Your top questions about Host Guarantee

[Lizzie]

Hello again, Hosts!

Your ideas and questions about the Host Guarantee have sparked some important conversation at Airbnb headquarters. As with our recent Q&A posts on Smart Pricing, Search, and Instant Book, we collected lots of questions from you here in the Community Center—this time on the Host Guarantee. We’ve got insights for you from the Host Guarantee team, and we hope these are helpful. Keep the ideas and questions coming—you’re inspiring us to consider changes and improvements we can make to this program in 2018.

Cheers,

Lizzie

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On security deposits and the Host Guarantee

1. What’s the difference between a guest’s security deposit and the Host Guarantee?

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A guest security deposit is something you can choose to require of your guests. The security deposit is an acknowledgement by the guest that they may be charged up to the full amount should they cause damage to your listing. If you choose to require a security deposit from your guests, they don’t actually pay the deposit when they make the reservation. Instead, they’re charged only if you make a claim through the Resolution Center on that deposit and it’s accepted by the guest or granted through mediation by Airbnb.

The Host Guarantee  provides up to $1,000,000 in protection from Airbnb for instances when guests damage a host’s property. In order to process a request, you would use the Resolution Center to upload documentation of the damages (such as photos or receipts), and first request payment from your guest to cover those damages. You and your guests can work out the details on your own, or you can choose to involve Airbnb directly in the Resolution Center. The best way to ensure a smooth process with your guest or with Airbnb is to submit your report of the damage, along with support documentation as soon as you identify the damage.

2. What benefit does the Host Guarantee provide if I can just make a claim against a guest’s security deposit?

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Hosts have the option to ask guests for a security deposit of between $100 and $5,000. In addition to the financial protection this provides, some hosts feel that asking for a security deposit reminds guests to be extra careful while staying in your space. The Host Guarantee comes from Airbnb and also can provide payment to a host for damages that a guest causes to your listing, up to $1,000,000. We’re currently looking at data to see if implementing a guest deposit changes travelers’ booking behavior.

3. If the security deposit cannot be collected from the guests, or doesn’t cover the damages, does the Host Guarantee still kick in?

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If the damages caused by a guest during a reservation exceed the agreed upon security deposit, or if there is no security deposit for the listing in question, the Host Guarantee program is intended to provide support.

4. Do I have to pay anything for the Host Guarantee?

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No, the Host Guarantee program is provided at no additional cost to hosts.

5. Can I require a security deposit for any length stay or just for longer stays?

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You can require a deposit for any length stay. Security deposits can range from $100 - $5000 and we encourage hosts to pick a value that suits their most common circumstances. Currently we don’t offer the ability to adjust the security deposit for different stays.

On Host Guarantee’s scope of protection

6. In what specific situations does the Host Guarantee kick in (theft, damage, excessive cleaning costs etc.)?

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The Host Guarantee provides payment for theft or physical damage to your listing caused by the responsible guest, or the guest’s invitee(s), during their stay. For complete details, you can review the full terms. Items such as routine cleaning costs (including excessive linen costs or floor cleaning) or additional guests fees are not provided under the Host Guarantee program.

You have the option of including a cleaning fee in your pricing. You may also send an alteration request or a request through the Resolution Center if fees are sought for additional guests not included in the original booking.

7. If the Host Guarantee is applied to my situation, will I get the full value I paid for an item or its present value?

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The Host Guarantee program provides payment either for the repair or replacement cost of the damaged item. What we call the “actual cash value” (the amount we reimburse) is the amount it would cost to repair or replace damaged or destroyed covered property as a result of a covered loss. These amounts are based on accepted industry standards as well as the recommendation of an independent third party claims administrator. To determine the reimbursement amount, we’ll compare the current price of the item (or items of similar type and quality when yours is no longer available), and will include a reasonable deduction that accounts for the age and condition your item was in at the time the damage occurred.

8. Why doesn’t the Host Guarantee cover antiques?

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Fine arts and collectibles are often tricky to evaluate. In regard to the Host Guarantee, antiques are covered if they can be replaced with something of similar quality or can be repaired or retouched. If you have an item that is high-value or near irreplaceable, it may be advisable to consult with an insurance professional on how best to protect this type of property.

9. Does the Host Guarantee apply for extenuating circumstances during a booking (e.g. burst water pipe, fire)?

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If your future bookings are impacted by an event subject to the Host Guarantee, the program will also reimburse your income loss for reservations that were booked through the Airbnb platform and must be cancelled due to the mishap. For instance, a guest causes a minor fire, but the repair will take three weeks and the affected host has an upcoming two week reservation. Airbnb customer support would assist in rebooking that guest and through the Host Guarantee, the host would be eligible for the payout despite the reservation being cancelled due to the fire.

