AirCover request? GOOD LUCK getting reimbursed for your actual out-of-pocket costs!

[Max-And-Stephanie0]

AirCover is a joke and much worse than the previous system. We had about $6,000 in damages and were very meticulous to gather photos, videos, invoices, and statements from the cleaning and repair crews. I understand how this kind of thing goes, and I respect that Airbnb has a responsibility to carefully review and deny any claims that are poorly supported or where the host is trying to gouge them. I get it.

However, as expected, our request was slashed, but without any kind of real reasoning. There were about thirty people staying for 4 days, drunk and smoking the whole time with unsupervised young children, from diaper age to preteens, running around wildly (per the Ring doorbell). One of the most frustrating examples is that for the smoke remediation service, we used the same crew we've used twice in the past, and we had no problem getting reimbursed 100%. This time, the invoice was cut from almost $1,000 to $250, with the only explanation being "That's industry standard." It absolutely is not. Industry standard in our area is $4,000 for a whole-house service. I've called three times and nobody knows where to refer me. I also emailed over and over asking for a simple response about the Stanley Steemer invoice. We had to have a sofa, rug, and stair runner professionally cleaned due to extreme filth--the rug was literally dragged outside and left in the rain, covered in mud, and the sofa had alcohol and soft drinks spilled on it in addition to nail polish, ground-in food, and cigarette smoke. Despite all evidence being uploaded within about a week, it was never listed on our claim response--they simply overlooked it. And when I pointed it out over and over, I never got a straight response, just a copy-pasted answer.

So I decided to escalate. Guess what? The resolution team member who handled our claim said I didn't need to submit a written notice of dispute (which is what the fine print says to do, by the way), and instead he said I can call and ask to talk to the "concerned department." And then he also gave a different address that's not the same as what's in the fine print. So I called, and yep, the next person I talked to had no idea what I meant. We've moved to sending a written notice of arbitration. Atrocious service. GOOD LUCK if you have an AirCover claim. We are seriously considering moving off this platform.

[Jenny]

Hi @Jody198 

Sorry that this happened to you.

I had to remove the images as it's against our guidelines to share images of people, but I do understand that you were demonstrating the concerns you had.

Parties are banned at all Airbnb listings, you can read more here , so having the police attend was the right thing to do.

I've passed your details over to Airbnb Support to try and get someone in touch with you about your claim.

Jenny

[Jody198]

Hi @Jenny No I have not all I get is someone will contact you 24-48 hrs …even the insurance adjuster tried to get answers on my behalf still no luck ?

I have another rental wanting to book oct 12 for 28 days and my bet is I’ll loose this one too!! 😞 

[Jenny]

Thanks for letting me know @Jody198.

Support have assured me that your case is with a specific team and that they will be in touch with a resolution soon.  I'm sorry I can't give you anything more specific than that.

Jenny

[Jody198]

Hi @Jenny 

Thank you for following up, I am  looking forward to their responds.

[Jody198]

Hi Jenny ….Well as per usual I still have not received a call email or any correspondence from Airbnb cover !!!  How long should I be waiting for a response or  a resolution ?

This has got to be the most stressful company to try to reach or correspond with   I am at my wits end!! 

[Jody198]

@Jenny Hi Jenny, well as per usual, no one from Airbnb has been in contact with me via email or phone call or likewise. I’m at my wits end I’ve never met a company that is so non-customer service orientated and especially when they are so large!!

please let me know who I can escalate my concerns with I want to know when to expect resolution.

Jody 

[Jenny]

Hi @Jody198 

Sorry to hear you're still waiting for a response about this.  I know you've been waiting a while.

Just so you know, the online community management team aren't customer support and this community forum isn't a customer support medium. Our function is to provide a space that encourages uncensored discussion about what is important to Airbnb Hosts, whilst keeping it respectful and constructive. 

Wherever possible, we do try to elevate Host questions and issues internally, whilst also trying to get more information.  However, we don't have access to Airbnb Support systems.

