Property Damage But No Payout

[Alison745]

TLDR: I have damage in my house but I don't know which guest did it, so AirBNB won't cover it. 

I had 4 different sets of guests in my home over a 1-month period. When I moved back in afterwards, I noticed that a curtain was ripped and torn in a handful of spots, and it'll cost $70 to replace it. I reached out to all of the guests, and all responded but none of them claim responsibility. It looks like a dog probably did it, but a few of them had a dog with them at some point. So I tried to submit a claim to AirBNB, but they refuse to help me since their policy involves me first filing a resolutions case to the specific guest who caused the damage. ...Which I can't do, since I don't know who did the damage! I think I've done my due diligence in reaching out to each guest. The curtain can be pulled up and folded in such a way as to hide the damage, which is likely how it went unnoticed in between stays. 

Has anyone dealt with this problem before? And also, do you think this is fair? AirBNB touts its "up to $1mil" in insurance, but this caveat seems unfair. With renters/homeowners' insurance, they don't require you know who the perpetrator was before paying out a claim. And this specifically seems like a red tape type of issue that the AirBNB rep doesn't know how to handle since they don't have a claim from me to move up the ladder. 

[Anonymous]

@Alison745 What a racket that would be, if anyone who was in need of some home repairs could set up an Airbnb listing, take a few bookings, and later said "hey Airbnb, one of your guests damaged something but I don't know which one! Throw me a bone, will ya?"

You know the economy is in the dumps when suddenly everyone convinces themselves they deserve free stuff. But it's hard enough to get a successful claim when you follow the correct procedures. There's no credibility when you imagine that they shouldn't apply to you. 

[Alison745]

I get it dude. Please stop belaboring your point. I thought AirBNB put money aside to cover damages from guests, and that this was a case that would be covered. It’s not.

For the record, the people I spoke to in person about this encouraged me to talk to AirBNB to get compensated. Which is why I took it as far as posting here when they Refused. And unlike them, apparently you think I look like a money grubbing liar. Cool, thanks, check, understand. I just wanted to understand how it all worked and the basic opinion on it, and now I do.