Who pays the host required security deposit?

[Liam-and-Ellie0]

Hi everyone 

We’re quite new to ABB having been hosting for just over a year. We’ve just had our first bad experience of hosting which I suppose in a year, isn’t too bad going!

We made a claim against a guest for a missing heater and a badly soiled mattress. We went through the process of claiming £219 and have been successful.

What I’m wanting to understand and ABB won’t specifically answer, (they just send generics links which don’t actually answer my query,) is will this money have been paid by ABB solely or will they have collected £100 of it from the guest using our stipulated £100 host required security deposit. And then they make up the remainder?

Has anyone had a similar scenario of any specific knowledge around this?

Thanks in advance.

Ellie 

[Helen350]

Hi @Liam-and-Ellie0  Commiserations on the bad guests, and I absolutely loved your analysis in the reviews about the spirit of Airbnb, and a private home not being the Premier Inn, with a warehouse full of spares!

The security deposit does not actually exist! No money is taken from debit/credit card at time of booking. I believe it just means that in the event of..... the guests will be asked to cough up that amount.... If the guest refuses, Airbnb has no way of forcing them to pay. - So, we'll never know whether some of your reimbursement came from the guest! 

The hosts who might know would be those where guests caused  damage & were amicable & in communication with hosts, & TOLD the host that money had been taken with their blessing.

- I loved your response to the bad review btw, and your review of the guest! - EXCEPT one bit - it's not good to mention  blood or any body fluids, as the guest could get the entire review removed on that basis (- privacy, embarrassment), were she to ask, then future hosts would not be warned. (Removal of your review of guest might result in hers of you being removed to... which you might like!)  "Extensive damage to mattress" would have been safer, or even "Excessive staining" which could have been food or cosmetics.

[Liam-and-Ellie0]

Thanks for your helpful reply @Helen350.

Yes I regret mentioning the staining specifically, as soon as I posted I thought “**bleep**, I shouldn’t have said that.” I was so upset at how she treated us when we’d worked so hard to make everything just right for them. It’s all a learning curve isn’t it 😊 

[Amy76]

I've asked in the past who paid for the damages when it wasn't clear & AIRBNB has told me when they did. I was able to get the information in time to include it in that guests review that AIRBNB paid me for the damages because the guest refused to.. I think it's important for future hosts to know that. 

[James411]

I know threads can very quickly go down rabbit holes of misguided personal opinions and misinformation quickly.  So, I hope my information is deemed helpful to many.  We need to spark a movement for legal facts that educate hosts and put an end to the Airbnb inclination to abandon and misinform hosts in times of trouble.

As a legal professional and an Airbnb host of over 12 years (in the US), I have had ample opportunity to experience the "Airbnb Community".  In my business we  seem we have a loss ratio of upwards of 10-15% in a six unit STR portfolio; that is exorbitant.    We have had to process dozens of resolution claims and almost 90% were met with inept responses from the resolution "specialists".  THERE IS AN ARBITRATION CLAUSE IN THE TERMS OF SERVICE FOR A REASON.

Hosts need to stop propagating this false narrative that Airbnb is the final say in resolutions!  That is correct, AIRBNB IS NOT THE FINAL SAY IN RESOLUTIONS....

As many I am sure have experienced, resolution claims are promptly diverted overseas.  English or other languages are typically not the native language of the representative appointed to 'resolve' contractual matters determined by cities, states, federal laws or other countries' laws altogether.  It is a fallacy to assume the call center representatives are even remedially knowledgable about your rights has a host.  

Airbnb claims they are mediating for hosts, but yet THEY HAVE A VESTED INTEREST in the outcome.  They are not neutral to the claim, and thus most often play the 'meet int he middle'  advocates of resolution.  This by literal definition IS NOT MEDIATION.  Even if you have a video showing a perpetrator  causing the damages, they will attempt to resolve the matter for pennies on the dollar; a potential violation of your contractual rights.

It is important that hosts review the laws that pertain to their contractual rights, based on the country they are in and the terms they have added to their Host House Rules.  Airbnb is obligated to enforce ALL THE CONTRACTUAL TERMS, not just the ones that suit their agenda.  Hosts need to educate themselves and if necessary pursue their claims in arbitration.  Airbnb should have reliable, consistent and transparent policies for claims resolution.  Resolution agents' rhetoric, bullying and misinformation has no place in a corporation boasting a value of hundreds of billions of dollars!

[Sarah977]

@Liam-and-Ellie0  Mattresses should have protective covers on them so guests can't damage the mattress itself. Just having a mattress with sheets over it makes it pretty inevitable that the mattress will get stained at some point.

Not excusing the guest for having done this, but hosts need to do things in a way that will mitigate damage.

[Liam-and-Ellie0]

The mattress did indeed have a protector on it, but not a plastic waterproof one as we’d had feedback that they were noisy and make the beds too hot - the mattress is already memory foam so gets warm quickly. I think perhaps I need to find a happy medium. Thanks for your tips, I appreciate it 😊 

[Lorna170 · Accepted solution]

@Liam-and-Ellie0    There are mattress protectors that zip around the entire mattress that are made of a puffy fabric and cotton batting combined with the waterproof plastic.  These will "breathe" and do not make the loud crinkle sounds that are so annoying.  These covers will cost a bit more than a regular mattress pad, but they are worth it when you think of the price of your mattress.  I read the guest review and yours -- what an entitled young person.

[Amy76]

I agree with you about the waterproof mattress pads being too noisy.. I had 3 mattress pads protecting my mattress when the "body fluids" ruined my sheets the stains went through two of the mattress pads as well as the sheets. How much do we have to do to protect our beds & what could I have done in 6 hours before my next guests arrived?

[Sarah977]

@Liam-and-Ellie0  Interestingly, your guest posted here on the forum as well, making it sound like she is blameless.

Look near the end of this thread:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/What-happen-after-I-refuse-to-pay-damage-cost/td-p/647584/p...

[Liam-and-Ellie0]

Ha, that’s funny! So I can only assume she has incurred some of the cost else she wouldn’t be asking that. And the irony of her combative reply just goes to reinforce my review of her and how difficult, combative and rude she is. Thanks @sarah977 😊  

[Adelaida17]

@Liam-and-Ellie0 with some guests I just can't. Sorry this happened to you. 

You go all the way and they go all the way as well but to mess it up. My last guests left ALL the sheets stained, even the replacement ones, with snot because they didn't know about an invention called kleenex.

[James411]

I am sorry to say it was probably not 'snot'🤢

[Daniel433]

I have an issue with a guest that is staying at my place in Puerto Vallarta at the moment.  From the first day there were issues with a clogged toilet, for some reason they used three rolls of toilet paper in 24 hours and clogged the toilet.  I had to get cleaners, the argithect (as its a brand new building under warranty), maintenace people to check to see what is wrong. The conclusion was they clogged the toilet as nothing else was wrong. The cost is running up to $200 USD because of this. My question is as follows. On my booking site I state a security deposit of $500 is required, but I do not see that airbnb were holding that back from the guest. I am not getting response about this from airbnb.  Anybody else out there that can help me solve this issue.