Is it correct to request compensation from a guest for damaged items?

Is it correct to request compensation from a guest for damaged items?

Please help to understand. In the fall of 2020, we decided to replace the towels. For three guests, this is a whole set of towels. Two of them were new for a very short time. We understand that some of our guests spoiled them. On a blue towel and gray large towels all over their area there were spots of different sizes, as if discolored. (After each guest, after their departure, we inspect towels and bed linen for stains and therefore we can clearly say after which guests the stains appeared). Usually, we try to wash all things ourselves at home, and if there are small stains, then these things are subject to enhanced processing and stain removal (hurray! This happens very rarely). Since these stains did not wash off, we were able to understand that they appeared after exposure to severe discoloration.
We don't know how in other countries, but in Russia there is such a practice - to dye your hair at home. Apparently some of the guests dyed their hair and used our towels. Then they became like that.
We did not make any claims to the guests and left them a good review, because otherwise everything was fine.
Had to replace some of the towels again. And in the light of recent events, when the cost of a night is already minimal, and even more intensive cleaning is being carried out, this is already becoming expensive.
Moreover, last year we were very unlucky, in February it broke down in the guest apartment
refrigerator, we had to buy a new one, and in August the washing machine broke down (it was not new, but in good working order) and we also had to buy a new one. One of the guests melted the bottom of the electric kettle without informing us about it. Another guest scratched the desktop with a laptop, but honestly said about it and tried to partially compensate for it. And we had to replace the table. Plus spending on minor repairs in the apartment.
Question: is it possible in such cases to request compensation from the guest for the damaged things? (we have a deposit)

 

Thank you.

 

P.S. Sorry, the translation was automatic, we don't speak English well.

9 Replies 9
Mike-And-Jane0
Top Contributor
England, United Kingdom

@Vladimir-and-Elena1 You can only claim within a short period of the guest leaving or before the next guest checks in so I fear you are too late. Also many hosts do not claim for minor things as they view them as additional costs that just have to be met in the rental costs.

 

thank you

Elena87
Level 10
СПБ, Russia

@Vladimir-and-Elena1 

 

You should familiarize yourself with the procedures around using the resolution centre for making claims from guests if they have damaged some of your fittings and linens.

 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/767/what-is-the-resolution-center

 

What @Mike-And-Jane0  says about minor damages is generally true, but this should be taken in context.

 

You seem to be charging currently only 25 USD per night, so a couple of damaged towels might be overlooked in a listing charging 100 USD per night without causing much impact, but not so with your listing price.

thanks Elena87 for taking into account these features

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Vladimir-and-Elena1  In addition to the advice you have received here, please don't leave good reviews for guests who disrespect your property and damage things and don't offer to pay for them. That is misleading to other hosts, who would read those reviews and naturally think these are good guests.

 

Leave honest reviews, please.

We are mostly loyal to guests and try to write objective reviews. But taking into account the individual characteristics.

if the guest is a newbie on the platform Airbnb, and we are the first ones he visited, and given that everything else was good, naturally, we will leave a positive review, but write him about it in a personal review.
(Perhaps this is the mentality of people and they consider it a trifle).

@Vladimir-and-Elena1  When you're changing over the room between guests, and you find that something of value has been damaged beyond repair, you can follow the instructions in the Help article linked by @Elena87 . You always have the right to initiate a request for compensation, but if the guest declines to pay up, it becomes your responsibility to provide evidence and receipts, and whoever Airbnb has outsourced its customer service to has the final say in what you get paid out.

 

FYI, the deposit is fictional. Airbnb lets you specify a deposit in your listing settings, but it doesn't actually charge that to the guest - so in real life, it doesn't affect the results of your claim procedure. With or without it, you can always pursue compensation for your losses; you just have to weigh the possible payout against the risk of a disgruntled ex-guest taking revenge against your listing and your home. It might not be worth all the stress for something as cheap and replaceable as a towel.

Thanks for the explanation. We thought about the deposit-better. Literally a year since we introduced the deposit charge and as far as we understood at that time, it is blocked on the guest's card. We knew this because we themselves rented an apartment with the security Deposit through the platform.
Too bad it doesn't mean anything.
As for the fact that "the former guest will take revenge", we think and hope for the prudence of subsequent guests.