Deposit claim is not allowed unless it is filed within 3 hours

[Regine74]

I am just told by Airbnb that deposit claim use the same guidelines as the bogus host guarantee which means if you have a back to back guests and things are damaged, you have to file the claim before next guest check in which is only hours.  How does Airbnb expects hosts to get to locations that are hours away in order to take pictures and submit claims.  This so called policy is a trap so that Airbnb does not need to spend money and resource to deal with claims.  No more airbnb.  They are so unreasinable that they should not be in business 

[Anonymous]

@Regine74  You're right, this is a difficult policy for offsite hosts - the wording is: 

If you need to make a claim on your security deposit, you can do so in the Resolution Center within 14 days of your guest’s checkout date or before the next guest checks in, whichever is earlier.

I'm sure that last part has tripped up a lot of claims from high-volume hosts. But still, the problem remains: once the next party has checked in, you have a whole new level of plausible deniability, and responsibility for the damage becomes far harder to assign conclusively. 

With this in mind, I think it's important that long-distance hosts allow enough time between bookings for a thorough inspection of the property and, if necessary, a damage claim.

[Linda108]

I agree with @Anonymous .  How do you manage the between guests cleaning?  If you are doing it yourself, then to have 3 hours to travel and clean before the next guest seems unduly stressful.  However, if you have a local cleaner, perhaps you can develop a system of checking for damage and receiving evidence.

Otherwise, how do you know that the guest you are accusing was responsible?

Sometime hosts blame Air BNB for situations that their hosting system contribute to.

[Helen3]

That's why remote hosts like yourself have systems in place to ensure they leave enough time to turnover their place so they can check the listing and key amenities (either directly or through your local co-host or cleaners and video/photo any damage. @Regine74 

You or you co-host can then contact the guest and airbnb regarding the issue before the next set of guests check in and you will have put the guarantee process in place to start (see airbnb guarantee information on the Help centre).

[Regine74]

But I am required to file the claim with guest first and wait 48 hours before I can involve Airbnb.  How the heck can I file the claim with airbnb within Hours of my next guest checkin?!

[Sarah977]

@Regine74  It seems you didn't read the responses left by other experienced hosts, above, or are just ignoring their advice. How you can do it is either to not take back-to-back bookings, or to have someone close by the unit, or your cleaner, to throughly check for damages after a guest checks out and document them.

[Regine74]

I was not looking for advise.  I was looking for the reason why Airbnb has such ridiculous policy.  Now that I AM informed, I refused to subject myself to it.  VRBO has a much better host protection program.  Think outside of the box!

[Anonymous]

@Regine74  When you begin a topic in a forum called "Help," your peers tend to believe that you're seeking advice. If this is not the case, and you just want to complain, please direct your complaint at someone who's actually getting paid to listen to it.  At least that way it's worthwhile for someone.

[Alice595]

@Regine74  It is 72 hours wait for guest to respond before Airbnb can be involved.

It is hard for having guests in the back to back situation. But it is reasonable from Airbnb perspective because they want to have the photo evidence before the next guest check in. After next guest check in, it is hard for them to determine which guests do the damage.

There is one way you could do it. If you know some damages are done by the guest, you ask your cleaner to take pictures of the damage when you are not available. You can submit the photo evidence along with some sort of estimates for the repair/replacement, which may not be correct. 

No matter what, Airbnb will ask for further documentation. At that time, you already get professional estimate for repairing/replacement and other necessary documents. Airbnb resolution center is based on the actual documentation for the claim instead of the claim amount you entered when you created the claim case.

Hope this helps when you encounter the same situation next time. Let's hope you would be lucky and not need it.

[Anonymous]

@Regine74 There's a lot of concern out there about hosts filing incorrect claims, here is an example of what people are reading about it online: https://clark.com/travel/airbnb-check-in/amp/

Just because you have to submit your claim and evidence before the next guest checks in does not mean that the whole process has to be completed in that time frame.

[Regine74]

Thanks.  In my case, no one disputes what got damaged, only the amount for repair.  But Airbnb refused to get involved due to a ‘technicality’

[Lisa723]

@Regine74 You don’t have to involve Airbnb before the next guest checks in. You just have to start the process by requesting money in the resolution center. As others have suggested, for a remote host having a local co-host perform post-check-out inspection is highly advisable.

[Regine74]

I was never aware of this host guarantee program and after I looked it up, it is totally bogus.  It is a marketing tool.  Yet, the guidelines applies to the deposit claim which I did not find any language about that being the same thing