Property Damage and Airbnb pathetic response

[Svetlana191]

Just an FYI and not to expect much or anything from Airbnb.

Guests children's just destroyed our TV. They admitted to it by sms. The cost of a replacement TV equivalent is less than the cost i originally paid for the one they destroyed. After a few very amicable back and forth messages and even a very good phone call the guest went completely silent.

In the mean time all documentation and evidence was uploaded to the resolution centre should the guest not follow through with the replacement TV, which they didnt.

After waiting for 3 days for Airbnb to review the case and in addition to the 72 hours the guest had to confirm in their great and superior wisdom i have been offered 65% of what the replacement TV cost.

Despite having a bond on our place that just covered the cost of the replacement TV Airbnb cannot they say use it because the guest has not confirmed. Haha what an absolute joke, what is the point of a bond if a guest just has to refuse to acknowledge what they have done.

Our response to this pathetic handling (there has been no intervening by Airbnb with the guest in any way at all) of this case is that after more than 3 years, with 5 star status at all times, we will be delisting and saying goodbye to Airbnb.

Hosts are penalised for guests damage wile the guest gets away with it absolutely free. this is the second time in our Airbnb experience this has happened. We are not going to continue to subsidise guests for destroying our belongings and continue to worry about what guests may do knowing that nothing can be done to replace anything they damage without extra cost.

There is no way of contacting the case management (for want of a better word) to try and discuss anything. they will make a decision and than actually close the case whilst you are trying to communicate with them.

From the stay and what was received we then incur like most others electricity, internet, water, washing, ironing, cleaning (which we do all ourselves) is taken out for a group of 4 people with children these "people" had a fantastic deal. Well done and well played.

In addition we are now also out of pocket for a replacement TV that only a few days ago was in perfect working order and destroyed.

Daylight robbery and a clear message of how much this organization cares about the people who are actually generating their revenue.

[Shaun282]

Sorry about your TV.  We had a similar occurrence a few months ago, although not as costly I'm sure.  Guest didn't respond to the case I submitted (with photos) to the resolution center for ruining our nice bath towels outside.  Since the guest didn't respond, AirBnb could not verify that it happened and closed my case without question!

[Inna22]

@Svetlana191 your pricing needs to reflect all your costs- electricity, internet, water, washing etc and leave whatever you think your profit should be. Part of that should be wear and tear. A chair may break. It may be one particular guest's fault or it may be accumulative over the course of time. You will hardly be able to pin it on one guest and if you do, it might be unfair to them. This is not your guests home and they will not treat your stuff as theirs. You will have wall stains, stained linens, broken glasses etc. You will have theft and waist. I personally do not think it is reasonable to go after each and every item (some hosts do) but rather build a little bit of extra into the price. Also, you should not have anything of a high value at your place. Your TV should be nice but it does not have to be top of the line. You can get a pretty decent one for $200 these days. 

Your guests rented your place at the price you have posted. If that amount is too low after your expenses- raise it. You will also find that with higher prices you will get higher quality guests. It has been proven over and over again.

There are very few insurance companies out there that just pay out what you ask for. They all adjust for wear and tear. 65% sounds fairly reasonable for electronics.

It is unfortunate that your guests chose not to pay up. That would have been an ideal outcome.

This has happened to you twice and I can assure you it will happen again so just be prepared with higher rates and built in "cushion" for breakage. 

[Svetlana191]

Thankyou for stating nothing but the bleeding obvious, and speaking to us as if we have no idea what we have been doing for the past 3 years, and also have no idea of our actual situation.

The guests admitted destroying the TV. We have been renting houses for the past 20 years so please excuse us if we don't take your comments seriously. We are well are of what wear and tear is etc etc etc. And an FYI in Australia a tenant of a rented house is bound to rules and regulations and a bond that if required is used with or without their say so for damages that are incurred above and beyond wear and tear.

It also may appear you are working in a bubble (not COVZID related) in that there is no pressure from properties in the same area competing for business. Our point was that as well as the normal expenses incurred to operate a property this is an extra one. Whether it is absorbed into the rate or not is irrelevant. A guest should pay for damages not the host. If you enjoy paying for the damage that a guest does to your belonging then you go for it, more power to you.

As for that if you think Airbnb claims department are good to deal with, reasonable and fair, then good luck to you.

[Inna22]

@Svetlana191 I am curious- did it make you feel better after you "let me have it"? If so, I am glad I could help at least that way. Please take a moment to read through the posts here, I know you are new. This is normally not the tone we take with each other. Take care

[Svetlana191]

Inna no need for curiosity just ask. When you choose to comment in some detail on assumptions you have that are not based in fact or knowledge of the actual detail, as well as the people you are speaking too, I would suggest you prepare for some honest feedback. If you would like to see real collaboration and help look at Robins response below.

If you cannot I suggest you refrain.

[Robin4]

@Svetlana191 

Svetlana, I am so sorry that this has happened to you.....you go out of your way to provide a lovely facility and unfortunately you can't get to see that train wreck coming. Airbnb have made it progressively harder over the past few years to assess the risk we hosts are taking when we accept their guests. Try as we might to cover ourselves, that odd disaster will slip through, and when it does, Airbnb support is nowhere to be found.

You have of course discovered the guest who has damaged something is very cooperative until the review window has expired, and after that they cease contact and deny any responsibility!

I could in all honesty say since 2015 I have seen here on the Community Centre at least 1,000 posts exactly the same as yours and @Shaun282 , every week there are a crop of new ones added to the list....and what we see here must be just the tip of the iceberg!

