Illegitimate damage fees by host

[Mahesh44]

Hello,

I have made a lot of AirBnb trips  with friends & family to various locations. I am a big fan of AirBnB and its policies. However, recently I have had a very poor experience from a seemingly dubious host who seems to be hosting their cottage to extort money from the guests in form of damage fees. 

We went on a trip to Bass Lake, CA where 4 families booked a cottage. The cottage description and photos made it look spacious and comfortable than it really was. We spent 2 nights in the cottage. There were a few kids with us. Fast forward 2 days later, after we checked out (at 10am, yes the checkout time was 10am), we received an email with a long list of damages from ripped sofas at multiple places (that none of us could possibly do in such a short period), stains on carpet and sofa, broken slat on window and smoking inside the house. We do agree on one of the stain that might be caused due to a toddler carrying strawberry, but rest of the damages were illegitimate. The host also sent links to all the furniture (including sofa, carpet and pillows) and charged us $4300 for all the damages. This included $2500 (with a link to brand new sofa). How can you justify such a blatant and ridiculous charges? I would not accept any charges beyond maybe 200$ (which still seems high) considering these are normal wear & tear that  one would expect.

How can we move ahead with this situation? It looks like AirBnB will side with hosts and will try to recover money from us on their behalf; but it just seems so wrong.

[Sarah977]

@Mahesh44  Well, no one here knows whether your version of the story or the host's is legitimate.  Hosts do have to give extensive proof to Airbnb in order for them to back up the host, it's not just some easy process. 

You have a review on your profile from several years ago,  though, that mentions exactly the same things- a lack of respect for the property, spills and stains and damages, so that doesn't exactly work in your favor. 

Stained and damaged sofas, carpets, smoking inside, are not something that require time to do- it takes a matter of minutes to do such things, and no, they aren't "normal wear and tear".  Normal wear and tear refers to things getting tired-looking and worn over time, towels and sheets needing to be replaced from time to time, not things that happen after one booking.

I have no idea whether the host is exaggerating the damage, but I would suggest you offer fair compensation for any damages incurred during your stay, rather than deny all responsibility. 

And smoking inside was likely a violation of house rules and can require many hours of cleaning, professional upholstery cleaning, etc to remove the smell. That alone would cost at least $200.  Not to mention a possible loss of income for the host if the following guests complain about the smell of smoke and demand a refund. 

[Mahesh44]

My claims are refuting the charges that the hosts are making incorrectly and not denying all the responsibilities. It looks like based on your response, there is a bias towards the hosts which is not really helpful for me.

Anyway thanks for providing your perspective.

[Sarah977]

@Mahesh44  As I said, no one here knows what damage you were actually responsible for.  Suggesting you pay for whatever you are truly responsible for isn't a host bias, it's just how people should behave in general in life, don't you think?

If a host posted here asking about charging a guest for something that most hosts do consider normal wear and tear or not worth pursuing, that would be the advice other hosts would give them- no, don't try to charge the guest. 

[Mahesh44]

It's very obvious that I would pay for what I am responsible. But my original question is what about the charges that are illegitimate. For example, charging for new sofa when the allegation is about a stain. 

[Sarah977]

@Mahesh44  If the stain can be removed, then of course charging for a whole new sofa isn't okay. Paying for the stain removal is. If the sofa is actually ripped, as the host claims, then I guess they have reason to expect to get reimbursed for a new sofa. 

It's a good idea, in the future, if you arrive to find there are already damaged things when you arrive, like rips or stains on a sofa, to take photos and report it right away to the host through Airbnb messaging, so there is a record of it and you don't get falsely accused. 

I just host a private room in my home, and I had one guest, who was a seasoned Airbnber, call me up to her room 5 minutes after she checked in to show me a loose shelf in the closet. It wasn't a complaint- she just didn't want to get blamed for it. In fact, I had already noticed that when I was cleaning, I had just forgotten to go back in and replace the screw that had fallen out. And a broken shelf isn't something I'd bother charging a guest for anyway unless they caused a lot of other damage as  well.

[Amanda660]

Had folks been smoking in the house?  One of your previous reviews mentions stains, spills and damage done by children colouring in. 

[Mahesh44]

Nope, there was no smoking inside the property. 

[Laura2592]

@Mahesh44 what was the capacity of the place you booked? Did you bring extra people? Did you accurately state how many children were coming (guests often think they don't need to, that somehow kids don't "count.") Four families in one space seems like it could be a great number. Is it possible that the host was not prepared for so many guests? Is it possible with that number of people there could have been damage done that someone didn't notice?

Your other reviews state the same. "Great guest!" is often what a host will leave when they don't want to say anything else that could be negative-- typically good reviews are more detailed. I'll be honest-- I probably wouldn't let you book my space with your review that mentions similar damage. It has nothing to do with bias and everything to do with spending additional hours and dollars to replace items and clean. Perhaps you can come to a compromise with this host and agree to pay for some of the items mentioned if you can't agree that they were all done by your group. We have no way of knowing if the host really does need a new sofa after your stay. Hosts don't generally go around asking for new large pieces of furniture to be bought because it is disruptive to other guests to have items like that delivered. If it really was put over the edge into "unacceptable" by your group(s), the next guests won't be kind to the host with a review. They are looking at your bad review because you are angry about being asked to pay for damage and don't want to, and the next guests' who are stuck with a stained, broken sofa. 

I would reflect a bit more on this stay and perhaps allow the possibility that this really happened: that your group caused more damage than you think. 

[Mahesh44]

The group size was appropriate for the house (as mentioned in the house size limit). There is no way we would book a house which would exceed that limit). Skimming through your post, I did not find anything that would be helpful for what I was looking at. 

I would have really liked to have a sensible unbiased conversation and stave off from passing any judgement. But it seems I am not going to get this as it's a host centric community. Thanks for the perspective!

[Laura2592]

@Mahesh44 sorry you came here for agreement and didn't get it. That sometimes happens when you aren't considering all of the angles. Best of luck!

[Elaine701]

@Mahesh44 

Well, the host has to prove it. Probably many times over. Even then, it's unlikely that Airbnb would find in their favour, even if you were guilty of all of it. It's rather rare that hosts make this stuff up, because it's very difficult and frustrating for them to get compensated. 

Guests usually get away with whatever damage they cause, just by denying it. Airbnb (well, their outsourced support) likes to get these things off their desk quickly. The easiest thing for them is to just say no and close the case permanently. 

I'm not saying you did these things, I honestly wouldn't know. But the cards are definitely in your favour. 

[Laura2592]

@Elaine701 

 It's rather rare that hosts make this stuff up, because it's very difficult and frustrating for them to get compensated. Guests usually get away with whatever damage they cause, just by denying it. 

Exactly. If a host constantly tried to bilk guests out of thousands, their reviews would reflect that. They would probably not be on the platform very long. 

If a guest made a mess and caused damage, their reviews would reflect that.  

In this case, we only have one side of the story, and one set of reviews to look at. But even so, its very likely this guest will prevail as Airbnb if the guest refuses to admit fault. 

[Mahesh44]

FYI the property and likely the owner is 1.5 months new to the platform

[Amanda660]

$1800 is the amount requested minus the cost of a new sofa.  What items/reparations did this include?

How many were in your group

and how many children were staying?