OK, I'll start with the most urgent point – CONTACT AIRBNB ASAP to report the damages so you can claim against their deposit. You have 48 hours only from check out to use this option; something is better than nothing! You can always give estimate sand add a note that actual quotes will be submitted shortly and you must submit these quotes in the next day or so also
Your security deposit as I can see on your listing is £87 (I see it in my currency GBP). Unless you have added or altered this amount after the guests booking was confirmed, then this is the max security deposit that would apply to them subject to them accepting the charges or Airbnb stepping in to make a decision in your favour. We hope they will find in your favour.
If the repairs eventually required are more than your security deposit (£87) then you can submit an application for Host Guarantee assistance which Airbnb will assess along with all the evidence, quotes and the guests side of the story as well in order to determine if to award you an additional amount over and about the security deposit. you have to apply for this 14 days from the guest’s check out, or before the next guest checks in, whichever is earlier so time is of the essence for you and also to minimise disruption for future bookings; although not definite, they could require sight of the damages in the property prior to anyone else checking in, not that you would let anyone check in with all those issues. You only have to report the damages to the police if your claim is over $300USD but it would probably give your case more weight if you could get such a police reference even if less than £300USD.
Re the locks, they make a strong argument regarding their concern for the safety of the kids asleep in the locked room hence the broke the locks; there could say there might not have been any obvious danger but being in a strange home they panicked and had to gain access.
I wonder why they got the locksmith in 30 minutes prior to attempting to contact you or the managing agent. They didn't know you wouldn't respond straight away and one of you might have had spare keys. Also they are unable to provide a receipt or confirm who the locksmith it in order to request a copy of the receipt and substantiate their story that the lock was indeed faulty and the kids were sleeping in the room when he/she broke open the door. Something doesn’t sit right here! That said, why would they call you and your agent in the middle of the night if there was not fault unless they are very crafty and wanted to cover their backs.
Something doesn't sit right; that said there might have been a fault otherwise why would they be calling you in the middle of the night, unless they were just trying to cover their backs after damaging your door. I suggest you contact them again and insist in the locksmiths details in order that you ca check out their story. I might have been inclined to believe them if they didn’t create all the other havoc.
Re cleanliness, if it is more messy than damage than you’ve just got to bear the cost. You can monitor it and if you feel your cleaner on the whole takes longer than the estimated 2-3 hours, you might consider increasing your cleaning fee. However if there is damage or you require specialist service to clean the place e.g., if there's a stain on the rug that requires a professional clean or maybe you need to dispose of the linen or towels because of the state of them then you can take pictures and send this to Airbnb as party of your claim against their deposit. Otherwise, yes it may take longer to clean but you just got to absorb that one.
If an item was stolen as a result of the guests negligence and you can proof so, you could ask the guest to pay for it but would depend on the cost. Most guest have a conscience and will try to rectify any wrong they have done if possible, it’s hard to speculate as each case would be assessed on its full details. If you are concerned and rightly so after these last guests, then ensure you cover vital points in your rules/ description like the absolute necessity to ensure all doors and windows are locked/ alarms set if applicable. Maybe also have a check list of item sot go through with guest at check in as such. If something were to happen, then you would have more grounds to stand and can point back to the written rules.
My claim was just under my security set deposit amount as I just had to change a couple of locks because the guest mistakenly took the keys back home with her.
Another thing that is as important as the clock ticking against you now, is that all your communication with these guests has to be done on the Airbnb messaging platform; Airbnb will not accept any text messages or e-mails to your personal mail as evidence. I would suggest that if you have communicated via text/ whatsapp or other e-mail, that you reiterate all that information straight away to the guests via the Airbnb inbox and just add them a note explaining why you are resending these messages.
You really need all the evidence you can get for you claim as it sound like your security might not be sufficient.
Ama
