Carpet stains - how do you bill this?

[Amy2142]

Hi all, we are relatively new to hosting, and had a group recently who the cleaning company said wasn't not a tidy group and left a massive stain on the carpet in the living room. They steam cleaned it and some came out, but there is still a very apparent stain in the middle of the living room walk way. I don't know how to bill the tenants for this. I definitely will charge them for the cleaning, but since the stain is still there, how do I go about billing them for this? Thanks in advance from this newbie!

[Anonymous]

@Amy2142  You'll need to ask the cleaning company to give you a separate invoice for the steam cleaning, so it's clear that the guests aren't being double-charged for the normal cleaning routine. 

That's about the most I'd expect you to be able to recover via Airbnb. If the remaining stain is so unsightly that you ultimately decide to replace the whole carpet, this is where your private STR insurance would be the better route. Airbnb would not back you up if you conjured up a penalty fee without receipts.

[Amy2142]

Wow, I'm so surprised by this. AirB&B talks a big game about having your back but this doesn't feel like they really do. Going through my private insurance would also require a pretty hefty deductible. 

Could I invoice the tenant for damages? 

[Anonymous]

@Amy2142  You may request money from the guest via http://airbnb.com/resolutions .  If the guest agrees to the charge, it will go through right away. But if they refuse it, a lengthy drama begins wherein you have to escalate the damage claim to a mediator who will assess the evidence you provide and determine whether to compensate you. Meanwhile, the guest still has the opportunity to retaliate against the charge in their review, and you can't really do anything about that.

As I'm sure you realize by now, Airbnb doesn't have your back - that's just marketing. They deliver bookings and process payments, but other than that you're on your own.

[Amy2142]

Boy, this is enlightening. What I am still confused about, and perhaps should have gotten clarity on this before my first rental is, what is the point of this deposit? I have a deposit amount required ($500) that I assumed AirB&B held and I could pull against for damages. But now that I need to pull from that, I don't see anywhere I can do that. It looks like my only option is to kindly request it from the tenant...so what's the point of having a deposit if they have to approve before I pull from it? This guest also damaged our boat dock and the repairs are $200, so in total I'm asking for around $400...below what I have theoretically held somewhere in this mysterious deposit. 

[Anonymous]

@Amy2142   I know it's confusing, because Airbnb still has that place in the listing builder where you can specify a so-called "deposit." But this has never been a deposit - it's purely fiction, a placebo designed to trick hosts into overestimating the security involved with handing their homes over to strangers from the internet. See also:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140/security-deposits

There was never a charge or hold placed on the guest's account, so you're likely in for a fight if you want to get any compensation. If you want to be able to charge a real deposit, you'll have to investigate other listing platforms.