Smoking deposit collection best practices

[Inna22]

I put together this guide to help other hosts collect their smoking deposit. I have been successful in doing so and there seem to be a number of posts from hosts who were declined by CS and frustrated. Please add what have worked for you

1. This will seem obvious, but start by making sure your guests do not smoke in the first place. If you have a no smoking rule, I am sure your goal is to have a non smoking place, not to collect a deposit. I have it in my house rules on the site, I email a reminder with my welcome message and have signs throughout the property. I also say that there is no smoking on the entire property, including the yard and garage. The reason for it is that some people smoked in the doorway in the winter, in the yard with windows open in the summer and the house reeked of smoked just the same. I tell them they would need to physically leave my property to smoke. This also made it easier to collect proof for CS as even if they smoked in the house, most of the time they threw the butts right outside and since the whole property was covered by the rule, those pictures were accepted as proof.
2. Have a clearly stated separate smoking deposit. Make it high. Mine is $500. If you have a small deposit, someone can potentially choose to smoke and pay the fine.
3. Once you found out that a guest smoked, take pictures. I have never not been able to find some evidence, no matter how hard they tried to hide it. Something to watch out for: I once thought a guest drew a line with a cigarette on the decking and submitted it as evidence. A very detail oriented CS representative found the same line in one of my pictures posted on the site and denied the entire claim. Make sure your pictures are of the new damage by this particular guest.
4. Save receipts for dry cleaning, filters. I used to buy filters in quantity but CS questioned the date on it. If you are changing filters due to guest smoking and hope to collect the deposit, go out and by a new filter at that time. If you need extra cleaning supplies, buy them separately and save that receipt. You can rent a carpet cleaner from Home Depot. They are fantastic. I actually purchased one and it comes in handy often.
5. Have a detailed invoice from a verifiable cleaner. If you clean the space yourself, all you will be able to get is expenses listed in point 4 even though you have the smoking deposit. Airbnb will cover your actual cost, there is no punitive component. Even if you do not use a cleaning company but an individual, ask your cleaner to create an invoice on their letterhead. Perhaps even help her/him put it together. It should have their name and phone number, it does not need to be anything complicated with a logo but still have valid details. CS verified my cleaning company once. Have a detailed description of the extra work they did. For example, they would probably need to wash all the bedding you keep in the house, not just what your guest used. List everything (so many top sheets, pillow cases, etc). They should wash the walls with water and a bit of soap to remove the tar, list that. List everything.
6. Be calm and polite. This is a piece of advice I got from one of my favorite posters here. I used to let CS have it. No. Thank them for taking the time to work with you, be factual and polite no matter how ridiculous their response is. Be patient. They will sometimes take weeks to respond to you but will demand that you answer within 48 hours. Breathe in and out and come here to vent.
7. Ask for a manager if all fails. They will get one

In terms of getting the actual smoke out, ozone machine is magic. I got one online for about $70. I still need to do all the washing and cleaning but the smell lingers until I use the ozone machine.

Good luck!

[Jena2]

I had a very similar experience recently with over $1200 in damages done to my rental  and Airbnb was horrible about helping me.  I am looking into VRBO. I do know from using VRBO as a guest that they actually charged the security deposit to my CC up front and then I got a refund...I am assuming because the host didn't claim any of it?  Seems like a much safer guarantee for a host so I am looking into moving to VRBO. 

[Charlene191]

@Jena2 I have used VRBO for a long time and was new to airbnb. I am probably dropping Airbnb and going back to vrbo. The reality is it was all much better when I handled the security deposit which previously VRBO deposited into the accounts of the hosts and we were responsible for refunding it to our guests. that's really how it should work.  That's what I do when I rent individually without using these platforms.

[Jena2]

Thank you for the helpful information!

[Yiwei3]

I think VRBO took away the security deposits up front to get more bookings... @Charlene191 

[Charlene191]

@Doug-And-Leslie0 I'm having the exact same problem right now. I had a guest damage my kitchen countertops. They put something hot on laminate countertops and melted it in spots. They also apparently started to light a fire in my wood burning fireplace but did not open the damper and totally smoked out my house. I am actually likely removing my listing from Airbnb and just going with the other big company.

