Airbnb not paying for all damages or lost rental income

Michelle234
Level 2
Port Coquitlam, Canada

Airbnb not paying for all damages or lost rental income

In January 2019 I had a guest stay with me for 2 weeks.   He never left the room but to use the bathroom or the occassional trip out late at night.  He had no vehicle.  He rented a private room in my personal residence where I live alone; a 59 year old single woman.    The entire reservation with this guest was stressful as he exhibited paranoia.   On the last night the guest went into a drug induced psychosis at 12:30am screaching and screaming while smashing and jumping about inside the room he rented.   This  went on for over 15 minutes.   Terrified and crying, I ran out the front door of my house, called 911 and the RCMP removed him from my property as (fortunately for me) he had a warrant out on him.   They forced me to hide in my bedroom (for my own safety) while they apprehended and handcuffed him as he was in psychosis.    When I entered the  room after he left, the entire room had a strong chemical smell.   Needle syringes and garbage were strewn everywhere on the floor.    Blood was on the carpet and bed linen,  and the desk was damaged from him using it as a cutting board.  The next day I did a thorough cleaning and found 5 small packs of drugs and drug paraphanelia which was hidden in the room.  I took pictures,  and the RCMP returned to my home the next day to pick everything up and identified the drugs as crystal meth.  I of course sent these photos to airbnb in the hopes that they would ban him.  I did not want any other person to go through the distressing trauma I am still recovering from. 

 

I had to repair walls, paint the ceiling and walls (to mask the chemical smells) , and tear out the carpet.   I had noticed that due to the guest jumping in the room for so long, he had loosened the subfloor from the joists, and the footer of the wall from afloor joist that devides two bedrooms.   Consequently, the floor in the ajacent room on the other side of the wall also had very bad squeeks when walked on.   To avoid airbnb reimbursing me to repair the compromised structural integrity of the floors, they gave me 48 hours to present an engineers report to prove that the squeeking floors was caused from the guest.     I provided an estimate from a flooring company within that time line, but it was not acceptable.  Structural engineers told me that they could not get out for at least a weeks.   So I paid three separate contractors to restore the floors myself; reattaching the footer of the wall to the floor joist, tearing up and reinstalling the sub-floor in areas that were rubbing on the sheetmetal below (heat ducting system that had shifted) and renail all plywood.  

 

The reason I am posting this is to let the community know that this guest is STILL AN ACTIVE GUEST on airbnb.  In fact, when the reservation was over, the feature to leave reviews for one another had been de-activated so I could NOT leave a review to warn other hosts.  The guest is STILL using airbnb as his main platform for permanent accomodation as he works in Vancouver.    Airbnb DOES NOT CARE ABOUT THE SAFETY OF HOSTS.  

 

I have incurred substantial financial loss  because of this reservation that airbnb refuses to pay.  They did pay for paint and carpet in the one room.    I was not given any information to appeal the final decision and want the entire community to know to be careful when they accept guests who live and work in the same city they are hosting.   Do your research!!!  I am not able to tell you his name for privacy reasons.      I wish I knew where to add my name to any class action law suit or how to appeal airbnb's decision.  So if anyone can give me any advice, I would really appreciate it.   Also, according to the Host Guarantee program, Airbnb is suppose to pay me for lost rental income while I restored the room.   How do I go about collecting this because they are just ignoring me.    I have lost complete faith and respect for airbnb.    

3 Replies 3
Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

This is a horrible experience, @Michelle234 .  Not only have you sustained financial loss, but I would imagine you would be fairly anxious about accepting guests.  While I have no direct experience with obtaining resolution from Air BNB, there are many posts that report success.  It appears that patience and perseverence are key.   Also, if you do not receive satisfaction, you can start the arbitration process.

 

I agree about local guests.  I want travelers to be my guests.  However, since this is a local person, what are your thoughts about suing him directly for your loss?  Afterall, he caused the damage.  Why should he get off free.  What about criminal charges for willful damage to your property?

 

Just a thought.  Keep us posted and I hope you will be able to recover soon.

Thank you for your message Linda.  How do I start the arbitration process?  When I reach out to the adjudicator who made the final decision, my emails are ignored. 

Michelle

 

Having the same issue Michelle. Ran into your post searching for help also.  I guest broke the tank on a toilet and leaked to the lower level .. I wont bore you with details.  Airbnb also partially paid my claim but Gonzolo, the person helping, said they only broke the tank and not the entire toilet.  I had  a guest checking arriving in  5 hours and couldnt tell them Gonzolo says to just find the tank at the local home depot.

 

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