@Doug57
Things do sometimes get out of hand Doug but ultimately we all have to be responsible for our actions. As David says, what we see here on the forum is the tip of the iceberg, and for every problem hosting here there will possibly be 10,000 that went off without a hitch so it is hard to say how supportive Airbnb are.
The problem as I see it with this case Doug...I am assuming Brandon was the guest! You gave him a stellar review, and you are going to find it hard to back track and say...'Oh yes, that was before I saw the damage'! It's best to be polite but a bit generic with the review "Guest was pleasant and a good communicator, hope he enjoyed his stay' and leave it at that, and when the guests review comes you can have a thing or two to say one way or the other in your public response. By that time you would be fully aware of the damage and if the guest denies responsibility you can say that in your public response.
To the point of your post Doug, there is a resolution centre where you can lodge a complaint against a guest, but you must lodge that complaint within 14 days of the guests departure, or, before the next guest check in! What we see here about dealing with the resolution centre does not fill us with confidence. In most instances that we see, the host is virtually thrown to the wolves where it come to compensation. I would place very little faith in protection statements like the Host Protection Scheme. From what we see there are simply too many loopholes in it for it to be relaible.
As I said first up we do have to be responsible for our actions and if this guest is going to deny accepting that responsibility (although you gave him a great review) I would click on the little flag on his profile that says 'Report this user'! That will bring the user to the attention of Airbnb, you can state that damage has occured that the guest is denying responsibility for and ask the resolution centre for their help. Be aware though, all the guest has to do is stick to his guns and say he wasn't responsible and Airbnb will in all probability side with him. So it may be that you are on your own here Doug. But learn from this where reviews are concerned. Set uyourself a security deposit which will make it easier to claim for minor damage and make sure you are comfortable with all aspects of the hosting before you post that public review response.
Good luck mate....cheers.....Rob
