Urgent Support Needed - Significant Damages from Guests and No Response from Airbnb

[Ahmed641]

Good day,

I am a dedicated Airbnb host, even though I have only been on this platform for about six months. Today, I am writing with deep regret and frustration about a recent incident that occurred last Friday and was only concluded today with the guest's checkout.

Recently, I had a particularly bad experience with a guest who caused substantial damage during their stay in my apartment. The guest hosted parties and invited strangers who also stayed overnight in my apartment. Upon the guest's departure, there were even more strangers in the apartment who had slept there and refused to show their IDs.

A particularly concerning incident was when the guest left a faucet running all night. Due to his heavy drunkenness, he did not notice this. As a result, my apartment was completely flooded, and water even ran out from under the entrance door. A cleaning lady who happened to be in the hallway described the sight in my apartment as "like a swimming pool".

In addition to this water damage, the walls, furniture, sockets, and bedding were damaged or misused, and the consumption of water and electricity was excessive.

I immediately tried to contact Airbnb and made several calls and emails with detailed information, photos, and videos of the damage. Despite all efforts and promises from various support staff that I would receive a callback and a solution would be found, I have received no concrete support or solution so far.

In addition to all of this, after the cleaning lady had soaked up the water, she reported that there was still water under the beds. Over the entire weekend, the guests slept on these damp beds and the walls continued to absorb moisture. To minimize the damage, I mobilized workers to start repairs as quickly as possible. We set up large machines to dry the walls, and had to buy new mattresses because the old ones had a strong smell and showed bloodstains that the guest allegedly had from a fall.

So far, I have already spent 6000 Euros to fix these damages.

Given this urgent and costly situation, I ask the Airbnb community for advice and support. Is there something I could have done differently? How can I get Airbnb to respond to my situation and treat it with the urgency it deserves?

Thank you in advance for your help and advice.

[Rebecca2027]

Hi

I'd start a small claims like I am doing. Air bnb will not pay out if they can help it. They'll just ignore you and then say the deadline is up. 

They are not satisfied with receipts or photographs.  I believe in karma though

[Bhumika]

Hi @Ahmed641, This overall incident sounds like a frustrating ordeal and I am really sorry to hear that you've had to spend a whole lot of amount to fix the damages.

As it has been a while since you posted, did you hear back from the Support team? 

Wishing you smoother guests and easy sailing in your future bookings! All the best!🌻

[Ahmed641]

Hi @Bhumika ,

Unfortunately, I must inform you that I have not heard back from Airbnb as of yet. I have called them 16 times and sent several messages, but I have received no response. The situation is incredibly frustrating for me, as I have already spent 12,000 Euros on renovations.

I thought Airbnb would be very professional in handling such cases and would quickly respond with clear answers. Unfortunately, I have not received any response.

I am truly at a loss and do not know who to turn to. Any support or advice you could offer would be extremely helpful during this difficult time.

Thank you for your concern and understanding.

[Helen3]

Have you raised a claim with the guest for damages and provided photos and video of the damages? @Ahmed641 

If the guest didn't response have you now raised a claim through the Airbnb guarantee?

I know you said you've called Airbnb but have you actually lodged a claim?

It sounds like an awful experience. Perhaps going forward have CCTV at your listing so you can check only those who have booked are using it.  Also review the vetting procedures you use to make sure guests are a good fit for your place.

[Ahmed641]

Hello @Helen3 Helen3,

Thank you for your message and advice.

Yes, I have raised a claim with the guest and provided both photos and videos of the damages. Unfortunately, the guest hasn't responded so far, which is why I'm now turning to Airbnb's guarantee.

I have indeed called Airbnb and lodged a claim. Your support, along with that from the community, is very uplifting during this challenging time.

Your suggestion about installing CCTV sounds wise, and I'll definitely consider it to prevent future incidents. Reviewing my guest vetting processes is a good idea as well. I'll make sure to be even more thorough in the future to ensure my guests are a good fit for my place.

Thank you again for your support and constructive suggestions.

Best regards,
Ahmed

[Susan1188 · Accepted solution]

@Ahmed641hello, Salaam Aleykum.

I'm a host just across the "pond" from you over in Costa del Sol, Spain.

Over 5 years and 500+ guests, I have had many wonderful guests and just 3 guests make big damage to my property (but not as big as what you have experienced).  Once I got a partial refund for a broken TV ad another time a refund for a broken sliding window.

I have gotten acceptable compensation from AirCover by doing the following:

1) As soon as the guest seems troublesome I start up a support thread mentioning the problem

2) If it's significant then i CALL the Airbnb phone line, not chat, call them on the phone.  This has been getting me less and less good support as they clearly have outsourced to call center people who don't know the policies as well as me!  But you can usually get some good support if you are patient and you insist.

3) Immediately message the guest and try to get his reaction on the platform.  Send a friendly reminder of your house rules. In your case if I were aware of partying and extra guests I would have already messaged him multiple times.  

4) You have to introduce a RESOLUTION REQUEST within 14 days of departure on the guest that did the damage.  Collect your bills, lots of photos of the damage, any proof such as cleaners email or additional bills, videos.  Make sure to take a video showing in a continuous stream, the damage, and the rest of the apartment so Airbnb can identify it.  If you just show the flooded floor, it could be anywhere, they need to see the other parts of the apartment in the same video.

Aircover claims that they will even compensate you for the lost income, if the damage makes it impossible to rent your apartment to the next guest.  We'll see about that, I have a claim underway with just that situation.

They will only assign a true support person, once you have introduced a number of expenses by Resolution Request.  So that is the first step to getting any compensation.  But that person will look at the whole history of your interaction with the guest.

If your listing doesn't have complete rules, or ifyou didn't communicate well with the guest it might be harder to get compensation.

So sorry that happened to you.