Host Guarantee

[Gary888]

A guest smoked cigars inside of our non-smoking home and ashed the cigars on the carpet over 30 times.  They ruined a 24 square foot area of carpet in open concept living room.  The guest admitted to causing the damage through Airbnb chat but refused to compensate us and stopped responding.  The Host Guarantee says Airbnb should cover the amount it would cost to repair or replace damaged or destroyed Covered Property.  However, Aibnb will only offer us $200 to replace only the 24 square foot of carpet that was damaged.  We cannot replace just the damage square of carpet; we will need to replace the entire carpet since it is continuous in the living room/dining room. We are extremely disappointed because the Host Guarantee was the reason we were comfortable offering our home to strangers in the first place.   

Has anyone else had a similar situation and been successful in getting Aibnb to adequately compensate for replacing the continuous flooring?  Any tips?

[Helen3]

You can go to arbitration with Airbnb and appeal @Gary888 

[Anonymous]

@Gary888 Did you include a professional invoice or estimate in the documents submitted for the claim?  

A lot of hosts have been disappointed to find that the Host Guarantee is not all it's cracked up to be. It's definitely no substitute for a real STR insurance policy - at best, it's a supplement - and since Airbnb doesn't actually collect a security deposit, the hosts really are absorbing all the risk.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Gary888 I think the problem lies in your saying they have ruined a 24 square foot section of carpet. If there was a big burn say 1 foot square then you would say they have ruined the carpet not 1 square foot of the carpet. On what basis was the claim made?

[Ann72]

@Gary888  My approach has always been to get the item estimated, repaired or replaced right away and present the estimate or invoice with little to no discussion - simply, this was damaged, guest won't pay, here are pictures and invoice/estimate.  Then it's up to Airbnb.  I've always gotten paid but have not had damage as extensive as that which you describe.  Unfortunately at this point you probably won't get more than the $200 offered, so if I were you I would take it and file an insurance claim with your homeowner's insurance.