AirBnB Host Insurance - Actually a scam?

[Kerina0]

Dear Fellow AirBnb Hosts, 

I am writing to see if any of you have had a similarly frustrating and disappointing experience to ours. My partner and I have been renting on AirBnB for almost three years. We've had 99% good experiences, and have always felt reassured by AirBnB's "million dollar insurance for hosts," which comes as a part of being a host. We thought, hey, if any one of these virtual strangers that we meet through the internet robs us blind, we're covered! No worries.

We were dismayed to learn that this insurance plan is essentially a hollow falsehood.

We had a guest stay with us who smoked so much marijuana he ruined the carpet my imbedding an odor that did not dissipate even after professional cleaning and washing the walls. The carpet cleaners said if the smell doesn't go away, we would have to replace the carpet pad and subsequently the carpet. I called Home Depot and got a quote for this, which was around $700.

The next step was submitting a claim through AirBnB.

The first surprise there was -- you cannot submit a claim directly to AirBnB, you have to request this fee from the person who rented. So we requested this money from the renter, whose son was the guest in the room. That renter referred us to our son, who we learned after the fact is mentally unstable, and took this request of funds as a personal offense. He called and left threatening voice messages, wrote a series of angry emails and incessantly texted me at work. He threatened to report my partner to the police for crimes he did not committ, and sent so many insane messages that I ended up filing a police report for harrassment. Not only was that extremely stressful, he also managed to lose two of our house keys, so we became extremely stressed that he would return and gain access to our house.

I called AirBnB and filed a report of the harassment, and took their advice, which was to file a report to the police. AirBnB does not allow you to get them involved in the claim until 72 hours have passed, even if you feel physically unsafe, which I did as soon as possible.

The next surprise was that after you involve them, they do not allow you to submit an insurance claim of any kind, even though I asked them repeatedly to do so. At first, they just said it would be hard to get money out of the guest since there was "no proof" that they committed this damage. I submitted my proof, which was the series of emails and text messages in which the guest admitted to smoking marijuana and offered to pay for the carpet cleaning, but not the replacement. 

Then, AirBnB responded with "great news." They were able to get the guest to pay $300 odd dollars. I was glad to hear that, and then asked again how to fill out a claim to have the rest of the cost of the carpet replacement reimbursed by their insurance policy. They then told me that, despite the quote for the fix being $700+ dollars, they thought that "$300" was fair and they would not let me submit a claim nor offer any additional funds.

They did not make any effort to assess the damage, nor the cost of repair, despite the fact that we were threatened repeatedly by the guest, filed several reports, filed a police report, and followed all of their procedures. Oh and, by the way, we never received the $300 they said they retrieved for us, and cannot figure out how to actually get the funds. Great!

My questions are:

Has anyone else tried to submit a claim to AirBnB's "insurance"?

Is this actually a scam that means nothing?

Why did AirBnB express no concern for the fact that the person I hosted through their site was threatening me?

Do you feel safe renting through this website after reading this account?

How long do you think it will be until this becomes a serious legal and safety issue that will eventually threaten the well-being of their billion dollar company?

As you can gather, we are no longer going to be renting through AirBnB, and we hope you seriously consider this account of a series of unforunate events before you continue to rent through them.

Best of luck to you all!

[Jessica4231]

I am dealing with this now. There needs to be a class action lawsuit. Their site clearly indicates that there is an ample insurance policy covering any damage. Some guests wholly damaged a $4,000 table in my house... after lots of back and forth and negotiating, I also got the "good news" email... they offered me $500 for the table, and $100 for the $700 rug.

What they are doing is false advertising, and very misleading. On their website is an initial page about the insurance that is misleading, saying that property damage will be covered. If you request the actual document, they do not respond. Only AFTER YOU MAKE THE CLAIM and get their insulting offer do they give you a link to their policy which spends pages disclaiming their obligations and cornering you into a waiver of your legal rights.

Arbitration clauses entered into through deception, I do not think will hold up in court. This company's market cap is $84.28 billion. They can definitely afford to activate their insurance to cover the damage.