[Super47]

@Inna22

How recent was your last successful claim? There are more and more hosts reporting in recent months that while they have previously experienced some degree of success in claiming from the Host Guarantee for certain things - including smoke-related damages - their more recent claims have been denied. These would be experienced hosts who know the ins and outs of the correct steps to take when filing a claims submission, and followed the required processes to the letter. 

[Ann72]

@Super47  My most recent successful claim was in late July.  And I was honestly surprised it went anywhere at all after the guest refused to pay.  Airbnb messaged me within hours of her refusal to tell me it *may* qualify for the Host Guarantee, and within 24 hours I was paid. 

I had provided photos of the stained sheets, the label from the sheets, and the invoice for the replacement sheets I had already purchased.  Now I wonder - was that it?  I had already purchased the replacement, so it was clear that's where the money would go.  Hmmm.

[Super47]

Funny you should mention that @Ann72 - I saw a post just yesterday from a host who was saying that CS were refusing to pay him out for his claim until he provided a receipt to prove he had replaced the damaged items. He said that in the past, he'd only been required to provide a link to the same (or similar) item online, to show what the replacement cost would be, but didn't need to show that he'd already purchased it.

I did think when I read it that it may have been just another support agent whim - but perhaps not. Maybe it is actually policy now 

[Ann72]

@Super47  That may be the case.  Note that @Inna22 also filed a detailed invoice that stated what cleaning had already been done.  It wasn't an estimate.  And in my opinion, from a business standpoint, it's more prudent to handle many resolutions this way.  I don't want to negate the frustration and anger of many hosts who haven't gotten any help or resolution at all.  But even the OP skipped the important step of messaging the guest before the next guest checked in.  As a remote host, I'm not always able to catch things in time.  And in those cases, I simply don't file a claim.

[Inna22]

@Super47 two weeks ago. Paid in less than 24 hours. On the account of my host for whom I co host, so someone with 12 reviews. I suspected that they paid me in the past because I brought so much business but obviously not the case. I think the key is to be able to demonstrate actual expenses. I have an invoice from a verifiable cleaning company with two pages of detailed descriptions of what they did as extra.

[Super47]

Well done, @Inna22! It's good to hear that there are still some successes but that's definitely not the overall impression I'm getting from what I've been reading and hearing elsewhere. Historically, they have always been fairly agreeable to paying out on first claims and smaller claims too though - there's a lot more chance of getting paid out on claims of up to $200 - $300 or thereabouts, than there is when serious, costly damage has been done. That's often when the runaround starts to come into play 😏

I do hope every host bookmarks your post though - some excellent tips there that should be religiously followed when submitting any claim. 

[Inna22]

@Super47 of course it would make sense to question higher claims. Also, those bigger damages are often have not been actually paid to repair. As @Ann72 pointed out, it is harder to question a paid receipt. One tends to be more frugal when paying up front and hoping to get a refund. People stuff up their insurance claims, it is an understandable human behavior and Airbnb as an insurance provider tried to minimize their loss. They are trying to avoid being taken advantage of.  You can replace a stained blanket with a one from Fretti or wait for something to go on sale at Target. We do not see what those agents see. I am sure they encounter claims all day long with hosts saying that a cheap faux leather foldable dining room chair from Costco that broke was brand name leather from a line no longer made so they have to buy six as it must be a matching set

[Super47]

Lol @Inna22 - yeah, I can imagine they do see a lot of bogus claims from hosts too! With the level of proof Airbnb requires though, it's unlikely very many of them have any degree of success. 

And yes, of course it makes sense to question bigger claims, that goes without saying. But the fact remains - far too many legitimate claims are denied for spurious reasons, and always have been. 

[Inna22]

@Super47 unfortunately the cunning ones are usually much better at all aspects of it, including getting legitimate looking proof

[Super47]

@Inna22 @Ann72

Of course, it would make much more sense - and save Airbnb untold dollars in manpower and resources - if they simply scrapped the ridiculous Host Guarantee altogether and allowed hosts to handle their own security deposits. That would soon put a stop to a great deal of the rampant refund-scamming that's become so prevalent on the platform in recent years too 😉