Damage to TV. All guests denying

[Emily535]

Hi-

Had an interesting scenario play out last week..

Guests arrive July 2-5, check out and house turned over for new (current) guests arriving July 5-July 15.  Current guests message me late July 5 with a picture of the TV where half the screen is black and you can see a "spiderweb" like crack coming from the left side- they were just asking if we knew the TV was damaged etc.  I responded that I would check with my cleaning lady as well as the previous guests.  They quickly mentioned that there is NO physical damage that is noticeable when the TV is off so cleaning lady certainly wouldn't have noticed when dusting.  Cleaning lady, as excepted was shocked to see and said from now on she will turn on the TV between guests, and previous guests denied even turning on the TV during their stay.  I was the "guest" at my house before them so I know it wasn't me.  

Since our current guests were staying for over a week I immediately went to get a replacement TV (mind you this is all over the 4th of July holiday and we are booked solid til the end of July, and I wouldn't have a chance to get back to the property to install a new TV for weeks unless I did it ASAP)  Replaced the TV on Monday, did notice a pinhead sized spot on the screen when its off indicating physical contact, but definitely something that could have 100% been missed by anyone who doesn't turn it on.

Now I am stuck because I can't file any claim with previous guests because the period ended when new guests checked - in that day and the current guests are stating it was like that when they checked-in.   Thoughts? Airbnb unfortunately not a lot of help, they just keep sending me the "host guarantee" articles as if I haven't read them already and understand.

We just bought the TV in December (warranty only 15 days and not for physical damage) so we are out $300 with the replacement (at least it was on 4th of July sale!) Thoughts? Chalk it up to operating expense and move on? Anyone ever heard of Airbnb actually siding with a host and out of pure human understanding refunding them?

[Mike1034]

@Emily535   

The damage claim process in Airbnb has to be sent to a particular guest. In your case, you don’t know whom to be sent to.

It would be hard to get something in this case. Good luck with you for getting a compensation from Airbnb host guarantee insurance. 

[Cormac0]

@Emily535 

how many night of STR will it take to replace this TV?  remember its only the profit you make that will cover the cost.

[Emily535]

@Cormac0 3-4 nights depending on the rate. It's not terrible in the grand scheme of things, but just the principle of having one set of guests lie to me about it is not very comforting 😕

[Cormac0]

@Emily535 

Remember Airbnb took circa 20% fee with zero risk of damage, which  is outrageous when you think about it. 

[Susan1188]

This is why it is almost impossible to get a damage claim paid by the guest.

Even if you have the invoices and proof they can say "it was like that when they arrived" and what can you do?

I have had similar situation with guests ripping a cupboard door completely off its hinges and wedging it precariously back into place without telling us.

The door could have easily fallen off and injured a child.

And of course the cleaning lady does not systematically open every single cupboard door when she cleans to check if maybe it has been ripped off its hinges by the last guest.

As with you my main problem is not replacing the TV or the door, but the fact that the damage is left for the next guest (next 10 guests).

As a result I have decided to try to stay myself in each of my units at least every 6 weeks to spot the damage and repair it.

You'll never get restitution from Airbnb so just don't put yourself thru the trouble.

Apparently the people were either dishonest or the damage was already there when they arrived so in either case you are not going to get anything!