Security Deposits

[Carl59]

Hi All,

The wording for the security deposit is 'If you submit a damage claim within 14 days of checkout, guests will be responsible for damages up to this amount.'  What happens if the guest trashes my cottage which far exceeds the security deposit.  Do I or my insurance company have any right of recovery to pursue the guest for the full damages?  Most of the security damages I have looked at wouldn't even cover the cost of replacing a television let alone anything else.....any comments or help would be appreciated.

many thanks 

[Lyz5]

The security deposit and "Host Guarantee" are basically a joke.

I had a guest smoke in the apt despite me telling him several times not to and his cats pissed all over the closet floor, and this is the response I got:

Hi Lyz,

My name is Francesca, and I'm a Trust and Safety specialist at Airbnb.
Thank you for letting us know about this incident.

In order to clarify, the host is able to create the house rules for the accommodation listed in our platform, however, please note that as per our Terms of Service, we are unable to reinforce compliance for such.

Unfortunately, as a third-party not present during the reservation, we can't charge the guest's deposit for non-physical damages such as smoking or extra cleaning fees, without their consent. Our Host Guarantee provides payment for direct physical loss or physical damage to accommodation.

Please also note that the Host Guarantee terms state that damage caused by animals and excessive use of utilities is not covered. You are free to pursue reimbursement from your guest directly. However, per this criteria, this case is not eligible under the Host Guarantee.

You may review the Host Guarantee terms here: https://www.airbnb.com/terms/host_guarantee.

We will focus solely on the damages to the sofa. In order to ensure swift payment, we ask that you please provide at least one of the following for each item that you are requesting for reimbursement:
- Website showing average cost of service to clean the item
- Estimate or Invoice on company letterhead

Please submit the requested documentation by December 22, 2018. If you need more time to gather it, please communicate how much time you think you might need.

Should you have any questions or concerns, just reply to this message.

Thanks,

Francesca

[Darla19]

WOw!! This is absolutely ridiculous!! WHat exactly is the point of having a security deposit in the first place then?? 

[Scott222]

THIS IS A PROBLEM, WE AS HOSTS NEED TO PROVIDE FEEDBACK TO AIRBNB TO ALLOW HOSTS TO COLLECT SECURITY DEPOSITS UPFRONT LIKE VRBO and HOLD them for the MOST IMPORTANT DAMAGE, COMMUNITY DAMAGE.  The fact that we can't hold a deposit if a guests trespasses on neighbors property, has multiple complaints from neighbors, documents calls to the police as well as parking violations that result in the community drafting REGULATIONS TO BAN STR's is absolutely crazy.  AIRBNB takes security deposits on its own hotel bookings, WHY NOT LET HOSTS HOLD THEM.  VRBO allow this and with several thousand reservation I HAVE NEVER HAD THIS PROBLEM ON THAT PLATFROM BUT ONLY ON AIRBNB.

[Lindy35]

I just got an email from Airbnb saying, 

Because one or more of your listings require a security deposit, please review the amount you require. It’s important to do this since it may be displayed more prominently and will need to be authorized on each guest’s payment method 48 hours before check-in.

I am thinking perhaps this is because one pending booking is our first from overseas? In a year of hosting we have not entered an amount for a security deposit. I do, however,  insist on either good reviews or a Government ID from the guest even though we do not have Instant Booking turned on.  Please give me advice on whether to enter a security deposit amount &, if so, how much for a 3 bedroom furnished bungalow with a fully equipped kitchen? Thank you.

[Vancouver-Traveller-Band0]

In BC, for long term rentals, landlords can only charge up to half-month rent so I use that as my guideline.  

[Cha5]

I Request $450 for one of my $135 per night rent, and $850 for one of my $295 per night rent. 

I think we all need to set a deposit amount dependent on how you feel of guest booking your place.