The sneaky thing in their final supposed policy is that they really only offer to pay for the lesser of a repair, or a replacement, but it is AIRBNB that will determine the replacement - in my case they found some piece of junk on Wayfair on sale and then they used my answer on how long I've had the table as a way to depreciate that value, at their own made up depreciation schedule, in order to get out of paying for my Restoration Hardware table. I plan to fight this hard, and I do not think the arbitration clause keeps me from legal action.

Who wants to file a class action?

[Alex]

Hi @Jessica4231, 👋

As you have commented on an older thread, what do you think of elaborating your concern by starting a new conversation with our members?

This way, we will get to know more about the issue and may be our members can help with some insights into your situation. 🤗

Looking forward to hearing from you!

Alex

[Tamar879]

AIRBNB HOST INSURANCE IS A SCAM!!!!!!!! We are switching to VRBO where you can decide on how much to collect for a security deposit.  My second experience was when someone stained the marble seat in my shower and they said they would only pay for the piece of marble that was damaged but NOT for the labor to repair it or for the tile that would need to be replaced after removing the damaged piece of marble. They also asked me for the vendor to write up an incident report!

Here is the last letter from AirBnb Resolution representative: 

Hi Tamar,

We will remain the same amount to reimburse as we did not receive an incident report.

We do our best to fairly and reasonably mediate these cases. In our efforts to be objective, keeping in mind that we were not present during the reservation, we must consider all available documentation and communication when coming to a decision which aligns with our policies and procedures.

I want to reiterate that this decision was made after careful review of all documentation and communication from both parties, and is in alignment with our policies and procedures.

As the Specialist assigned to your case, I have tried to the best of my abilities to come up with a positive outcome. However, I hope you understand that we are also bound to our Host Damage Protection policy when processing these cases.

Please be advised that, per our Terms of Service, Airbnb reserves the right to make the final determination with regard to these disputes. We are unable to reconsider the decision made in this case - we've issued our final decision and will uphold it accordingly. We are therefore, not in a position to reconsider the decision taken in this case.

You may review the Host Damage Protection terms here: (I had to remove the link)

Please know that we are thankful to have you as a Host in our community and look forward to the many positive experiences you will have using Airbnb moving forward.

Kind regards,
Serena K

My response:

Hi Serena,

Thank you for your response. However, I must respectfully state that I disagree with Airbnb’s decision and the process by which it was reached.

It is clear to me that a thorough investigation was not completed. The prior guest’s documented feedback, which directly referenced the condition of the marble bench seat, was entirely disregarded. This, along with the photo evidence, timeline of communication, and detailed descriptions I submitted, should have been sufficient to validate the claim.

To say that no “incident report” was received is misleading. All relevant information was submitted through Airbnb’s messaging platform in accordance with your stated procedures. If an additional form or submission method was required, that was never communicated. The burden of that ambiguity should not fall on the Host, especially when the guest was clearly at fault and there is supporting evidence from both myself and a third party.

I have been a responsible and conscientious Host, and I expect Airbnb to uphold its policies with the same level of integrity. Unfortunately, this decision appears to favor expediency over fairness and transparency.

Given the failure to conduct a proper review, I will be seeking a resolution through arbitration or small claims court. Please forward me the information and procedures for initiating a small claims filing under Airbnb’s Terms of Service.

I am also requesting that this case be escalated to a supervisor for formal review.

Sincerely,
Tamar

Here are the attorneys for Airbnb: CSC Lawyers Incorporating Service, 2710 Gateway Oaks Drive, Suite 150N, Sacramento, California 95833

[Jason114]

Unfortunately, many hosts have had experiences similar to yours. Airbnb's Host Guarantee isn't traditional insurance, and Airbnb often decides what they consider 'fair,' even when the actual repair cost is significantly higher. They also require hosts to pursue reimbursement from the guest first, which can lead to stressful situations like the harassment you encountered. Many hosts have found the process inconsistent, both in resolving damage claims and in handling safety concerns. Because of this, most seasoned hosts don't rely on Airbnb's coverage alone and instead carry their own short-term rental insurance. Your frustration is completely valid.. no host should have to deal with damage, harassment, and limited support at the same time.

[Haim143]

I did and they are terrible. They try yo nickel and dime you and do not want to pay for an official quote that was done in a rush as it had to be done in between clients. I am talking about a sofa steam clean that had to be done within 2 days. They think that I will go shopping around for the best quote when there is no time.