It's hard to try and tell you what to do Svetlana because, whatever I say someone will disagree with.

I as much as possible keep breakable things out of the guests reach. From experience I have learned....

The TV is on a bracket on the wall 1.8 m high......

The Aircon remote is fixed to the wall and cannot be dropped on the concrete floor.....

The fan for air circulation is wall mounted once again at 1.8 m.

All movies, 720 of them, are now accessed via a 2 Terra byte solid state hard-drive rather than a DVD......

Glass top tables have been removed and replaced with timber.

The shower head is now a plastic type without the required weight to break the glass shower panel as shown here, the result from a previous guest.

My counter-tops are now protected with plastic roll-out counter-top protector which keeps the counter surface underneath in good condition.....

The only things which are subject to breakage or damage these days are minor things like crockery, glassware, towels and linens , and I allow for the replacement of these every now and then in my listing amount. 

As much as possible you have to make your rental space idiot proof, it's better to prevent these events happening than trying to get them fixed after the event.

My stance is frowned upon by many in the hosting community because I am breeding an entitled class of guest who learns that it's ok to not take responsibility for their actions, the host and Airbnb will let them get away with it. And to a certain extent these people are right. But my principal concern is to my hosting and I will not put myself through the mixing pot of trying to claim through Airbnb for guest damage. All that does is guarantee the host a bad review, holds up future stays until the damaged article is fixed and the host is left disadvantaged and out of pocket and the guest gets away with it....what is the point of doing that?

I don't let poor guests get away with their behaviour. Accidents happen and good guests will make some attempt with genuine remorse and most times that will be the end of it.

If they have not made any attempt to speak to me about the issue I do not review them or claim against them, but I  do message them once the review window has closed informing them how disappointed I am that my property was not worth respecting and damage simply left for me to discover. I then hit the 'report this user' field and state unreported guests property damage as the reason for the report. 

On a couple of occasions I have been contacted by CX asking why I did not make a damage claim, and I explain any claim is self defeating. All it does is get me a bad review and in all probability will be rejected and appear as a black mark against me rather than the guest. 

That rather backs CX into a corner and as far as I am concerned tidies up the incident satisfactorily. 

Sorry about this TV incident Svetlana but you may have to chalk it up to a learning experience. Once it is finalised report the guest and at least that puts them under a bit of pressure.

[Svetlana191]

Hi Robin,

Thank you so much for your words and very good suggestions. We agree with everything you say about the catch 22 of the review/damages/reporting system. In many instances for minor breakages we have dome the same as you and just let it go as the consequence of the review status isn't worth it.

I do think that if as above word on the street is guests can do what they like and not be held to account, hosts will suck it up don't worry about it, then a very problematic culture is being developed. This will absolutely happen in a vacuum of accountability.

Thanks again for taking the time to respond to us and all the very best.

Svetlana

[Liv]

Hi @Svetlana191,

I'm sorry to hear you've had guests cause damage to your listing, I can only imagine how frustrating that must be. However I think @Inna22  was only trying to help here, so please do try to remain respectful when contributing to the CC. These are our guidelines in case you'd like to have a look.

I'll get in touch with the CS team to check if there are any new developments to your case. I'll be sure to send you a DM as soon as I hear back.

I hope this helps.

Thanks,

Liv

[Svetlana191]

Liv

there have been some developments now that you have asked.

the case manager, which is not a title that is becoming, has proven to be most disingenuous. Whilst telling us the hosts that the case is closed and that the guest did not confirm accountability at the very same time was telling the guest that the case was still open and progressing.

the guest told the exact same “person” that they were more than willing to pay for the damages. This information was never relayed to us. What we were told, one day before telling the guest the case was still ongoing, was that we were being given $$ for the TV under “host insurance” when the guest bond and/or the guest was willing to pay for the damages directly.

This has got nothing to do with the TV, or the money, this is about the way in which hosts are treated by the fat cat that reason in money and simply does not carry put due diligence. 
You are all welcome to it. We are making the choice to remove ourselves from this toxic environment. 
we are still not clear if the guest actually did provide funds and they called it “host insurance” at our end or if this was a case of the guest refusing to pay. The guest says not and we have screen shots of the differing stories.

[Ray-And-Susan0]

We just had a guest who destroyed our property with over $1,100.00 in damages, and Airbnb told us it's considered "WEAR & TEAR" for the brand-new items.  Airbnb will not reimburse us for the damages:(

[Shelly240]

We have rented 2 houses with VRBO with no damage issue since 2017. We reluctantly started using Airbnb in April, 2022. Our 3rd Airbnb guest put over 20 dents in our top 2 doors on our fridge.4 neighbors told me this guest in question was the worst we had ever had. Kids hanging off 3rd floor balconies screening they “have never been so drunk in their whole lives”.  I reported the damage and followed all the rules.  Airbnb just sent me an email today saying they will not honor my $2,000 claim for a replacement fridge and the case was closed. I am dumbfounded!!!!! I was the last person in the house before Jaydon Bloch and his drunk crew checked in. For “insurance purposes” because we were afraid something like this would happen with Airbnb, I messaged the Airbnb guest right before and asked if she dented the fridge. She replied the fridge was NOT dented when she was there. I have Airbnb all this info and told them my neighbors would testify. Still crickets!!!! I truly cannot believe Airbnb is still in business if this is the way they handle hosts and host’s property. Airbnb took my 3% n stick their middle finger up at me. I am a persistent person. I will NOT allow Airbnb a pass on this. 
shelly in Delaware