Has anyone ever been successful with an Aircover request?

[Jill-Blue0]

I just had a guest who booked the place for 2 months. One month into her stay, she developed hives. First she thought it was bedbugs, then spiders, then ants. Then she thought it might be her new pimple medication! She called at least two pest control companies - neither found any sign of infestation, yet she directed them to spray. And over the next two weeks, she did an excessive amount of laundry.  (My listing does not have laundry as an amenity. Because she did not have a car, at the start of her stay, as a courtesy I gave her access to the laundry room at no additional charge.) One night, she did laundry continuously from the morning until past 1 am. I finally asked her to stop and asked her to return the laundry key. The next day, she called Airbnb and complained that the place was unclean. This was 6 weeks into her stay! She asked for a pro-rated refund because she wanted to move out. I was so  happy she was leaving that I agreed to the refund. After she left, I found that several items were missing: mattress cover, memory foam mattress topper, and several Turkish towels. These items add up to several hundred dollars to replace. Perhaps she removed them because she thought they were infested with bugs? She also left the place so filthy that my cleaner charged me an extra $100.

I filed a resolution request, but the guest declined to pay. Next I filed an Aircover request. Airbnb is asking me to file a police report. Has anyone ever done this for missing household items? It really seems like a waste of the police force's time. Do they then contact the guest?

Has anyone ever gotten reimbursement for an Aircover request? I filed a previous request when a guest took a comforter, and months later it's still being reviewed! I 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jill-Blue0 If you are claiming for theft then a police report seems entirely appropriate and necessary.

[John4704]

The Resolutions Center and 'AirCover' is a farce, a fake 'host insurance' set-up--it DOES NOT protect the Hosts. [I am a lawyer and Super Host for 5 yrs.]      A recent Airbnb 4.5 guest (4 guests booked.... and 14 rowdy guests in attendance)  trashed our home with an  all-night party, disturbing our neighbors with loud music & alcohol & cars , and causing $850 damages plus extra cleaning.   I called Airbnb the first 'morning after' and wanted to cancel--but Airbnb Rep 'advised against canceling".    I was offered repeated assurances by Airbnb Support that I would be protected & reimbursed by filing a claim with Airbnb Resolutions Center--no worries.  And I did that--just as they requested.  I filed & sent photos and a receipts from our Host/Manager for various damages.  All of this took multiple messages, phone calls,  and  every Rep. gave re-assurances that Airbnb would take care of everything.  A month later I receive a response the CLAIM is DENIED.   What a joke...and disappointment!   If you think you are 'protected by Airbnb' with compensation for damages, think again.  Their Reps are trained to offer plenty of apologies ("I am so sorry you had this experience) but forget any compensation from Airbnb.   I thought Airbnb had our back--but now I think I am going to quit Airbnb.   Hosts are flying naked without backup.     PS:  I sent a  "Request for money" to the guest for 10 'extra guests'  staying, and the Guest messaged back (while at the party) that an Airbnb Rep told him he could "pay charges only if he wanted to".  Guest declined of course (and Airbnb still gives him a 4.5 rating). 

[Jill-Blue0]

@John4704Did they say why your claim was denied? I actually just got approval for the Aircover request I mention above. Not the whole amount, but most of it. I wasn't expecting anything at all, so even partial reimbursement is a pleasant surprise. It took weeks, and I regularly emailed for an update. My other Aircover request from January is still unresolved. My sense is that Airbnb support is overwhelmed, and cases take forever to review. They make you wait for weeks or months, and ask for lots of paperwork including a police report - maybe it's a strategy to deter all but the most aggrieved hosts...

I am also done with hosting on Airbnb. My current guest (lovely so far!) will be my last. I've been doing mostly 30+ day stays, so I'm going to switch to using Zillow where I can list without fees or worrying about ratings. Although Airbnb reviews and ratings are double-blind, a guest who gets a poor review can easily create a new profile. Hosts can't do that because we need a history of 5-star ratings.

The tenant with the hives gave me a one-star review. Airbnb contacted me to say that if I did not improve my ratings, I would be kicked off the platform. I have been doing this for +5 years, and have been a Superhost for much of it. I don't know if guests with poor ratings get a similar warning: somehow I doubt it. I wrote an accurate review of this guest. After reading my review, no host would accept her. I knew that my writing the review would likely motivate the guest to review my listing, and I knew it would be negative. I wrote it anyway because I was already planning to stop using Airbnb. But this guest can easily create a new profile, so she won't be affected by my review for very long. Airbnb's system for reviews and ratings favors guests over hosts every time.