Guest left toilet broken with vomit in it

[Jen6879]

Hello, I am a new host to Airbnb and have just walked into a bad situation. Some guidance on how to move forward will be helpful. I had a guest over New Years weekend, she had great reviews. I did notice on our camera that several guests were entering the property and I privately messaged her. She assured me that they were not staying but stopping by. She checked out yesterday and I went by the property today, the basement bathroom ( which is not apart of the Airbnb) was locked from the inside and it smelt horrid. I got the door to open and the toilet was filled with vomit and the flush broken completely.  Please help, I did message her and she’s stating she is unaware of the situation. 

[Helen3]

A horrible experience. My advice.

1. I would amend your listing house rules so that only those on the booking can be at the listing (did these people you saw that weren't on the booking leave?)

2. If the toilet is off limits to your Airbnb guests, then lock it.

3. Of course the guest is aware of the situation. Either she did it or the people she brought into the listing did it.

4. Leave an honest review, marking the guest down to 1 for breaking house rules and cleanliness and raise a claim under the guarantee for fixing the broken toilet.

[Jen6879]

Thank you! Our cleaner has noticed the dining chairs are also broken. This is going to be a long claim. Is Airbnb typically fast with claims if the guest doesn’t pay? Sorry for all the questions, I’m a novice at this. Any advice is greatly appreciated. 

[Huma0]

@Jen6879 

It seems to be pretty hit and miss. There are a lot of stories here on the CC about Airbnb being hopeless with claims and often refusing to accept them. On the other hand, hosts are much more likely to post about a negative experience than a positive, smooth one.

Personally, I've only made a claim once. The guest refused to pay (as I knew he would - he thought it should be covered by Airbnb's insurance) and it was very quick and painless. 

Take photos, make videos if that might be helpful, find receipts of broken items if you have them, or links to replacement items with the costs and, most important, you will need a quote or invoice for the toilet repair. 

Also, when you messaged the guest, was it via the Airbnb messaging system? If so, that will help your case. If not, be sure to provide copies of this as well.

[Jen6879]

Thank you, all communication was through messenger but the guest is non responsive today. The plumber also found the culprit for the clogged toilet - not impressed. 

[Debra48]

My experience with Airbnb is that unless you have absolutely new receipts for the items broken and can prove no other guests stayed besides the ones since you purchased the items, Airbnb will never pay in full. You can file a claim, and you will get something, but unlikely what you feel you deserve. Moving forward, my best recommendation to you is that on dicey holidays such as New Years Eve, when people tend to drink excessively, collect a security deposit from the would-be guest before accepting the booking. I often do this with guests who really want to stay but are unreviewed. I use a short-term rental security deposit agreement which the guest must sign before I accept their booking. You can always add the amount of the security deposit to your nightly rental price to collect the deposit at the time of the booking.

[Jen6879]

This is great advice! Thank you so much. Where can I find the short term rental deposit agreement, is this an extension of Airbnb? Moving forward I will definitely be reconsidering bookings on long weekends/ holidays. The time it takes to deal with this is very draining.