10. Why doesn’t the Host Guarantee apply when a guest cancels due to extenuating circumstances?

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We’re currently in the early stages of exploring broader offerings for hosts and guests in regard to trip cancellations or other interruptions to you getting bookings.

11. I’ve heard that if I have a key lockbox outside my home the Host Guarantee does not cover me anymore. Is that true?

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That’s not true based on the terms of the program. If there was a lockbox across town that was damaged by the guest, the damage to the lockbox itself may not be covered, but damage to the listing still would.

On claims and payments

12. How can I prepare in case I need to use the Host Guarantee?

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You should reach out to the responsible guest immediately when you discover something has gone wrong—specifically you need to contact them either 14 days after checkout or before your next guest checks in, whichever comes earlier. When submitting your request using the Resolution Center please include a description of the damages, photos of the damage, support for the amount claimed and where applicable, the age of the damaged item. The clarity of your request and the support of that request will greatly improve the odds of resolving the situation with your guest using the Resolution Center. If the guest is not agreeable to your request, proper documentation will streamline the process Airbnb uses to review and make a decision.

13. What if I can’t get any documentation/quotes needed by the request deadline?

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It’s best to report issues as soon as they happen. This allows for a timely guest response and a comprehensive review of the scenario. When damages are reported weeks or months after the occurrence, it’s often difficult to get in touch with the guest and the documentation is no longer fresh or actionable. Airbnb can send a third party claims administrator to help evaluate the damages. If it’s a busy season for you, we recommend at least letting your Airbnb Resolution Center representative know that.

14. To make a claim for the Host Guarantee I have to do it within 14 days after the date of guests departure, but I don’t have the time and money to replace what the previous guest damaged before my next guest arrives. What should I do?

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In this scenario, please report the occurrence as soon as possible either through the Resolution Center or through contacting Airbnb directly. Airbnb support staff can assist in rebooking the guest as necessary, review damages, and consider if you’re experiencing booking income loss as a result of the occurrence.

15. How do I get money back from the Security Deposit for damage?

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You must first contact the guest through the Resolution Center. Once your request is posted, the guest can accept the request, offer an alternate amount, or decline the request. If the guest agrees to your request through the Resolution Center, the amount requested will automatically be remitted to you within 24 hours. If the guest does not accept the request, you or your guest may ask that Airbnb mediate a resolution 72 hours after the request has been published. An Airbnb representative will review the claim and make a determination. In cases where a security deposit award is made, they’ll communicate the amount to be paid and will process a payment to your preferred payout method on file.

16. What’s the point in having a security deposit if we can’t use it? Why do we need the approval of the guest for it to be paid out?

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This community is based on trust and good faith between hosts and guests. We want hosts and guests to be protected from misuse (of property and also of claims). The intent is that Airbnb will mediate in the resolution of claims if an agreement cannot be met within the Resolution Center. This is intended to ensure a fair resolution for both parties.

Thanks again to all the hosts who shared questions about the Host Guarantee. Please keep your ideas and feedback coming in the Community Center.

[Caroline---Abe0]

Reading all these comments make me think about the integrity of airbnb towards protecting hosts. Like Uber, their priority is to increase guests, given the huge stock of hosts.

So not surprising they tend to ignore the host when a claim is made for refund. 

I think I am going to remove my house from airbnb due to the risk of getting my beautiful house becoming a casualty of bad guests. Too risky unless I use a house for which I value neither the walls nor the contents. 

[Ange2]

"The Host Guarantee program provides payment either for the repair or replacement cost of the damaged item."

Uisng the term replacement cost is very misleading - it is not replacement cost as generally understood  it is the cost of depreciated value of the item. If an attempt is being made to clear up confusion for hosts why not state that clearly.

I understand the terms are legalese, one has to focus on details and definitions, and realize that replacement cost does not mean replacement cost or actual cost  it means "Actual Cost".  How to make that clearer to hosts. In the spirit of transparency and clarity a better explanation could be offered, if that is the goal here.

But, why even use replacement cost, it muddies the waters, why not say depreciation value.  I have insurance for my work and it is very clear and transparent, "Replacement Cost" means "Replacement Cost" i.e the amount it would cost to replace the item in today's market, and Depreciation Value" means what it says, the two terms are not conflated.

[David126]

@Ange2

My impression from reading many posts on here is that:

1. The vast majority of Hosts have not read it.
2. Seemingly the majority of those with claims on the Guarantee have not read it.
3. Those wanting to take Class Action Suites etc seem to have not read it.

The wording is more Insuranceese than legalese, I recognise it, most policies now will provide Replacement as New with various caveats.

Somebody at ABB needs to get a grip, decide how much they are prepared to spend on this, get somebody who can add up to put together a policy that meets that budget and explain it as it is and not oversell.

