Lowest amount worth asking from guest for damages

[Inna22]

This subject has been discussed a lot in terms of dollar value however it is important to remember the cost of rental per night. What is the minimum percentage of the nightly rate do you think should be? Someone who is doing a home share can not afford a new set of linens every turn over. I have (rather had) multiple properties and bought linens in bulk. It was not a big deal to throw a set out every few stays. 

The group that checked out today broke multiple glasses (total loss $6- came across them on sale at Homegoods and stocked up), a lamp (Walmart, $14, was at the store buying something else anyway). They smoked on the property. Not inside, ozone machine will get rid of any smell inside, I already own it. There are two ways of looking at it: actual loss is $20, they paid $600 for the stay, I am moving on. Or: I charge $500 smoking remediation fee that is in my listing. I did have to buy the machine at some point and the cost should to be divided between smoking fees paid by various guests. My housekeeper spent extra time cleaning and we had to launder more than usual. I was stressed. The broken items have to be bought. I have to go to the store or pay shipping fee, put them together etc. I could go all out and ask full remediation fee and whatever a nice similar item costs today. I do not owe them going from store to store to find the glasses on sale. Plus they won’t match any more so technically I should be able to buy a whole new set. 

In light of the total cost of reservation, what would you recommend?

[Emilia42]

I would eat it and take satisfaction in writing them a negative review.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

I'd not be charge for the breakage, which is the cost of doing business; however a broken lamp and the quantity of glassware broken seems excessive. I do replace glasses and tableware that show scratches or get chipped, which is the same to me as replacing linens whenever the slightest trace of wear is detected.

Imho, smoking at a non-smoking property is not excusable, unless your rules state that smoking outdoors is OK. Since you state a "$500 smoking remediation fee", that sounds to me like not a firm rule, and it seems to me that the real issue may be around how you state your rules. In 7 years I've had no one smoke anywhere on the property (per our very firmly stated rules) and no one who smelled of smoke even show up. In all this time I've found only one item broken - a fragile-stemmed crystal wine glass, which mattered much less to me than the happiness of my guests. 

May you continue to love and enjoy your home share!

[Inna22]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 it is in my house rules, house book and posted on the wall. Smoking in the back yard is almost as bad as smoking inside because I have neighbors that have agreed to tolerate my airbnb as long as there is a hard no on smoking in the backyard, which can stink up theirs. Plus, in the winter people used to really stretch the meaning of inside/outside and smoke in the doorway which made it smell inside just as bad. The rule is no smoking anyway on the property. The issue comes up about twice a year anyway

[Sarah977]

@Inna22  Well, how likely is it that they will accept a $500 smoking remediation fee? Zero likelihood, right? Will Airbnb pay you out if the guest doesn't? How much is your time worth to deal with this? 

What I might do in this particular case is charge them for the broken items (that's a lot of breakage) plus your gas and time to go get replacements, and tell them you are also considering applying the $500 smoking fee but would be amenable to waiving it if they pay for the breakage.

The idea of pegging whether to ask for damage remediation based on the nightly stay fee is a good one, but in some cases it wouldn't make sense. My private room is $28/night, but if a guest damaged something that cost 25% of that, it wouldn't even be worth my time spent on the computer back and forthing  with messages, or then having to having to involve Airbnb for $7. I could spend that time working on an upholstery project and earn more than that in the same amount of time.

[Debra300]

@Inna22,

I don't think thank the cost of the stay should determine the amount for guest accountability.  My general rule about seeking reimbursement is that it depends if the guest told me about it before I found out on my own, and if I can tell if the damage was purposeful.  @Sarah977 does make a good point that it's unlikely that Airbnb will collect the $500 smoking penalty fee on your behalf, but I would encourage you to request the additional cleaning costs that you had to pay your cleaner.  Make sure her receipt shows the additional time and materials used.  So maybe between the cost for the broken items, and the additional cleaning cost, it may be worth your effort to submit a reimbursement request.  

[Debra300]

@Inna22,

The other thing that I want to add is that the other platforms that I use allow me to actually collect a deposit.  I rarely take a deposit, but do retain the guests' payment information.  This is enough to keep them in line.  They are usually forthcoming whenever they've had an accidental breakage.  I think this is because they'd rather address any potential costs early on instead of having a surprise charge on their card after they've left.  The fact that Airbnb doesn't collect a true deposit, and that guest's have to agree (and/or Airbnb has to agree, also) give some guests a feeling of impunity regarding their responsibility to adhere to house rules and general respect for someone else's property.

[Inna22]

@Sarah977 @Debra300 I filed 5 smoking claims over the years (3 years, 6 properties). First time it was a large claim shortly after I got started. The house was trashed. I would have never accepted that guest today, any of you would have known it was not going to end well. Actually, that's how I discovered this space and made my first post. That entire claim got denied. Next time I had a blurb about $200 smoking fee in the listing. That claim was denied as well but that rep walked me through where I should list the fee and also told me to raise it. He made a good point- if someone gave me $200, would I be willing to let them smoke? The amount was too small to stop someone determined to smoke, particularly if it were a group and they were splitting the cost. After that I made three claims and all three were paid quickly. 

