Guests did damage

[David-and-Annie0]

Hi all, the guests who checked out of our place today did some damage. They dented our kitchen stove and broke one of our kitchen chairs. They did not tell us; our maids discovered it and texted us pictures. Now what? Should I confront the guests and try to get them to reimburse us? Or go through Airbnb right away?

[Emily487]

@David-and-Annie0 

Request reimbursement through the resolution center.

You will need photos. You also need at the very least evidence of how much a replacement part will be. I have used an Amazon link in the past and it worked for smaller ticket items. It will have a space to upload photos. Use neutral language to describe the damages. They won't pay. Then, you contact AirBnB and keep your fingers crossed that you a reasonable agent to push your emails though the AirBnb ether. 

[David-and-Annie0]

Thanks—so by the resolution center, you mean contact the guest through that? Should I first personally text the guest asking what happened and ask for $? Or maybe not go that route—considering that they didn’t say anything about breaking stuff to me/didn’t take proactive responsibility...

[David-and-Annie0]

Oh wait: actually, guest DID message me through Airbnb: 

Thank you for such great hospitality. I absolutely loved my time at your place. We are checked out now and I wanted to let you know that one of the chairs were wobbly and when my friend who is a little larger tried to get up the front legs gave out.. I wanted to let you know and not have you just discover it . Thank you !

mmmm..., sounds like she’s blaming us/the chair...at least she’s saying something to me, but where to go from here?

[Emilia42]

@David-and-Annie0 

When you submit a damage claim via Airbnb it goes to your guest first. If/when your guest refuses to pay, Airbnb will get involved. So either way your guest will hear about it. You could send them a message letting them know that you discovered the broken chair, etc. and that you will be following the process to claim the damages. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/264/what-do-i-do-if-my-guest-breaks-something-in-my-place

[Sarah977]

@David-and-Annie0  I've never heard of anyone denting a stove, unless it fell off a truck when it was being moved. I'm trying to imagine how someone could dent a stove, but I just can't. 

[David-and-Annie0]

I guess I misspoke, was trying to simplify; a piece of the black enamel is chipped off, leaving an indentation on the top edge of the stove. They must have dropped something very heavy on it, I’m guessing....

[Emily487]

@David-and-Annie0 

You had thoughtless guests who should have known better. I still haven't lost pregnancy weight after 3 year and even I know to use my best judgement on new chairs. 

Eat the stove top chip. It sucks but they aren't going to award you a new top as reimbursement. Get a small bottle of enamel paint to match, sand it a bit, paint it, and call it done. 

I assume the chair is toast. Submit a reimbursement for a replacement chair. I don't think it will happen but it's fine to go through the motions.

I have started to take a quick cell phone video of the apartment before the next guests arrive. I basically do a solo walk through while filming and narrating with the upcoming guest's name, dates, etc . This way, I have some evidence if they claim it's dirty, that I left them no toilet paper, or if there are damages. I recommend that you do this in the future. 

[David-and-Annie0]

Emily487,

Good idea—although I don’t live up there (it’s about 2.5 hours away). I have been going up a lot, but with back-to-back guests during the holidays, I won’t be able to. 
This guest did admit they broke the chair (she mentioned her friend is large), I told her we understand mistakes happen, she said she understood there may be $ to pay/reimburse. I asked her about the stove. She said she wasn’t doing the cooking and would ask her friend if he knew about it. That was yesterday...haven’t heard back. So I asked for $100 to cover chair, scratches on floor from chair, and stove. I didn’t do it through the resolution center, I just responded to her messages (in the Airbnb forum). 

She’s not responding today; maybe she was just giving me lip service and was hoping we wouldn’t charge her. At this point, even if we just let it go and don’t keep pushing her for the $, I doubt she’ll write a great review because we’ve already gone ahead and asked for the $, right? So, should i go ahead and officially go through the resolution center, or just drop it at this point (as Lisa723 advises)?

To add another element (which doesn’t have to do with the damages), one of the guys with her was smoking on the deck (we could see from the cameras). It clearly states in our listing NO smoking anywhere on premises; smoking must be done at least 20 feet from property. I didn’t say anything and when I checked our place (I drove up to replace the chair and check out the damages), it didn’t smell like smoke inside—thank God! 

[Lisa723]

@David-and-Annie0 I personally would not attempt to charge for either of these items. You are going to have some wear and tear; this is a cost of doing business. And as a new host you need this guest’s positive review more than you need the cash.