[Glenda37]

Dear Airbnb,
My Airbnb renters did not follow instructions to keep food out of the way of monkeys that are resident in the trees around my home. Needless to say, the monkeys saw food on the kitchen counter, prized open a window and entered the house, knocking over my television set and breaking it. The set was worth R6000. Can I claim from them?
Rgds.
Glenda 

Glenda Thompson. ...Sent from my iPad

[David126]

@Glenda37

You can certainly claim from them.

Collecting maybe the issue.

[Jenna-Lea0]

I have a $350 security depost and a guest damaged my shower causing $171 worth of damage on New Years Eve. I notified him on the day. I got a quote from our shower installer and attached it with photos demonstrating the damage to a resolution centre claim. The guest denied seeing the photos. He phoned me at 10pm to complain about the cost. I phoned Airbnb six times in the past 12 hours for support, three times they hung up on me. One of the things I was trying to suggest is the difficulty in finding the resolution centre online. As a host, I expect to communicate with my guests in one place. Or to click hosting, scroll down to a tab view resolution centre. I don't expect to have to type in a different address in my web browser to find the resolution centre.

Anyway, my disgruntled guest went and visited our shower installer without my knowledge to complain about the cost and question their business practice. They phoned me to warn me and also found his manner to be angry. He has my phone numbers, email, and home address. I am home most days looking after a baby, a 3 year old and my guests. The last thing I want is a disgruntled guest turning up long after check out, days later. I have had to escalate to Airbnb's security team though quite what that entitles me to other than someone being assigned to my case earlier than expected, I am not sure. 

This is the first time I have been in a position of needing to make a claim. I do hope we receive a pay out. It would be incredibly unfair otherwise, especially given the guest has damaged two properties in 5 reviews and has not followed Airbnb process for communication. But more than the payout, I wonder what it would take to prohibit someone who damages property, doesn't follow house rules (he didn't follow ours waking my babies up in the night with party music), and doesn't want to communicate through Airbnb from being allowed to be a member of Airbnb? No host should have to risk it all for guests like this. 

Irrespective of whether I am paid out, this experience and the difficulty I had escalating through Airbnb Support and the damage to our reputation with our shower installer having one of our guests turn up at their premises and be angry with them too has certainly made me evaluate whether hosting with Airbnb is worth it. If I hadn't had 75 mostly pleasant and enjoyable experiences I think I would have quit outright. But the security aspect is causing me ongoing concern. I'm not sure I want to be part of a community that tolerates guests that behave this way to be a part of the community. 

Has anyone else found the security team helpful? 

[Dayna7]

Beware!  You have to PULL TEETH for Airbnb to pay out on their guarantee!!!

FYI - Airbnb makes their guarantee sound so wonderful, but it took HOURS of arguing with the Airbnb management and being passed around to about 15 different people to get them to honor it.  

I require a deposit and in a matter of 36 hours (they rented for 2 days but got there late) DESTROYED the house and property.... broken glass at the pool, used feminine products in the pool filter, liquor bottles and clothes in the backyard bushes, stainless steel cleaner sprayed on the custom hardwood floor, blood all over the bedding.... 

Receipts and estimates (3 for each of the items that needed to be repaired) were provided right from the start, and they still tried to refuse to pay.... 

I believe it was only because my business partner and I were so diligent, keeping notes of each call and contact with them, and because we were soooo persistant, they finally gave up and paid us.

BE PREPARED!!! If you don't have a deposit and are seeking compensation from Airbnb, you are GOING TO HAVE TO FIGHT FOR IT!!!

[Kelly149]

In looking thru the FAQs provided, a couple questions:

#3: If a host has a security deposit, but the damage exceeds the amount, then does the host lose access to the security deposit and instead only has recourse thru the HG?

OR does ABB first pay the host whatever amount was in the security deposit and then decide the rest through the HG?

#6: says that theft is covered however, in the actual terms this is one of the exclusions:

"mysterious disappearance, loss, or shortage disclosed on taking inventory, or any unexplained loss of inventory;"

So, unless you have video of the guest carrying something out of your place or if they admit that they have taken something, then it would seem that ABB would call theft, a 'mysterious disappearance'

#7: Present value: this is misleading! Unless your listing is minutes old and you have receipts for absolutely everything inside then most likely when the guest cuts, burns, melts your couch, rug, drapes, kitchen counter then the depreciated value of this item will mean that a host gets NO payment. So, a host had a lovely working couch, then a bad behaving guest and at the end host has to replace the item themselves and the guest makes no restitution whatsoever. Not Right!

@Lizzie seems you have plenty of hosts whose experiences with HG are not as rosy as this FAQ would suggest. And in fact many folks feel that the marketing around HG is deceptive and a program that was designed to make hosts feel safer about hosting has had the opposite effect. This should be addressed.

[David126]

I believe the  would apply first and then anything else could a Guarantee claim.

