AirCover?

[Valerie696]

My question is : at what point do you ask to be compensated for damages?

Of course we have had our share of beddings to retire, missing towels, touch-painting, furniture leg welding... But, knock on wood, never willful theft, or malicious damages.

Our last guests though tested me.  It took 3 days to put the house back in order.  They left about 100 cf of "stuff", belonging to an unuthorized guest (i e not listed on the vacation rental agreement, nor included in the number of invitees stated on the Airbnb request).

They broke our stove, a sofa, a desk lamp, a remote control, and disappeared 3 sets of towels. 

How do I activate AirCover? I have called  the Airbnb Ambassadors. They told me to expext a call from a specialist. This was 3 or 4 days ago.

I am curious to hear from any of you who has experience dealing with claims for damages.

Thanks!!

[Teona9]

@Valerie696 I am so sorry that happened to you.  I am having a similar experience.  I am a relatively new host and my last guests left burns on my quartz bathroom countertops. I immediately contacted the resolution center, put in a request for money with photographs of the damage as evidence. Of course the guests said they would not pay.   The same day I put in an Aircover claim and have only gotten the runaround. Same thing...someone will contact you within 24 hours, 3-4 days later, I get an email that states the agent is going on scheduled "rest days" and will be in touch when they return. Every time I get a response after waiting 3-4 days, the agent is going on rest days, then it takes another 3-4 days. I am just trying to get answers and charge the guest the security deposit that is clearly disclosed in the reservation but I can't even get that, let alone an actual claim filed and processed.  I think the Air Cover is a gimmick and not something that hosts can actually access. Very disconcerting. I was very excited to become a host but now am looking at other platforms hoping to get a better result. Good luck! 

[Valerie696]

Thanks for sharing your experience!  I feel bad for you because a counter top is not something you can change as "easily" as a sofa...  And getting such a bad experience early in your hosting carrier can be disheartening!

For me, I still have not heard from anyone, despite a couple more calls I made, and a detailed message.  I was told my manager was investigating...  What kind of "investigation" starts before a simple phone interview of the host?  So I decided to just lick my wounds, and not expect anything from anyone at Airbnb.  I don't know if other platforms are any better...

But don't loose your enthousiasme:  hosting is still fun overall!  Most people are relatively decent.  And when you encounter a truly appreciative and respectful one, that makes your week!! 😉

[Robin4 · Accepted solution]

@Valerie696 

Valerie, in 6 years of hosting on Airbnb I have not put 'Aircover', the replacement for the 'Host Protection Scheme' (once the HPS got really on the nose) to the test. Too early in my hosting career I was frightened by the number of posts from hosts who complained they had been duded by Airbnb's offer of host protection in the event of damage.

You have to understand, Aircover is not an insurance policy.....you don't pay a premium for a defined level of cover for a defined set of circumstances.....It is an adjudicated process where you might get something,  or you might not!

Valerie, we can't run a business like that...and hosting is a business that carries risks....as you have found out!

$7.00 per guest night from my hosting automatically goes into a damage fund, and when a guest breaks or damages something I just pull the money out of the damage fund and put things right and get on with hosting without involving the guest responsible, or Airbnb.

Slogging out a damage claim is just not worth it.....your chance of winning is minimal and all you will do is guarantee yourself a bad review.

Valerie, take control of your business, don't look to Airbnb to be your guardian angel, you are inviting strangers into your home, it is up to you to protect yourself and cover the risks involved!

Cheers.........Rob

[Valerie696]

Thanks, Rob!  Lots of wisdom in your answer...  I had pretty much reached that conclusion about handling damages on my own...

But you brought another issue I'm just coming to grasp with: we are allowing perfect strangers in our homes...  The one guest whose damages I mentioned in this post had a picture in her profile.  When I got to meet her 5 days before she left (I don't typically get to meet our guests), ....she looked nothing like her picture! 

The current guest has a cityscape in place of a picture in his profile.  Still hurting from my previous experience, I asked him to supply a picture ID.  He sent me his DL: not matching the name on the Airbnb listing!  He told me the owner of the listing would be joining him later...  I probably should have canceled right there (same day booking), but gave him the benefit of the doubt (I had two instances where a boss used his account to book for employees, and things went fine).  I'm going to be bitting my nails for the next 2 weeks...
So, do you request DL pictures for all your guests, including their invitees?
(Let me know if I should open a different post for this question)

School of hard knocks, I guess.  But the way you put it will greatly help me: Airbnb is not my guardian angel...  I'm on my own, with perfect strangers...

[Robin4]

@Valerie696 

Valerie, the problem with hosting is, most guests are beautiful, they are easy to get on with and treat the property with respect.....they lull you into a false sense of security. After a while you let your guard down, you don't look for problems. 

