Guest destroyed my brand new property

Jonathan1360
Level 2
United States

Guest destroyed my brand new property

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.

61 Replies 61

@Jonathan1360  So far, I've never heard of a successful claim for replacing non-damaged furniture in order to keep a matching set. Please post an update if you have a different result, but otherwise I'd look into the possibility of repairing rather than replacing the scratched chairs and benches.

We confirmed the furniture store can order replacements. Thanks

Dale711
Level 10
Paris, France

Hi @Jonathan1360 

Welcome to the community 😊

I so sorry to hear about your experience and frustration.

 

You are correct.

You did claim though Airbnb Resolution Center. The guest have 72 hours to respond to you. Yet,you’re unable to reach an agreement, you can ask Airbnb to make the final decision 72 hours after the request was opened. 

 

What is the resolution center?

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/767/what-is-the-resolution-center

 

You could often leave a message to the team, as to remind them to update you on the outcome.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/contact-us/logged-out

 

In addition, Airbnb stated, 

Airbnb’s Host Guarantee is not an insurance policy, and not all property damage caused by guests is within its terms. Hosts who want more protection are encouraged to purchase personal insurance that will cover property damage not protected by Airbnb’s Host Guarantee”

 

What is the Airbnb host guarantee?

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/279/what-is-the-airbnb-host-guarantee

 

As an Airbnb host, you do need additional insurance.

Hosting with any accurate frequency is likely to void your current homeowner's policy, and Airbnb's protection is inadequate.

 

It is essential to follow the Airbnb host guarantee to progress and get the support of the claim.

Here's are links below to learn more about the Airbnb policy, 

 

Airbnb Host Guarantee 

https://www.airbnb.com/d/guarantee

 

Host Protection Insurance

https://www.airbnb.com/d/host-protection-insurance

 

What's the difference between Airbnb's Host Guarantee and Host Protection Insurance?

 https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/938/whats-the-difference-between-airbnbs-host-gurantee-host-prot...

 

You might consult with your local insurance agency for additional protection and the insurance procedures.

I hope Airbnb looks into your case and updates on the results.  ✌️

 

The home is a full time rental property, so from a business standpoint I have adequate insurance. 

 

I don't understand how destroyed furniture isnt considered damage......

 

Lastly if property damage isnt covered, whats the point of a security deposit? 

@Jonathan1360   There is no point of a security deposit on Airbnb, because the security deposit does not exist. No matter what number you put in that field, Airbnb does not hold or charge it to the guest, and it has no effect on the results of a damage claim. 

 

I'm still amazed by how long Airbnb has gotten away with deceiving hosts like this.

Amazing!!  if I don't feel protected on ABB, I will have to look else where. No point of hosting on a platform that doesn't have my back! fingers crossed they do the right thing!!

 

@Jonathan1360  The Airbnb so-called security deposit is bogus- they don't put a hold on a guest's credit card nor charge them the deposit and then return if there are no damage claims. Obviously, decent, responsible guests would fess up and offer to pay for things they damaged- if they have to be asked, they are likely the types to deny that they are culpable or pay up.

 

And Airbnb doesn't care if you pull your listing. They pander to guests because that's where they make their money- guests' service fees. And there are far more listings than guests to fill them. So hosts are expendable, guests are not.

 

Airbnb will claim that almost anything is "normal wear and tear", not because it is, but as an excuse not to cover damages.

 

This is the sad reality.

 

You really have to just consider Airbnb to be a listing service, not labor under any delusions that they are your business partner and give a whit whether guests trash your house or ignore your house rules.

It sad they look at it that way. I don't agree that the guests are more valuable than hosts.

 

As a traveler, they monetize me 1-2x per year. As a host they monetize me 30-40x per year. To me this whole system doesnt work without hosts. 

@Jonathan1360  Of course it doesn't work without hosts. But they figure there are enough new hosts clamoring to sign up that you, or me, aren't important.

 

Taking a look at your listings, I really think they are more suitable to VRBO, which while it doesn't have the market share that Airbnb does, generally attracts more mature and better guests, from what I have read.

 

And totally off topic, but thought you might want to be aware- your "Endless Views...." listing has a glaring spelling error in the title. It's "border", not "boarder."

In the market that I operate in VRBO has about 60/40 split for me, for the last 3 years. Most of my neighbors are exclusively VRBO.

 

THANK YOU for the spelling error. Unbelievable that I and everyone who reviewed the listing missed that. Always appreciate a fresh set of eyes!

@Jonathan1360  I'm not that surprised- between spell-check, predictive text (neither of which consider context), and what seems to be poor education standards (everybody gets a prize, whether the student mastered the material or not), good spelling and grammar seem to be overlooked a lot these days 🙂

Hi @Jonathan1360 

Airbnb deposit is not a ‘deposit’.

Airbnb deposits are illustrative. They are not charged by Airbnb at the booking, and can only be charged through the resolution center.

Daniel1831
Level 1
Winter Garden, FL

Airbnb has lost its way.  

Its customer service always was bad, but now it is worse.  And forget trying to get AirBnB to stand up for its hosts.  

I am removing my properties from AirBnB.  Poor and terrible guests, poor customer service, and they do not honor their hosts.  

@Daniel1831  I agree that they have lost their way. I see you joined in 2016, as did I. Those hosts who have been hosting since the inception of Airbnb, though, say that they used to have really good customer service and were quite supportive of hosts. Once they started farming out their customer service to call centers in the Phillipines it's been downhill all the way.

Trude0
Level 10
Stockholm County, Sweden

Regarding “I don't understand how destroyed furniture isnt considered damage......”

 

Neither do any of us.

 

But Airbnb have decided to consider almost any kind of damage to be “ordinary wear and tear”.

 

And as someone mentioned, they are also not too worried about loosing great hosts.

 

But I wonder if they will not have reason to regret this, when some competitor finally is big enough to really start taking their business away.