Guest destroyed my brand new property

[Jonathan1360]

My most recent guest, 4th to stay in the home after construction finished is March, absolutely trashed the home. Below is a summary of damages. I would love everyones opinion on this, am I looking at this correctly/ fellow hosts previous experience. 

No smoking is an explicitly stated rule. We have a sign on the front door stating that smoking inside will result in an automatic $500 charge. Well the guest smoked in nearly every room. Leaving ashes and roaches everywhere. 

Various towels and linen damaged beyond further use. I always expect 1 or 2 towels to need replacing, but these guys destroyed 25 brand new towels. Don't even know how thats possible in three days...

As the cabin is brand new so is the furniture. In the dining area. the guest left very deep scratches on 6/7 chairs, 1/2 benches, and 1/5 saddle stools. My concern is not being able to find matching replacements. If thats the case I would except the guest to be liable for a new kitchen set. Why should future guests have to deal with mismatched furniture on account of another groups negligence. 

I have already filed 2 tickets with the resolution center. 1 for the smoke damage, and one for the damaged furniture. How does it work if I cant find replacements? can I update the amount I am requesting? Should I file a third ticket for the 5 hours of extra cleaning needed? 

Happy to explain further, but I am very concerned how Airbnb will handle this. I expect to be made whole, and I am worried they will not see it that way. This would only alienate me from future hosting on their site. 

If anyone has had a similar experience I would love to hear from you.

[Laura2592]

@Jonathan1360 why did you leave 25 towels? Not to blame you but you never want to leave more than the guest needs.

Buy replacements and get extra cleaning. Send ABB the receipts in your resolution center case. They are much more willing to do some kind of reimbursement if you act quickly and show that you immediately took care of the problems. Scratches on furnishings and smoky smells may not rise to the level of "trashed" so don't expect them to fully reimburse. 

The claim must be filed in 14 days. Your guest can agree to pay or not. If not, ABB adjudicates. From what I have experienced they rarely reimburse for cleaning (Inna from Chicago did a great thread on being successful on filing claims for guests who smoke in your space so do a search.) Scratches are often seen as "wear and tear" and ABB may or may not choose to give you some kind of compensation depending on the level of the damage.  In my experience, if the furnishing are still usable you won't be "made whole."  

Review this guest appropriately with less than 3 stars in each category and "would not host again" so that they can't stay with your further. Expect that if you file a claim they will leave you a bad  review. Best of luck!

[Jonathan1360]

We have a sign on the front door stating a $500 fine will be assessed if caught smoking. So I don't see how they could get around paying that. The home reeks of cigarettes and marijuana.  

I already filed two claims with the reimbursement center, both within hours of checkout. 1 for the smoke damage, 1 for the furniture with receipts to prove. Cleaners spent 5 additionally hours cleaning and it still smells like smoke. I don't see how deep gouges on brand new furniture is "wear and tear". If 1 chair was damaged I could see that, but 6/7 new chairs is a bit much.

Regarding the home. Its a 7 bathroom home with and indoor pool that sleeps 16-17 people. So 25 towels was appropriate for that imo.

Lastly isnt it in ABB's best interest to keep me happy and hosting on the platform? Speaking from experience VRBO does a much better job handling these issues. ABB's actions here will directly affect if I stay on their platform. Seems absurd to me that they would protect the home owners. 

[Mary419]

@Jonathan1360 

The "business decisions" made by this platform defy logic more often than not. But your listing sounds like a money maker for them. SOME of their decisions seem to take that into consideration but it basically depends on the random agent who reads your claim.  Despite my giant account I sometimes NOTHING on a claim except a denial and a bunch of links to terms of service and "sorry this is not the outcome you hoped for" ....buh-bye. 

The level of $ on this damage claim, if taken seriously by the agent (luck of the draw on your agent), means it will be sent to their real insurance department. That is actually good news.  One time I had a damage claim sent there was when guests broke 2 glass shower doors in a new luxury home and I had solid legit quotes to replace both. They paid for the replacements but DEPRECIATED the value, they paid like 85% of the quote from what I remember... this based on the house being like 8 months old. 

They will probably stiff you on your smoking claim. They are refusing to pay for our costs of extra cleaning on the host guarantee. That has been a big hot topic in the past year with everyone partying like crazy more than pre-covid. And the guests sadly have figured out that all they have to do is say no to paying a fee. I have no idea how long this could possibly continue but in contrast to the other sites the protections are dismal. 

[Jonathan1360]

Thank you Mary very helpful. Hopefully they will take note, but unlikely....

Will let you know of outcome. 

[Jonathan1360]

and they did write me a review..... 5 stars. When I called yesterday to file the resolution I asked and the agent read me the review. 

[Laura2592]

@Jonathan1360 so many things here. I don't know where to begin.

You need to lower your guest counts. With so many people divided by your nightly cost, you will not attract the a plus quality guests you desire. You will be much more profitable, less wear and tear and heaven help you if someone throws a party. They will do a lot more than damage  your towels.  Your listing is tailor made for an illicit party.