I'm not able to give you a timescale for a response, but I've let them know that you're looking for an update and that you're looking to escalate the matter within Airbnb.

I hope they can get a resolution sorted for you soon.

Jenny

[Jenine15]

I’m in the same position.
The case was found in my favour but after a month of being blocked while they investigated what occurred, both my properties were blocked for bookings on Airbnb and I had over $5600.00 in damages in the property and loss of income of over $9000!

After messages and phone calls all I get back is this message that sends you no where and no actual response! 
WHAT A JOKE.

ID LIKE SOME ANSWERS

NOT message thread closed!

[Emilie]

@Lorrie47 I've just heard back and someone your claim is in progress with the right department. I won't be able to get more details unfortunately as I'm not part of the Support team, but I hope everything gets resolved shortly for you!

@Jenine15 I'm really sorry to read you're in a similar situation! I've sent this to the team on my end and will let you know if I get any more info.

Thanks, 

Emilie

[Jenine15]

Still awaiting replies 

[Gary1074]

I agree the aircover program appears to be a over hyped sham. If the expense is too much for airbnb to respond to the claims, they should be honest enough to simply disband the program. Yet they continue to hype it as hosting benefit. It appears to be, at best a dishonest shell game. My $500 claim has been "under review" for 3 months. When you call/email etc. to check on the status, the super host rote process is to say the are forwarding it to the appropriate department. They will not connect you to this "appropriate department", give you a number, name, or any other information on this file 13 entity. They continue to hype it as "most claims resolved within 2 weeks". I simply don't understand why any credible company would promote such a black hole item as a "host benefit". Amazingly poor customer service. I've request for them to just give me an answer one way or the other. Cricket chirping is all I hear. If you're not going to be true to your word, why even utter a sound?

[Kendall46]

Has anyone experienced a retaliation, such as being removed by Airbnb, if you go through arbitration with them?

[Property2]

If you go to arbitration over the damages and Airbnb clearly sees that they will have to pay, they request to  move a case into a small claims court hoping that the host would never file due to the whole process becoming very lengthy and expensive. If a host does not win the case, he/she may become liable for the Airbnb legal expenses. As such, some of the damage reimbursement pursuits may become not only time consuming but also expensive... These are the new tactics that were experienced by some hosts including myself.

[Bwalya-Melanie0]

All these stories really dishearten me and I’m afraid my case won’t be any different. I had a guest bring extra unauthorised guests in the apartment, flooded my bathrooms, left damages and pure filth included poo on the toilet seat, and actual rubbish everywhere that took 6 hours to clean. For weeks I haven’t heard a response to the resolution and have just been told “I” cancelled it. I never cancelled it and they closed my case less than 24hours. For the extra guests I’m told I can’t claim because it wasn’t in my description. I added it in my settings and it’s there on the profile page just not in the description as there is a word limit. I feel defeated and out of pocket. Everytime I write to them I get a different person telling me to open a case in resolution center even when it was open. This aircover if a farce and they are just here to protect the guests! If I cancel the rest of my stays will I get a fee charged? This is a big risk for me.

[Stephanie365]

@Emilie  @Catherine-Powell    @Sybe   @Quincy  @Lizzie   considering how awful AirCover is proving to be, can anyone explain why we can no longer charge a security deposit?

Clearly it's not because AirBNB prohibits them because some hosts can charge them. The bigger corporate entities and multiple property owners who use a channel manager are allowed to charge. Why aren't smaller hosts allowed to protect their assets, too? This is rather classist and discriminatory since the rules are not being applied equally to all hosts.

Allowing hosts to charge a security deposit would certainly cut down on the careless damage by guests knowing they would actually lose their deposit instead of just telling AirBNB to kiss off when they break something. They would actually be more respectful when they have skin in the game.

I'm still waiting for "Anna L" to get back to me about my claim.