I can call and ask to talk to the "concerned department." So I did, and yep, the next person I talked to had no idea what I meant. We've moved to sending a written notice of arbitration. Atrocious service.