Spontaneous glass shutter - mistery damage

[Marko279]

Hello Airbnb enthusiasts.

I was a guest at a lovely house a week ago. A day before leaving we've returned from the beach to find a glass door shuttered. It had a protective film layer which kept all the pieces together and upright.

I suspect that it shuttered spontaneously.

My friends were visiting for a breakfast and came back with us ro find it broken. They are independent family willing to put in writting what I just explained.

Airbnb evaluated the case and said that we shall pay for it as the damage occurred while we were visiting. They didn't care about what I said.

I can't do that simply as I can't remember causing this damage in any way. Literally we didn't touch the glass.

What are my options to challenge Airbnb decision and did anybody pursue similar case beyond resolution centre?

I live in Australia and am willing to fight this within or out of Airbnb channel.

Any advice or experience is welcome.

  

 

[Sandra126]

Would a bird cause that?

[Andrea4731]

It looks to me that there is a clear impact mark. It’s in the middle, lower right & the rest of the break branches out from it, although I’m no expert. Looks like someone fell into the glass. But if you were not there when it occurred it’s possible someone tried to break in.

[Colleen253]

@Marko279 What does the host have to say? 

You can just decline to pay. Airbnb usually pursues it no further. Keep in mind the host will likely leave you a less than flattering review. 

[Marko279]

I declined to pay and airbnb sent me an invoice to pay stating what I said in my post. I would have apologised for inconvenience and paid if it had anything to do with me.

[Sarah977]

@Marko279  Yes, but did you try to dialogue with the host about this, or just decline the charge? 

[Marko279]

I've explained my side to host and provided videos and pictures of what I have found and when.

She acknowledged my message and how unfortunate and strange that is and asked for compensation. I don't blame her. She has right to be suspicious. 

[Sarah977]

@Marko279  Someone could have tried to break in, someone could have thrown a rock at it, but there is also something known as spontaneous glass breakage, which is what it actually looks like. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spontaneous_glass_breakage

I would message the host, saying that while you are sympathetic about the door, it had nothing to do with you or your group and suggest he check out the above possibility. You could also point out your very favorable past reviews. 

[Marko279]

A rock would leave some sign at the point of impact. This glass was shuttered but had no scratches or missing pieces. Regarding forced entry I don't know. It seems to me that the hard part was done. It needed a little push to fall inside.

My problem is with airbnb - they didn't even consider my side or asked for any additional info, just simply dismissed it.

[John5097]

@Marko279 The sudden glass breakage is a common issue with tempered glass in automobiles. @Sarah977  I happened to learn about this from reading post in an on line forum where the back window in a truck spontaneously breaks and isn't covered outside of warranty. 

That location is the exact height if someone were moving something, cleaning, or furniture impacted. It would be so easy to do that with the end of a board or something inside or out. @Andrea4731 In my experience guest like to slam glass doors if they can't figure it out. I can tell from my shower door because the hinges get moved out of position which would require a very forceful slam, and they are trying to close the wrong sliding door that has the handle on the outside. I'm sure they would deny it as its expensive and its just very common for guest to slam all doors. If they had trouble with the latch they would resort to slamming it even harder and pushing.

Of course i don't know what happened but this is a major concern of mine with two windows I have that would be expensive to have replaced and could take a very long time to have made and shipped.  

But if guest insisted they didn't do it I wouldn't expect them to pay. This is what the Air Cover is supposed to cover anyway. I guess that's kind of tricky because Host would need to require guest to pay before Air Cover would pay if guest declines, the way I understand it.