Wonderful Experience with Host Guarantee

[Amanda502]

Hello, all. I wanted to share my recent Host Guarantee experience with you in the hope that it may give you some confidence that it does work to both the benefit of the host and guest...at least, in my experience.

My husband and I recently hosted a guest for 7 days. On the second day of her stay she accidently spilled nail polish on the permanent carpet of the room. When she told us, the first thing that went through our head was, "Okay, this will be difficult to clean. But with the proper products, it can be done." To which she promptly replied, "But that's not all. It's much worse." We both wait for what she has to say. Apparently, in her panic to clean it up, she went and grabbed the first cleaning product she could find from our kitchen...32oz Spray Bottle of Clorox Clean + Bleach...effectively bleaching the affected and surrounding areas where the nail polish had fallen, and completely ruining our carpet.

Our guest was extremely apologetic and insisted on helping to pay to make it right. Thankfully, our guest was very easy to communicate with, had a kind-heart, and we worked along side her and Airbnb to make things right for all parties involved. So here is what happened...

As soon as I saw the damage to the carpet, my husband and I took many pictures. Then, we immediately contacted Airbnb's Superhost Hotline and informed them of what had happened and wanted to know what we needed to do next. We were instructed by the Customer Service member to send the photos in reply to an email he would promply be sending me. It took about 20 mintues, but we received the email and sent the photos along. Soon after, I received an email from a Trust & Safety Specialist with instruction on what to do next. Here are the instructions we received:

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm a Trust & Safety specialist, and I'll be your point of contact throughout this case regarding damaged items.

I’ve provided details on the damage claim process below, but please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any additional questions.

If you have a security deposit on file for this reservation:

1. Use the Resolution Center to request payment from your guest within 14 days of their check out date or before a new guest checks in, whichever comes first. We encourage you to upload photos of the damages and any documents you have to support the requested amounts. This helps your guest understand what you’re asking them to pay for and why.

2. If you and your guest are unable to come to an agreement after 72 hours, you’ll see the option to 'Involve Airbnb.' If you choose this option you’ll be required to send photo or video documentation of the damages and the cost to repair them. An Airbnb specialist will review all documentation and communication between you and your guest and make a determination about what funds are owed.

To open a Resolution Center case visit: www.airbnb.com/resolutions.

Please Note: Using the Resolution Center is the first step in the damage claim process, whether or not you have a security deposit.

If you don’t have a security deposit, or the estimated cost to repair the damage exceeds the security deposit, follow the steps above to open a Resolution Center case, then:

3. If the damages exceed the amount of your security deposit (or if there was no security deposit) and you are unable to resolve the claim with your guest, you'll be prompted to fill out a Host Guarantee payment request form.

Read more about what the Host Guarantee covers and review a list of common questions: https://www.airbnb.com/guarantee

You can also find detailed instructions about this process in our Help Center: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/361.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The day after receiveing the email, we measured the guest room and went straight to Home Depot to get an estimate for the carpet to be replaced so we would know how much to request for reimbursement. Once we had a copy of the quote in-hand, we proceeded to discuss with our guest what the replacement cost would be, which turned out to be $1000. Although we understood it was an accident, we still expected to be compensated for the replacement. Our guest expressed her hesitation about paying the full amount and insisted that she only wanted to pay $200 for a throw rug to cover the bleached area of our carpet. As we could not come to an agreement, I contact Airbnb's Superhost Hotline once more and received further advice to "Request Payment" in the full amount of $1000 from our guest, and should the guest not agree, we could choose to click the "Involve Airbnb" button to file a claim. That is what we did. I filled out the Host Guarantee Payment Request Form and promply uploaded the Home Depot quote I had received.

Because our guest had agreed to pay the $200 amount, this was immediately issued to us, leaving only an $800 balance against the claim. I proceeded to thoroughly read every bit of the Host Guarantee Terms & Conditions, highlighting everything it stated I was going to need to provide in order for Airbnb to process my claim quickly, should they choose to consider to pay the reimbursement.

Once I had completed the Host Guarantee Payment Request Form, I notified and followed up with the Trust & Safety Specialist that had sent me the initial email to let her know I was following her instructions to a T. 

The next day, I received an email that said, "...Since this is a relatively low amount and you haven't claimed other damages recently, I can expedite this request. We found that the guest has paid you 200 USD and there is remaining 800 USD requested in the Resolution Center and therefore I've processed a payout of 800 USD for the damages that happened during the reservation." And just like that, we received an additional payout of $800. Case closed.

During the days between when the damage occurred and we received notice that Airbnb had fulfilled our request, I looked here on the Community Center to  get some reassurance and found almost none. To see that so many people had not had positive experiences with this process, was very disheartening and made me very nervous. So, when our resolution reached its conclusion and we found the experience to be a positive one, I wanted to be sure and post it here. I hope this post gives you a bit of hope that the Host Guarantee has indeed helped someone. My advice, should you find yourself in a similar experience, is 1) remain in constant communication with Airbnb throughout the process 2) thoroughly read and understand what the Host Guarantee covers and doesn't cover 3) know what is required of you (i.e., pictures of damage, obtaining a quote for repair, proof of ownership, etc.) so that Airbnb can process your claim quickly and fairly, and 4) make sure to note that the Host Guarantee Request Form must be submitted before your next guest arrives. 

At the end of all this, my guest was satisfied she wasn't obligated to pay the full damages for such an innocent accident, and we were happy to be fully reimbursed for the carpet replacement. Plus, Airbnb keeps a happy guest and a happy Superhost as part of their community. 

Hope this helps!

[Mark1416]

This was not my experience. I had a guest burn my countertop. AirBNB would only pay for 40% of the replacement cost, since they claim only part of the countertop is damaged.  While you may have gotten lucky because you didn’t have claims, AirBNB is very arbitrary. You could have not gotten lucky. And my guess is, if you have another guest cause damage to your property, you won’t be. I think I was denied because I had recently had a guest damage my bathroom vanity and submitted a claim. The bottom line is the host guarantee is not to be trusted. AirBNB treats their hosts very poorly.  And the process is arbitrary and terrible.

[Christine1927]

Glad to hear some good experiences.  However, I am in complete agreement with the posts saying that the Host-required security deposit provides no more than an illusion. I have had a few claims where I followed procedure exactly and did receive some compensation, but only according to Airbnb’s Host Guarantee.  Whether I had a security deposit or not (I do have one set at $500) I would have received the same outcome.  There is no ability to “tap into” the security deposit that you think you have.  Airbnb evaluates whether they want to pay out an item and it’s according to their Host Guarantee program. The security deposit should be precisely for the items the Host Guarantee does not cover, such as breaking house rules on smoking or pets, having extra people stay who are not on the booking, cost of removing unwarranted debris left by the guest, etc, etc.  There are plenty of things the Host Guarantee does not cover, that incur costs to the Host in both time and money, and that should be the reason for the security deposit. The other major hosting site has a completely opposite mindset. The Host is covered by the security deposit for anything they can prove.  That is fair to both Guest and Host.  Airbnb… time to stop being lopsided in favor of guests.