Teens damaged property

[Ani61]

My parents had just put our beach house up for rent on airbnb. The first person who booked posed as a "middle aged man" with "2 other guests". My parents get a call and it turns out there were 40 teenages throwing a huge party in our airbnb. There was a lot of damage. My parents live 2.5 hours away and by the time they got their the kids were gone. Cops made no arrests even though children were smoking weed and used a fake id to book the place. We called airbnb and they first said oh we have to call the customers and ask if they want their money back since we "made them leave the house". They TRASHED and DAMAGED the place, we had to kick them out! They called back and said oh since it is a "unique" situation, we won't call the kids but if they call and say they want their money back you have to give it to them. We filed a claim with airbnb and sent pictures of damage, will airbnb compensate? It doesn't feel right to let the kids get away with this. The cops aren't helping us either. The kids called them saying we are "holding their stuff hostage". Fine, we will give back the stuff, but what about minors faking id and smoking weed and damaging our property?

[Tim-and-Holly0]

@Ani61:
Take pictures and document all the damage. Put in a claim to the guests for the costs using the resolution center link at the top of the guest's message thread. This has to be done prior to the next guest's arrival. After 72 hours you can ask Airbnb to step in to assist if the guests have not paid (which they probably will not but this gets action started).

Make sure your house rules state "No parties." If your house rules did not state this or something else that the teens violated then you will have trouble. You have to spell out your rules for Airbnb to stand behind you.

Airbnb may or may not pay for your damages, some hosts have success while others, even with valid claims, do not. That is why it is best to have short term tenant insurance (not regular homeowner's insurance which will probably drop you if you file a claim with them).

So sorry that this was your first experience with Airbnb. We've been hosting for almost 4 years and have found that the vast majority of guests are good experiences.

To help you in the future:
1. Add house rules to your listing to deter parties, third party bookings, etc.

2. Install surveillence cameras to the home's exterior and include that in the listing.

3. Portray in the listing as well as the initial communications that someone will meet the guest at the home to provide keys and answer questions.

[Ani61]

@Tim-and-Holly0  just out of curiosity, how would security cameras alone help this from happening besides if we put it in the description that we have them to scare teens off? I mean we can see their faces but cameras won't be able to stop teens from damaging the stuff, and cops implied its illegal if we send footage of them to airbnb or higher powers

[Ana1136]

@Ani61 if you look at it like that in reality nothing can help. But most people when they know they are being recorded are more careful with their actions. And as soon as you see something you don't like you can call the police or if you have a co-host to to calm things down before they escalate and you can cancel their reservation at the same time. 

[Tim-and-Holly0]

@Ani61:
That is a good question.Surveillance cameras are not a panacea, but a front line deterrent. If people know that they are being filmed then they are less likely to rent a home for nefarious purposes (although it can still happen). If the recording is done outside the residence then there is no expectation of privacy, therefore you should be able to use the footage as needed, although this can vary from state to state.

Couple the security cameras with the other two points I mentioned and you should be able to minimize some of the trouble rentals because they hit the top things partiers look for:  new listings, minimal security and no one will be present on their arrival.

[Ani61]

@Tim-and-Holly0 @Ana1136  Thank you both so much for your feedback! I forwarded both of your comments to my mom and good news! So far airbnb paid $650 for damages!!

[Kim1098]

The advice above is good. I wish we had read this before our recent issue. 

We've been Super Hosts for a couple years. We're pretty laid back and don't sweat it when things have broken. Little things happen when you let others stay in your house. We've never charged Airbnb for the little stuff.

However, recently, the kids of some guests broke over 100 windows in our barn. Airbnb refuses to honor the claim. We have to clean the barn - involves shoveling, power wash and then vacuum - before we can allow the cows back in for the winter. We didn't have cameras because frankly, it hadn't occurred to us we needed them. That is part of why Airbnb has denied the claim. My view on that is that if cameras and video evidence is required to be successful with a claim, it should be made mandatory before becoming hosts or we should be required to sign a waiver. I'm furious at the response - it is unacceptable and antithetical to what we are led to believe will happen should something seriously bad happens at our property. I will be campaigning far and wide from today onwards to shine a light on what can only be considered false advertising and misleading business practices.