Blamed for damage we didn't cause

[Scott1665]

The weekend of August 19th through the 21st, my wife and I stayed with three other friends at an AirBnB in Kentucky. We noticed some fire damage on the back porch the first day. A hole was burned through the porch about the size of a basketball and some of the siding had melted. The damage was very obvious and we figured the owners knew. Overall, it didn't affect our stay and we didn't need to use the back porch anyways, so just carried on with the rest of our trip.

The Monday after we got back, I received a message from the host with photos of the damage saying they would have an estimate on repairs by the end of the week. I responded that the damage was present upon our arrival and we did not cause it. In fact we never used the back porch. A few days ago I received a request from the host through AirBnB to pay them a substantial amount of money for the repair. I have been traveling with this group for 12 years and we have never had a situation like this. We are all very angry and offended that the host had a knee jerk reaction and blamed us for the damage. We are all 40 to 60 year old responsible adults who've treated every place we've ever stayed with respect. They do not have proof that we caused the damage, and I don't have proof that we didn't cause the damage. It's basically word against word with them having photos.

Overall this has been very stressful and I do not want my extremely limited feedback/rating to be tarnished with AirBnB because of a false/dishonest review. Has anyone been in a situation like this? I have a friend who is a superhost and has a few AirBnB rentals in the town next to me. His opinion was this damage was probably caused by a previous guest and not noticed by the host (or whatever cleaning service they may have hired) prior to our stay. And as a result, they are coming after us for it. If I ever use this service again, I will definitely do a sweep of the property and report damage to the host so this can't happen again.

Thank you!

Scott

[Helen744]

@Scott1665 Scott just ask the host why the property was not checked before you arrived as you did not do it but noticed it . ask if maybe a meteorite caused it / someone did it but remind the host that you could have complained about it but did not for the reasons you state . Get all of the guests to give their version and tell Airbnb that you do not wish to have your reputation damaged by false accusations . Obviouslty a cleaner missed it previously H

[Helen744]

also the host is not hands on so has zero proof that you did it .

[Scott1665]

I appreciate the response. I even went as far as to cancel my credit card that was associated with my AirBnB account so I could not get charged if they decide in the host's favor. Even if they were only asking for 5 bucks, I still wouldn't pay it out of principle. I will not cave in and admit to something we didn't do.

We've always loved using this service because you can save money and be in a place that feels more like "home". As mentioned, we always treat places we stay with respect. My wife even makes the bed in our hotel rooms before we leave and consolidates the trash all into one container. It's not so much the money as it is someone thinking we are dishonest people who did this to their home without telling them or taking responsibility. If one of us did goof up and damage something, we would have notified them immediately and paid for it. 

[Anonymous]

@Scott1665  It definitely would have helped your case if you had gotten a report of the damage on the record when you first noticed it. The host may well realize logically that a different guest could have been responsible, but Airbnb doesn't allow hosts to pursue claims on its "AirCover" insurance without first assigning responsibility to, and requesting compensation from, a specific guest. Always cover your bases to make sure that won't be you.

Still, disputes like this usually don't end in the guest being charged. You can't prevent the host from reviewing you however they wish, but you'll have the opportunity to post a public response with your side of the story.

[Lorna170]

@Scott1665   My welcome letter to guests requests that they report any and all damage that could be attributed to a previous guest immediately upon arrival.  If you had observed the damage when you arrived and sent a picture to the host you would have avoided this issue.   I am sorry that this happened to you.

[Mark116]

@Lorna170  That's a great idea.

[Jennifer1897]

@Scott1665 the host, or whomever is responsible for inspecting the property between guest obviously did a poor job, as a basketball sized hole is significant.  My guess would be that whoever did, didn't go into the backyard. However, in all honesty, I don't always inspect my backyard between stays, as there really is not much to "damage" out there. Aside from some patio furniture that is pretty sturdy (You would have to put some effort in to break it) there is only a grass yard in one case and a paved patio in another. 

Ultimately, you have the right to deny the damages, and in this case of Airbnb hosting, it is always going to be a he said/she said type scenario because there really is no foul proof way to support that a particular guest caused damage vs it already being there or caused by another guest. It is very unlikely you will be charged, and the host will probably end up having to seek compensation through AirCover. 

As for the review, there really is not much you can do to mitigate a potential negative one.  If the host is convinced your party caused the damages there is a strong chance they will mention that in the event they review you. If this happens you can write a response to there review, that is brief and to the point but summarizes your side to the situation. 

As other hosts have pointed out, moving forward, if you ever notice significant damage when you arrive it's always best to mention it to your host, just to cover your bases.