$4k in damages and Airbnb refuses to issue more than $193.88 in reimbursement

[Craig674]

I am a fairly new host and was excited about Airbnb’s AirCover policy and purported support of hosts. Recently, my fifth tenant since I began, caused a well documented $4k in damages to this newly renovated upscale property. Airbnb’s own safety team was even involved throughout the night trying to evict the party. The police finally had to be called at 5am to stop the noise and party. Despite all damage being documented and sent to the resolution center, Airbnb decided they would only reimburse $193.88. They would not even forfeit the tenant’s $500 security deposit. I am hesitant to continue with Airbnb after this experience and have no faith whatsoever in the AirCover policy they are promoting. Has anyone had a similar experience?

[Stephanie1933]

Hi @Craig674

That all sounds incredibly stressful for you. I would be on the phone or messages constantly trying to get them to relook at the situation. You can't accept that, it is utterly ridiculous. My only advice is keep trying...

Steph

[Gordon0]

Like @Stephanie1933 says, keep pushing, @Craig674, and if that means public Twitter posts and/or raising awareness of the issue itself or the aftermath, so be it.  

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Craig674 it won't help I am afraid but hosts need to recognise that. Airbnb do not collect the so called 'security deposit' from guests. They do not even reserve the amount on their cards. It is a farce and one that Airbnb should really do away with.

[Sarah977]

@Craig674  I'm really sorry this happened and hope that pursuing this will lead to some more equitable solution.

But this party scenario will happen again if you don't make some changes to your listing and vet all your guests well before accepting a bookiing.

Your place has all the elements of a party magnet. Change your listing description wording and try to make it more personal and target it towards the type of guest demographic you would like to attract. Right now it just reads like an impersonal real estate ad.

You need to eliminate this wording from your house rules- "more than the agreed number of overnight occupants as described in the Reservation Summary spend the night at the Unit, or more than double the maximum number of overnight occupants as described in the Units website are at any given time inside the unit".

Why would you allow double the number of registered guests just because they don't spend the night? 

You need to say "No extra guests or visitors allowed on the property at any time. Registered guests accounted for on the booking only. Violations will result in immediate eviction with no refund."

[Craig674]

I'm not sure if you read our listing correctly. It is a 3 bed/3 bath home. We allow for 6 guests overnight and a total of 8 during the day. We do have posted on the listing extensive house rules, which were violated. And I disagree that the listing description had anything to do with attracting this type of guest. This was an anomaly as the rest of our tenants have been great. 

[Sarah977]

@Craig674  Yes, I read your listing closely. What I put in quotes above was copied directly from your house rules. As I read that, you are allowing twice the number of day visitors as registered o'night guests, which would put it at 12.

Regardless of it being a 3 bedroom home, it has the elements that attract partiers- pool and large pool deck, sliding glass doors onto it, modern, large indoor spaces. Partiers don't care how many bedrooms there are. 

If you'd had 100 bookings, and never encountered this behavior before, then it would be valid to deny that it has anything to do with your listing presentation, but you haven't had a large enough sampling of guests yet to determine that. 

Very experienced hosts who have had these scenarios before advise to make a hard and fast rule about no visitors. Because if you give some guests an inch, they take a mile. 

If you aren't willing to listen to advice from other hosts on how to tweak your listing so you don't get home-wreckers again, then fine. We are trying to help, not criticize.

But if I'd had $4000 worth of damage, I'd be seriously open to any advice other hosts were willing to give to prevent this from happening again. 

[Craig674]

Sarah977  - I am more than happy and actually appreciative of advice from seasoned hosts to ensure this does not happen again. I don't see where it states on listing that twice the number of guests are allowed during the day. I am seeing 6 night/ 8 total during the day. 

I appreciate your input.

[Sarah977]

@Craig674  Thanks for that reply. What I quoted about double the number of visitors is in your House Rules section under "Additional Occupants."

It needs to say that no unregistered guests beyond your maximum occupancy of 6 are allowed on the property, if you want to discourage this party scene. There's no reason why the guests who rent your place need to have other people over. If they want to meet up with friends or family, they can do it elsewhere.

You can always make exceptions, depending on the circumstances, on an individual basis, if asked, but don't advertise that. For instance a nice, respectful group of older folks ask if they could invite another couple they know over for dinner. You can play that kind of thing by ear. 

[Craig674]

Got it! Thanks Sarah977

[Elaine701]

Neither "aircover" nor its previous name "host guarantee" were ever an "insurance" or "guarantee" of any kind. Read the fine print. 

I suspect the name change wasn't simply a marketing decision. I have to suspect that using the word "guarantee" in the name of a product that isn't any kind of guarantee at all carries legal risks. 

[Laura2592]

@Craig674 I am sorry this happened, but can't say it surprises me. I have to agree with @Sarah977 though-- your house is a party target and your rules don't make it any better. You need to check the box for "no parties or events" and put a STRICT limit on the number of people who stay. This will continue to happen until you tighten up your listing and vetting. Here is some info that might help:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/New-to-Hosting/Is-your-listing-a-quot-party-target-quot/m-p/1487...

Also be careful with the use of the word "tenant" especially in California. A tenant has specific legal rights-- a guest does not. Unless you are looking to book long term with ABB (terrible idea, IMHO) I would change your language. 

[Ryan2352]

Sorry this happened to you @Craig674.  I've found that even if you say "no parties" that they can still happen.  Best advice for the current situation is to hound ABB support over the phone and ask for someone in the United States.  They offshore their support and it's just horrible.

As others have said, take to twitter, fakebook and such but you may not get the results you like.  I'd reach out to your local news station or your local paper (is it the Press-Enterprise?) and ask them for help or to do a story on it.  There was recently a story I posted here where someone posted another person's home for rent on ABB and ABB refused to do anything until CBS 2 LA got involved.  Hopefully a combination of those will get you full restitution.

For the future, you should look into a third party insurance company like Superhog.  In this instance, since the party was not authorized, they would have covered you and may have gone after the guests in court to recoup their payout.  You should also look at your homeowner's insurance to make sure it is designed for short term rentals.  Homeowners and Landlord policies will not cover you.

As a fellow Californian up in Ventura County who's background is long term rentals, I too had to retrain myself from saying "tenant" and saying "guest" instead.  As a real estate Broker who does property management and has been involved in evictions, tenants have far more rights here than landowners.  Don't imply tenancy through your choice of words.