Violent guest denies breaking my sliding patio door and beating his wife

[Mike-And-Chantal0]

Our guests  allegedly had a domestic dispute in our suite, i am awaiting the police report but my property manager said that the wife told the police that her husband punched her in the face then repeatedly slammed her head into the tile floor and she thought he would kill her.  She did not press charges though. They left two days ago and then my property manager noticed that the sliding patio door was broken and wouldn`t close or lock.  The husband has denied everything, he said that he and his wife had an argument but it was nothing, she slipped and grabbed the curtain and broke the curtain rail, then she slipped down exterior stairs and got head injuries.  The broken curtain rail is the only damage he admitted to, we sent him a message saying he broke our door to which he sent the phoniest response, starting with `Excuse me? I certainly did not break your door...`

However, there were many resort witnesses who heard the commotion, some neighbors saw the wife`s feet sticking out of the door before she was dragged back into the suite, and the husband was witnessed scaling down the from the third floor balcony to evade security before he then climbed back up to evade the police, which he successfully did.   I have not yet asked if there is any video footage of the balcony or the exterior stairs. The police found six passports in the husbands luggage and the wife said that the husband told her that he was a`Special Ops` military personel.

How do i proceed to get compensated for my patio door if the guest denies he broke it?

Thanks for any suggestions

Chantal

[Anonymous]

@Mike-And-Chantal0   How horrifying this is for the wife - no doubt the reprisal she fears if she presses charges is even worse than the severe violence she's already enduring. 

I guess that's one thing to bear in mind if you choose to follow the process of requesting compensation that's outlined here.  What happens first is that the guest is contacted with a request for money, which he sounds certain to deny, and then you have to submit all the documentation of your expenses, along with photos, police report, and anything else that would be useful, and in the course of some weeks an Airbnb mediator might grant you some portion of the amount you claim. Or maybe they won't. That happens all the time.

Even if the claim is ultimately unsuccessful, another possible consequence of filing it is that this man's severely violent temper is inflamed, which he'll immediately take out on his wife, perhaps this time fatally. 

Another way to pursue compensation would be through your STR insurance, which is usually the better option when structural damage is involved. 

[Mike-And-Chantal0]

Thank you so much for you response Andrew, I totally agree with everything that you have said. 

We are also  concerned that if we do press for the security deposit, which you say is a long, hard process for an amount too small to cover the damage, that we too may have a reprisal should this person return to our small island.

We have been thinking of using our insurance but that may not be worth it in the long run.

Best Regards

Chantal