The deposit is meat to discourage them to cause any damage to your place, because they know that they may have to pay for the damage, and usually it is hard to correct it from Airbnb Resolution Department, you have to go through many hoops require by Airbnb before you can even correct half of the amount of the deposit from damage to  your place. Cha

[Michael2529]

I have never had any security deposit on my house for over a year with Airbnb. Twice, I have had to ask a guest for additional cleaning fees and the guest has apologetically paid them. However, in March, Spring Breakers trashed my house. I found out the extent of the damage when my cleaner arrived after the guests left. Broken furniture, refrigerator, stairway hand rail, pots and pans, more. I called Airbnb right away. Airbnb had me submit pictures and a write-up through the Resolution Center. My cleaner sent me pictures and I uploaded those right away. For the broken items, Airbnb asked for receipts or invoices. I ordered some replacement items from Amazon and sent the receipts. I found replacement items online and provided the links (before I ordered them). I had a plumber provide a quote for a new fridge. I uploaded all of that. Airbnb flipped the quote to Host Guarantee right away. They verified the information and provided me a payout amount that was very fair. 100% compensation for the majority of items, some amount deducted for replacing years-old items due to depreciation. The payout was deposited to my account within a week. I have no idea if the guest saw or paid any of that. I doubt it. I think Airbnb paid all of it. $2344.07 in total.

This begs the question, why would I bother set a Security Deposit amount (and potentially be limited to that amount if the damage exceeds that amount) that has a max of $5000 when the Host Guarantee was fairly painless and covers up to $1,000,000 ?

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Michael2529  Thats all reassuring after me reading about the lack of help on many more threads in this community.

Do you already charge a cleaning fee and if so what are your criteria for charging an additional fee?

[Michael2529]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 My standard cleaning fee of 250USD that is a direct pass-through to my cleaner for every booking.

The additional cleaning fee is whatever my cleaner charges me to do the additional. In my last case, it was 100USD for more scrubbing, trash removal, etc. I tell my cleaner to do whatever they need to do to make the house ready for the next booking.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Michael2529 

Interesting... thanks for the info.

This might be unrelated to security deposits - I'm not sure...

Your minimum stay is 7 nights, ours is 3. Is it logical to assume a group of guests might make twice as much damage in 7 days as they could do in 3 and should the security deposit reflect that?

@Erik94 

Do you feel that your $2000 security deposit is more of a statement of intent aimed at those irresponsible guests rather than a meaningful and beneficial value? Has it worked for you?

[Michael2529]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 My minimum stay varies. 7 nights during summer. Despite my recent bad guests, everyone else has been brilliant. So, I'm considering those guests a far outlier and not charging security deposit for every guest. The positive experience I had with the Host Guarantee has reassured me that if I had an issue, it will be resolved satisfactorily.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Michael2529 We haven't had a security deposit until recently. Previously the guests have been respectful but as late the guests are becoming more disrespectful and I feel that the House Rules are not being adhered to and in fact just being flaunted.  I am thinking the security deposit (which actually costs nothing to the guest) might act more as a deterrent and maybe help to refocus their respect.

[Erik94]

No, it's not really a statement, but I would be interested in hearing how guests actually perceive the security deposit and whether or not they believe I am trying to send a message. Has it worked? I'm not sure. We’ve never had to make use of the deposit, and we have almost always been able to rent our place out, so in that sense it's not hurting, that we are aware of. However, on one occasion we had a crazy guest who became a major problem. I don't believe anything could have avoided it, and the one lesson I learned from that is never to agree to anything without involving Airbnb and never pay out or return payment or refund someone without first involving Airbnb and making sure it is done according to their rules and guidelines. 

[Scott222]

What happens when a guest doesn't cause physical damage, and has your neighbors complain, has the police calls, trespass on neighbors property and a few months later the neighbors use your property to scare the entire town into BANNING STR's with new regs, costing me hundreds of thousands in lost income... This is real, this is happening, because AIRBNB doesn't allow hosts to collect a deposit upfront and DETER guests from booking, knowing they will loose their deposit and avoid the entire hassle of repairing a home (AIRBNB doesn't pay you for your time or lost rental income only physical damage).  This problem doesn't happen VRBO because the guest pay a security deposit BEFORE booking and it only gets the host determines if it is returned.  Compensation drives all behavior, if there is no consequences to the guests, they don't care and create Fake AIRBNB accounts throw massive parties (where people are shot) and AIRBNB should do everything they can to make the community better by preventing the problem before they book.  Security deposits is the EASIEST way and will stop many of the problems.  Than they should still keep the host gaurantee coverage- which would further benefit from less claims!  All around a win - win- win. 

[Cha5]

In 2019, you are lucky.

After Airbnb up grad their system I have had the hardest time trying to correct from Airbnb for the guest damage to my condo.