In the old days there was in Insurance terms full Theft and basically cover for break ins, Ie the door was bashed in or the window broken, now if a Guest steals something most unlikely limited Theft cover would apply,

They basically apply Indemnity value but have a weird depreciation scale. 

[Rebecca181]

@Kelly149 @David126 - Is ANY actual theft or loss covered? Or is it denied due to the policy stating that "mysterious disappearance, loss, or shortage disclosed on taking inventory, or any unexplained loss of inventory..." won't be covered, (per Kelly's most disturbingly revelatory comment, above)?

This all sounds like '1984' Newspeak to me. What do these exclusions actually mean, minus the Orwellian influences?

[David126]

Theoretically yes.

But I would be very hard pushed to come up with a relaistic scenario where this could happen in an AirBnB situation.

When I first started in the Insurance Industry the standard theft cover available under a commercial policy was basically Burglary, in the UK this was as defined by the the Theft Act of 1968, so you had to break in, did not cover somebody walking in through an open door etc.

The AirBnB Host Guarantee reminds me of if a very old Insurance Policy form, and covers Burglary, actually they have added now on some more exclusions that I do not remember ever seeing, I think those are self generated, not from Insurance advise.

So shoplifting is not burglary.

The full cover was Theft but even for that there were exclusions and obviously subject to a deductible.

When you only cover the actions of people who have access to your property seems unlikely to me that they would commit Burglary, why break in when you have a key.

I do not know who drafted this wording, I would be interested to know the background as I am guessing a bit but I think my guesses are reasonable.

If I was advising a client who was covered under the AirBnb Guarantee I would tell them to assume Theft was not covered.

[Suzanne112]

does the host guarantee cover hosts who (unknowingly) allow a third part booking?  Sometimes guest profile photos are not good enough to identify a guest and it seems overly paranoid and not in the spirit of trust to ask them to A) post a better photo or B)provide photo ID at check in, which as a working couple, we are not often around to do anyhow...

Sometimes bookers are up front that they are booking for someone else(ie: a parent) but other times, it's unclear as reviews are for one name, but the person inquiring has a different name.

Anyhow, long way around to asking how to protect oneselves from a third party booking or whether AirBnB coverage extends to that.

BTW - a cat lives with us(not in the rental) so I have been unable to become "business ready" which I believe does cover 3rd party.

[David126]

@Suzanne112

value of host guarantee is very arguable but moving on say in your listing you require Id to be shown on arrival.

I think the Business ready only refers to pets. So a cat may or may not preclude you.

Anyway it has to be in the listing.

"Business Travel Ready listings are smoke-free properties and don’t have pets living in the space while the guest is there."

[Adriano78]

Here in Spain is compulsory by the law to ask the ID for each traveler , fill a paper form and fill a form on internet (police web page).with this system  I think traveler are little bit scared to stole things in the apartment 

[Šarka0]

Checking the HG introduction, it is written as so:

"The Host Guarantee protects your home and your stuff from accidental damage."

So, if the damage is intentional, us hosts are not covered for it?

Judging from the many hosts reflecting their bad experiences with the HG claims (not just in this thread, but many many other threads too), it sure looks like that is the case.

@Lizzie Any comments on that part? 

I am a fairly new host and reading all the negative comments about deposits and HG, I dread the day I walk into our apartment after check-out and see damages made by our AirBnb guest.

Me and my father put 25000 EUR into the renovation, as well as sweat and blood. We also got a loan to finish up the work and basically a part of what we earn goes for the loan. We started renting our apartment to have some needed extra income. EVERYTHING in the apartment was BRAND NEW (as of Nov-Dec 2016). We have ALL the receives from the purchases and contractors. We work really hard to please our guests. So far we only had good guests and I really hope it stays that way.

So, reading that we could get NOTHING and not even a KIND WORD, just a disconnected call and unanswered e-mails, in case of a bad guest, is making me think if it's even worth being a part of AirBnb any more. I even went and raised our security deposit, even though I know I might not ever see the money if I make a claim, but maybe it will really scare the good-for-nothing guests away.

So, @Lizzie and everyone else on higher positions at AirBnb, why are you favouring guests so much and looking down on hosts? Are we that expendable? Use and throw away? "Customers are always right" as guests, but guess what - us hosts are your customers too, we also give you money and we even MAKE money for you. Without us you are basically worthless.

So my comment on your question, what you could do better in Host Guarantee:

1. Help hosts more with the problems unbehaved guests cause in their homes.
2. Don't favour guests all the time, specially when hosts making a claim are Superhosts, been hosting for a longer time and have many positive reviews.
3. Actually give the money that the hosts ask for, specially when all the documentation and invoices are provided.
4. Do not close cases which obviously can't be closed yet.
5. Don't shut hosts in need out from the needed conversations.