With close to 600 guest stays I have figured out, hosting is a numbers game.

One in 18 will not leave a review, they either consider the words in the guest book has discharged them of any further duty or, the experience wasn't worth criticising or praising.

One in 12 will not use any of the supplied condiments. They are just overnighters, a bed to sleep in and that's it! I like them, the only way they could be improved on is if they didn't turn up....and didn't require a refund!

One in 25 will want to change the status of their reservation with either extra guests or add or subtract a night or two. These are the ones I potentially worry about. Before the booking confirmation all they wanted to do was stay.....after the booking confirmation all they wanted to do was ask questions and make alterations. Most of them turn out to be positive though!

One in 30 will break or damage something! Most often it will be an accident.....a plate or a glass, a stained linen or towel issue. 60% of those will make a mention of it and apologize and leave it at that, just a part of hosting. Another 30% will sneak it into the rubbish or take the broken item with them thinking it won't be noticed. The remaining 10% will want to compensate you for the loss. I had one guest who was so concerned about a small bowl she broke, insisted on replacing it, and  the next week this turned up in the mail. 

A new bowl with a $50 note in it and a lovely letter thanking me for her stay! This is where hosting is lovely. No hotel chain ever gets that sort of respect.

So for every 100 guests I have had, 90 have been a positive experience, 9 who were outstanding, return and we have become friends......

And one who I would not want to see walk onto my property again.

I don't look for problems, and for the most part I don't get them,  but I keep a bit of money aside for that 1 in 100 that I know sooner or later I will get! 

Cheers........Rob

[Meehyun0]

Hi Robin:  I love Australians!  I never met one that I did not like.

I appreciate your take on experiences and it is all true for me too.  I would say 90% of my guests are wonderful people and makes it a worthwhile to venture into being a STR host.  

But issue here is that other 10% who can be a make or break the business for many hosts.  That is why you have Aircover to handle those cases.  It is when that Aircover promise is not what they purportedly made to be believed, that is when we all lose.  Including Airbnb!

It is an issue Airbnb really needs to address.  In the beginning, Airbnb, was very responsive.  I guess now that I am a seasoned host, either they expect you cover the cost yourself or saying get lost because they have over million hosts.  Unfortunately, I would need to make decisions based on what is or is not with Aircover.  I hate being lied to by anyone or entity.  I have had three incidents of really horrible guests. And Aircover did not cover what I asked and I provided with evidence.  

I have my units in very high fire area, and I have a guest who had BBQd and buried coals in the front yard next to dry leaves!  If my house burnt down, would air cover cover that?  When they say they cover up to $1 million dollar and I think OK, at least that will cover the rebuild cost and I go ahead and accept guests.  I need to know what they say, by covering $1 million in damages to the property means that they would do that.  So far Aircover, has shown me that may not happen from the actions they have shown me with claims above $500.  If they do not honor cases involving $500-$3000, then would they cover a $1 million dollar claim?  

Most properties in California are over $1million in average cost.  So it is a big question indeed.

[Mark116]

@Valerie696   If you don't do it, start shooting phone video of your property before every guest or have the cleaner(s) do it.  This will protect you in future of some guest says that X was already damaged.  I've never used Aircover, but there is no harm, beyond aggravation and stress, in trying to recoup significant damages like stove and sofa.

We have in our house rules that if the profile photo is not of the guest, i.e. blank or a flower, etc.,  who booked we will check DL or other ID when they check-in.  We've only done it one time, but it helps that it is written in the rules.

Good luck.

Think back on these guests and if there were any red flags about them when they first booked so if so, you can be alert to similar things and prevent other jerks from successfully booking.

[Ann72]

@Valerie696  Wow, I’m so sorry about this awful experience!  But I love your positive attitude and drive to move forward.

To answer your original question, you can get things covered.  In the case of extensive damage such as you describe, however, I think you’re right not to bother with Airbnb but instead to go to your home insurance.  In the case of simple or more modest issues, the best way to handle coverage through Airbnb is to purchase the replacement right away and put the claim in to the guest right away.  They’ll deny it, then Airbnb will step in and ask for the receipt and take it from there.  I’ve found this to be the most effective way in the few times I’ve put in a claim.  Most hosts think they have to wait for Airbnb to give them the money first.  But my feeling is, I’m going to replace it anyway, why not just do it and hand over the receipt.

Although I’ve had luck this way and other hosts have too, you’re going to hear a lot of raised voices here about how nothing is covered.  A damaged countertop is extremely tricky, for instance.  There is no way I could get someone in the next morning to replace the whole thing or do it in time for the resolution process.  But there is no way a host will get compensated for anything without strictly following the steps.  And unfortunately, calling first and getting 5 or more days or runaround before the process even starts means that nothing will ever happen, because when CS do get around to it, they’ll tell the host they waited too long.  I know, right?!?!!

