Insurance claims are a scam. Anyone for a class action?

[Thomas2669]

Short and to the point…

new building, had 2 of 4 “lodge” style rooms complete. Only rented through air bnb, nowhere else.

a large pair of mens underwear, washcloth, socks, and face masks causes a jam in the sewage line and flooded my 2 new rooms. So, I have 2 rooms booked, both were just recently checked out and new arrivals, but I can’t start a claim till I blame it on someone. A guest agrees she would let me use her reservation.

      They sent my guest a message and asked to see her underwear to prove it wasn’t hers. Unreal. Couldn’t believe it.

      Then I heard nothing for days, kept responding to the app, and then it says the case was closed. They never responded to me but was very quick to send one to my guest saying my lack of communication has forced them to close the case.

       It’s been over a month since this happened, it been since last Saturday that I was transferred to a new team member and have emailed him everyday and no reply.

       All 7 properties are now unlisted, cancelled upcoming reservations due being booked on other platforms already, and going to weed them out. I’m done with them.  That doesn’t change the fact that they promote how you get piece of mind with insurance included just to screw you over. I don’t want to let it slide this time. Had to dig up the sewer line, replace carpet and baseboards, and I want reimbursed. 

      Any class action suits? I’m ready to start.

[Mike78]

I had a similar experience, and have quit hosting.  They are updating terms soon to include  a class action waiver.

[Sarah977]

@Thomas2669  Sorry some idiot plugged up your sewer line, but I'm not sure how you expected to be compensated by going about claiming in such a convoluted way as to ask another guest to pretend the booking was hers. Of course Airbnb would engage with the guest you falsely claimed caused the damage. 

Getting compensated for damages can be difficult at the best of times, but the bizarre way you went about trying to claim ensured that the claim would be denied and furthermore likely resulted in a perfectly innocent guest probably having a notation put on her account as having been accused of causing damage.

[Thomas2669]

Hey Sara, thank you for assuming that’s what I did without asking. Take a closer look at theses attachments and you will see that is what was actually suggested. Emails sent to my guest actually said “thanks for allowing your host to submit his claim through you”

[Thomas2669]

[Thomas2669]

[Thomas2669]

[Thomas2669]

So please tell me Sara, does it look like I clearly stated my case? The guest has had my back through the whole thing, thank you very much. And as you can see, if you actually read the very very long message to Air BnB stating how wrong it was. However, since you’re a mastermind, please tell me, in a multiple unit rental, how would you go about figuring out who caused 5k in damage??? 

[Sarah977]

@Thomas2669  Did I say I was a mastermind? I said it was very odd to lodge a damage claim against a guest who you seemed aware did not, in fact, cause the damage. And it is also odd that an Airbnb would tell you to. I suspect that was some clueless rep who didn't know what he/she was doing. 

Yes, I read the very long message you sent to Airbnb and you stated your position clearly, but unfortunately that is not the type of communication that helps hosts to get their issues dealt with. When you are dealing with the Airbnb CS robots, brief messages, stating things as concisely as possible, in chronological order, as opposed to long paragraphs, which I doubt they even bother to read, work much better. Not to say they would necessarily honor your claim, as countless hosts have experienced.

And if I had a multi-unit rental where it was possible for a guest to cause $5000 worth of damage, I would make sure to have my own rental insurance policy, not rely on Airbnb to cover the damage, since that is not at all anything you can depend on.

Unfortunately, many hosts who don't spend much, if any, time on hosting forums, and have never before experienced having to make a claim, are unaware of this, and assume that Airbnb will have their back and that a claims process will be straightforward. Because Airbnb's rhetoric is designed to make hosts think they are protected. The reality is quite different.

[Thomas2669]

Oh yes, and she didn’t pretend a booking was hers. She was staying there. She asked while I was digging up the the outside sewerage closed with underwear, face masks, socks, a washcloth.  She suggested I use her, and also thought it was ridiculous that’s what I had to do. And air bnb asked her to send photos of her underwear to confirm it wasn’t hers in the pipe. You must work or troll for air bnb.

[Sarah977]

@Thomas2669  I most definitely do not work or troll for Airbnb and if you spent more time on this forum you would be well aware of that, as many of my posts here are highly critical of their policies and treatment of hosts. 

I'm not sure why new posters here often assume that other hosts  who simply point out the reality of dealing with Airbnb are instantly accused of being shills for Airbnb. 

Sharing how things work when dealing with this company has nothing to do with being approving of their policies or procedures, most of which are quite host-unfriendly. It's just being pragmatic- this is what dealing with Airbnb is like- often frustrating, unpleasant or angering. It's all fine when you get nice, unproblematic guests, and never require anything of Airbnb but listing and paying you for the bookings, but if you expect them to be supportive and helpful when you have an issue, you will likely feel you have engaged in an exercise in futility.

[TaNeashia0]

Yes! I'm definitely interested! This is the second time I've been stonewalled when filing a claim for damages. The first time it happened, we had to buy a brand new mattress, because the guest broke the bed. Airbnb not only supported us ejecting the guest for cussing out another guest without provocation, but also told me they were looking into canceling the guest's account, because his responses to their questions were very inappropriate and they viewed him as an overall safety risk. I went through all of the hoops just to be told the matter was escalated when I called to follow up. Life got busy and Airbnb never paid out on the claim. Here it is two years later and due to how badly the guest treated this new listing Airbnb again supported canceling the stay and sent me the links on how to request the damage and cleaning funds from the guest. It's been over the 24 hours that the guest has to get back to me. Airbnb has photos of empty alcohol bottles all over, dirty food dishes, blackened rug because the guest stopped showering was going outside barefoot to smoke and her feet ended up being that dirty. This guest urinated in the bed so much that we've had to wash the bedding twice. She removed a brand new trash can from our supply cabinet and used it as a vomit bucket. Again, Airbnb has photos of ALL of this. It's been days later and we're STILL cleaning! Once again we're getting the customary "it's been escalated and there's nothing I can do about it" from the front line CA person. 

Yes, I would like to join any class action suits regarding their insurance policy being fraudulent.