ABB doesn't care what arbitrary number you assign to indoor smoking. Trust me-- that $500 fee won't happen unless your guest agrees to pay it. And maybe they will! Let's hope. But chances are better if you actually read through the forum and find out what other hosts have done to collect on smoke damage. Posting a sign won't cut it. 

ABB is not VRBO. Don't expect them to care if you are happy or not. You are on your own here. Please take the advice others have given. Do NOT expect customer service to assist you, nor to buy you a matching dining set, nor to even help you collect on additional cleaning fees. 

[Jonathan1360]

Respectively Laura, I do not need your advise on managing my listing. Unless you know my market and listing inside and out you shouldn't say "Your listing is tailor made for an illicit party". That is a very off base assumption you are making.  

The home is a 16 person home, specifically designed to host multiple families on vacation (80% of revs). I am in a community of 50+ homes all sleeping 16 people or more. My home does not stand out. In my 100+ hosted stays I have had 1 bad guest. That hardly seems worth changing the structure of the listing. 

Back to the actually question at hand. Are you saying there is no recourse for breaking house rules? If thats the case, whats the point of rules in the first place. 

[Sarah977]

@Jonathan1360  The recourse for breaking house rules is guests being kicked out by the host. House rules have to be enforced by hosts, not Airbnb.

And even if you can get Airbnb to contact the guest and tell them to either shape up or ship out, you still are left to do the enforcing. 

And only actual damages are claimable. There are no repercussions for guests when they ignore rules, other than eviction and a bad review.

The purpose then of listing house rules is that you have grounds for removal of the guests, denying entry in the first place ( for instance if they show up with 25 people or 3 dogs) and calling them out in the review.

[Jonathan1360]

The $500 is not an arbitrary number. It is the price of the extra labor required require to de-smell the house. Scrubbing the carpet, walls, and furniture etc. From what I have read extra cleaning due to guest damage is covered, are you saying thats not the case?

How can this not be considered damage if it directly affects my ability to welcome my next guest...... 

[Sarah977]

@Jonathan1360  "How can it not be considered....". 

The point is that what is sane and appropriate to us, or any normal person, is not how Airbnb operates. You can't make sense of it, because it doesn't make sense.

You can apparently claim for extra cleaning. But they don't consider extra cleaning to be damage, so you have to just say it's extraordinary cleaning that was required. Damage is considered to be something you either need to repair or replace. 

They don't see the place reeking of smoke, requiring washing walls, and every other surface, having carpets and drapes cleaned, and so on, to remove odors, as damage. That it defies logic is standard for Airbnb.

[Anonymous]

@Jonathan1360  You can try submitting all the individual invoices for the labor that you hired to de-smell the house, but it's very unlikely that you'll be reimbursed in full. Airbnb doesn't recognize host-specified fines as binding terms, even if they're disclosed in the listing. In the past, the typical amount that Airbnb settled for a smoking violation was around $50.

I don't recommend operating on Airbnb under the assumption that any form of damage or extra cleaning is fully "covered."  The adjustor's job is to find reasons to minimize your payout, not to mete out justice. 

[Laura2592]

@Jonathan1360  respectfully  if you come to this forum and ask for advice,  you will get it. 

Airbnb will be very unlikely to reimburse you for what you have stated here. 

Other hosts have been through  this before.  Do a search. You will be surprised at the situations you encounter where places are truly destroyed and the hosts have very little recourse because of a bad CSR who closes their case, or a loophole in the terms of use. 

Your property screams "party house" for this platform. You seem to prefer VRBO which advertisers itself as a place for larger groups who want more and are willing to pay for it. If that is your market,  that's likely a better fit for your listing.  If you expect a platform to buy you new chairs because a guest scratched them, it's highly unlikely that will happen here unless your guests agree.  That may be different on VRBO. 

So many hosts post here for the first time and bristle when they get advice they don't like. I'm sorry you had a bad guest. No one is disagreeing that guests should follow your rules. But you seem to think that what has affected almost everyone here, ie. a bad guest group who didn't follow rules and did damage, somehow will be different for you because you want it to be.  Or that Airbnb  really concerns itself with keeping hosts happy.  That's not the model here.  Again,  do a search  on this forum.  I wish you the best. 

[Helen3]

Wow @Jonathan1360 

that's rather rude @Laura2592  was providing you with some great advice as a seasoned host.

it's rather passive aggressive to start your post by saying...'' Respectively' (sp) and then go on to be disrespectful and rude to her.

I agree with others I would never rely on Airbnb's guarantee but as an STR owner have my own home insurance for STRs

good luck with your claim

[Jonathan1360]

Hi Helen,

I am sorry it came across that way but frankly I did not ask for advise on how to manage the property. I asked for advise regarding this specific situation, and don't need others two cents outside of this situation. My STR business is run just fine and I don't find it constructive when I ask a question regarding X, and get feedback regarding A,B and C.  While I appreciate your and Laura's concern, its not needed. Now if you have advise on dealing with the claim I am all ears. 

Best,

Jonathan