Can't collect extra cleaning fees for guest who trashed our condo

[Bill1166]

I have been hosting on Airbnb for 5 years with my 4 units in Ocean City. All this time I thought I was protected if a guest trashes my unit. Last week a group left food in the fridge, on the counters, and in the oven. Furniture was moved and the couch had to be put back together. My cleaners spent an extra 2 hours on the unit. I turned in the bill along with 5 pictures and now Airbnb says the guest won't pay the extra money. Airbnb says they can't charge the guest extra money without their permission. The guest is now simply refusing to respond to them. What is the point of the $350 security deposit that I thought they charged if their was damage or something missing? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Bill1166 To answer your question: There is no point whatsoever in the security deposit. It is not charged when the guest books neither is it even reserved on their card. It is just one of the daft things Airbnb does to give hosts a false sense of security. 

I suggest you go back to Airbnb and say that as the guest will not pay please would they pay under the $1m host guarantee. Sadly you will then find that this is another smoke and mirror concept from Airbnb. Do let us know how you get on.

[Sarah977]

@Bill1166  Leaving food around and moving furniture isn't considered damage or "trashing the house". Some guests leave the place clean and some are pigs. While it's a drag that it took an extra 2 hours to clean, I don't think it's  worth your while to pursue recompense for this.

Raise your prices by a few bucks a night and set aside the $ in a special fund to cover things like this.