So, in the end, I mostly don’t bother and just take Rob’s approach of building the unexpected into the nightly rate.

You are brave to take last-minute bookings!  I’ve had exactly one and it gave me more agita than any other kind.  It turned out fine, but gee whiz, picture didn’t match the text, communication awful - no thank you.

Keep up the good work with your amazing positive attitude, which conquers all!

[Jennifer2672]

I just put in my first request for AirCover about 2 weeks ago. We've been hosting for more than a year and a half, and I've had two other occasions where I requested reimbursement for damage directly from guests and they said yes. Generally, small things like towels or an occasional glass or fork or small repairs I don't put in a claim. In this latest situation, the guest booked for two adults and an infant, and clearly hosted a big family party. I had to clean for 2 days, and found a number of broken and missing items. I put in the request for several of the things that were missing and broken. I wanted to make sure in this situation that this guest is clearly flagged as problematic. It actually went pretty smoothly. She paid for one missing item (with a backhanded comment that it didn't work anyway). And denied the rest. We are getting a payment from AirCover for the rest. I think we probably had better luck because the dollar amount was not huge. Still, I'm glad to be able to recoup some of my costs here. Otherwise I probably would have lost money on her reservation. 

[Christine615]

My advice on Air Cover...

First - communicate with the guest so it's documented about the damages. Then bill them for the damage, missing items, in the resolution center where AIrbnb can see it.  (I think it's in the "report this guest tab"). Upload photographs, estimates and/or receipts to back up your claim (an outside insurance company and/or a court for small claims would require this too --  so be prepared to show documentation).

If the guest doesn't respond or pay within three business days, then Airbnb gets involved.

There should be a page with step by step protocol that's easy for hosts to find.

[Andrea6469]

I thought we had 14 days to submit our quotes and bills?

[Meehyun0]

When a corporation (Airbnb) promises you a protection (Aircover) to cover damages "top and bottom" and you(hosts) rely on that promise to open your homes to complete strangers and later Airbnb/Aircover renegades on that promise( which you acted on), that is a classic case of FRAUD.

I know this because I was accused of fraud and I fought it in SF Superior court and won.  It took years but when you are talking about your reputation, the only thing you have, then you fight vigorously.  

It really is sad for me to see these threads, messages and everyone seems to resign to the fact that Aircover promise is what it is, a mirage.  Please get this through your consciousness.  Without the Aircover coverage promise, many people like us should not be doing business with Airbnb.

It takes one bad apple guest to ruin your house, your income, even your safety.  You can add additional dollars to your rate and when that one bad incident cannot even begin to cover your loss, then what?  It would have been better off that you rent it to a long term tenant as a furnished apartment. At leases I can screen my tenants with a background check, you cannot with Airbnb guests.  Aircover promise  is why many of hosts, cross over to STR.  I also carry commercial STR insurance too.  However, they will not cover anything until Airbnb covers first.  Then you get into even jeopardizing your last option, to go to,  your own STR insurance scenario.  Because after your claim, you still lose, because your insurance premium sky rockets! At that point it makes no economical sense to be in STR business, that is if there is no "real" Aircover.  Additionally, calculate time spent on juggling cleaners, bad guests, infuriating Airbnb CS, the list goes on.

Compound that with an adverse governmental regulations and new taxation issues,  Airbnb begins to look like now actually a high risk opportunity most hosts have no idea what they are dabbling into.  I am seriously thinking about the alternatives.  Just like in any business though you have to evolve to be competitive.  Airbnb host model is no different.

My take on it is, if Aircover is a mirage, then Airbnb has been defrauding hosts.  My sense is this is going to be  bigger issue brewing which could be a huge headache for Airbnb, Hosts and even the government to iron out.  There are millions of host out there who depend on the additional income.  However dependent they are on that income, Airbnb (a multibillion dollar company) should not treat hosts this way.  Let me give you an analogy.  If you have a three legged stool, Airbnb, guests, hosts as  respectively as being one of those legs,  and one of those stool leg starts to rot out, the whole thing becomes unstable.  Right now, Airbnb(Aircover) is wobbly on all three.

So sad they had a fantastic business model and they seemingly wants to jeopardize it.  And it is not because they have no money.  They need to fix how to deal with governmental regulation and Aircover and respect hosts that takes most risks to make Airbnb viable company.

[Andrea6469]

I totally agree with you! I can't believe they closed my case after 7 days! I am out over 10k in damage!

[William2640]

Arbitration or small claims.  Don't let them waste your valuable time!