I mainly take issue with smoking when there is someone checking in same day. There is no way to get rid of the smell in a few hours. If I do not have anyone for several days, it is much easier but still there is cost to doing it.

[Debra300]

@Inna22,

Thanks for sharing your experiences.  I also have a $500 smoking penalty, but after reading other conversations here in the community I've lost confidence that Airbnb would enforce it.

[Kelly149]

@Inna22 when I've had to write up a loss for glasses or lamps or linens I would find an acceptable replacement online, forward along that info and expect to receive that amount of money from the guest. (whether or not those actual items were what I ended up buying after the fact is a whole 'nother thing) "Dear Guest, we understand that breakage comes along from time to time, but please forward $xxx in order that we can replace x/y/z. See attached link. Thank you!" Very chipper, no judgement, just the simple expectation that they want to make it right.

In regard to the smoking, a similar tactic... "Dear Guest, as you recall we do have a posted No Smoking Property and a max $500 fine imposed for smoke remediation. The cleaning company was able to remove the smoke smell from your stay for only $150 additional charge so as a courtesy I am only charging you the rate they charged me rather than imposing the entire $500 fine. Please pay it immediately as I have already paid the cleaning staff for their time. Thank You!"

And then also as @Emilia42 said, review them appropriately. And also decide if you want to play the review first, charge second game or just approach them both immediately.

[Inna22]

It is now day three of running the ozone machine and it still smells. I have now multiple trips there to restart it and airn out and the housekeeper will come out second time to reclean and wash the walls. I am now leaning towards charging them.

[Huma0]

I have only once charged for a broken item which was a very expensive front door lock (+ locksmith's labour) which the guest broke after ignoring instructions. The guest didn't want to pay but I got the money quickly and easily but I suspect Airbnb paid out of their own coffers rather than take it from the guest, whose 'deposit' wouldn't even have covered the full cost.

I have never filed for any small damages. If a guest tells me they broke something and offers to pay, I usually let it slide. A couple of times I have let them pay because they insisted on it.

What irks me much more is the guests who don't tell me and actually deny knowledge or try to blame it on other guests. This is disrespectful and I would like to know how better to tackle it. What I have found with these types of guests is that they can become extremely hostile if you don't drop the matter as soon as they deny it. Is it worth pursuing via a resolution claim? Unfortunately, the guests who deny it/don't offer to pay seem to be the majority.

There are so many small (and some less small) breakages and damages to contend with and I am beginning to think that continually letting it slide is a bad idea because it goes beyond normal wear and tear,  they add up both in terms of money and time, plus make my listing less deserving of 5 stars for subsequent guests.

So if a guest breaks fixtures and fittings, do you claim for it? What about damage to walls and paintwork? What about minor damage to furniture, but expensive furniture, due to carelessness? What about guests breaking decorative items because they come home drunk and can't walk straight, but then say they don't remember or that it wasn't them?

Or, do I just increase my rates and expect the careful/respectful guests to share the costs of the less respectful ones?

[Inna22]

@Huma0 yes, most of the time they claim it was broken/missing when they got to the house. Unfortunately, because my houses are bigger, it is possible to be true. My housekeeper more than once has "discovered" that something was missing after I knew for days it was or even took it myself. During the busy pre-covid times I had multiple housekeepers so it was even harder to keep track of little things. Another problem is almost broken items. For example, a guest cracks a piece of furniture, I do not know it,  and the next one finishes it off, but it is really not the latest guest's fault because they were "set up"

[Huma0]

@Inna22 

Yes, I can imagine that in your case it is hard to be keep track of small damages. Even here, there are ones where it is impossible to know which guest caused it. However, breakages in the bedrooms are usually very obvious to me as I clean the guest rooms myself and very thoroughly, so if there is suddenly a scratch or stain on a surface, I know it was the last guest.

Communal areas are trickier of course because multiple guests are using them, but most damages tend to be in the guest bedrooms. I have had a few things broken in common areas and due to guests coming home drunk and crashing into things. I know this because I heard it happen every time and knew everyone else had already gone to bed. Still, the guests denied it was them. In hindsight, I should have come down to inspect the damage straight away so that the guest couldn't get away with saying it was someone else.

[Anonymous]

@Inna22  For me, the cost of the reservation or the room rate is not relevant to the question of the damage claim, so much as to the question of how to furnish the property to begin with. It sounds like your housewares are reasonably proportionate to your room rate, so there's no question that your guests can afford to replace what they break.

But thinking about all the time that would go into a dispute if the guest refused the charge, I don't think the settlement would be worth all that extra work. So I guess what I would do is write to the guest that you've fortunately been able to replace the items that were broken, and explain how to use the Resolutions link from their end if they'd like to make a contribution toward that. If the guest wants to be seen as a decent person, they'll quickly reply apologizing for the breakage and asking how much would be appropriate. They'd be relieved to be given a low token amount, and ideally that would spare you from a conflict and revenge review.

If the guest doesn't offer to pay, have fun writing a scathing review and do something else with all the time you saved not scanning receipts and writing back and forth to a clueless operator.