Guests have Broken the tv

[Penny228]

Hi, 

my guests were due to check-out this morning, so I arrived at the property to clean after check-out time. Upon arrival I test everything is present and working as it should, I switched the tv on to find that there was no picture, just sound, and a large crack is illuminated on the screen - only visible when the tv is on.

I know for a fact that this tv was perfect before these guests arrived, so I sent a message asking if they had had an accident with the tv. They replied saying it was working fine when they left, and that they left a day early because of poor weather.

I know that they have caused the damage (it may well be accidental however the secrecy makes me feel it’s it’s not an innocent accident).

As they are not admitting to causing the damage, Is my only option to replace this at my own cost? It seems quite unfair that they get away with damaging it and playing dumb 😞

[Anonymous]

@Penny228   How to start a damage claim:   https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/264/what-do-i-do-if-my-guest-breaks-something-in-my-place

I don't know what your odds of success are here, but whatever you can get probably won't be the full retail price of a new TV.

[Penny228]

Thank you 

[Colleen253 · Accepted solution]

@Penny228  I would open a claim for it. It's a big ticket item. Hard to see how something like that could be an accident. Maybe extreme carelessness. Do you take photo's/video of your space, before each guest checks in? If not, get in the habit of doing that, with a clear shot of bigger ticket items like the tv. Helps back up a claim. Good luck.

[Penny228]

Hi, thank you for your reply.

unfortunately not, However, as the guest has stated in their reply, the tv was working ok when they left... so they aren’t saying it was like that before they got there. I’m unsure how I would prove that they broke it before leaving, it’s as if they are saying it miraculously broke itself after they left! 
Maybe they should have to prove it was working when they left! 
Good idea though, I will start to photograph things before guests arrive.

kind regards 

Penny

[Colleen253]

@Penny228 The tv was working and in good condition when they checked in, and badly damaged upon checkout. End of story. You've got a photo of it, which proves a lot due to the photo being 'time stamped'. Try the claim anyway, with the evidence you have, and see what happens. Sometimes ABB comes through. 

[Mark116]

@Penny228  This is why we do a video walk through before every guest.  So, in the event  that the guest damages something major, there is time stamped evidence of how the unit was before the guest arrived, it also protects us from any guests who might make false accusations about cleanliness and the state of the beds, etc.  It won't hurt to try and get reimbursement, airbnb seems pretty random in terms of when they do or don't provide money.

[Penny228]

Thank you for your reply,

good idea, it’s a shame we have to do such things... perhaps Airbnb should have more trust in there hosts!

The guests are stating it was working when they left, so I’m unsure how to prove Otherwise? I don’t like to make a fuss over things, but the replacement tv costs nearly as much as the booking, and it really feels unfair 😞

good idea about the walk through video though, will definitely start doing this!

[Anonymous]

@Penny228  I've seen some posts by hosts lamenting that guests staying for, say, $40 per night had damaged a $300 set of sheets, or that a red wine spill destroyed a priceless living room rug. On points like these, I always say that it's important to both "guest-proof" the space (meaning,  imagine your guests as 6-foot-tall toddlers, stick to durable materials, furnishings that are easy to repair or replace, and keep your most valuable items securely mounted)  and also to make sure the cost of your furnishings is proportional to your room rate. 

If a TV is an essential amenity for you that genuinely contributes to your listing's value, the replacement is worth it in the long run - though this time you might look into finding a better place to mount it. But you might find that it's not really worth the trouble to have a TV or other expensive electronics in the guest space; most people are using their own devices for everything these days anyway, and while TV sets aren't necessarily going obsolete, I seldom encounter people who feel they really need one in the room.

[Gordon0]

This may be a little extreme of me, but I always have the TV on during check in (on channel guide) to prove it's working/undamaged.  

[Penny228]

Good idea. I always check the tv as we only get signal through freesat, so I have to check nobody has fiddled! I often find that guests have left it hooked up to their Netflix accounts, which would completely baffle some of our less tech-savvy guests!

I always leave it on standby with BBC1, nice and simple haha!

[Kevin1322]

Yes, good idea.  Most of ours that used it stayed logged in to their Netflix accounts too.

[Maia29]

@Gordon0  I also always leave the tv on for the next guest. 

I also take a video of the unit after I have cleaned it as proof of the cleanliness and no damage. I literally open all the drawers, cabinets, look under the beds, etc. when I take the video of the unit. Such a shame there are so many scammers/dishonest guests out there.