damaged belongings and damage to my home

[Lee118]

Hi There, 

I am trying to understand who I can call about my condo be severly damaged over the wkd. My guest clearly had a massive party, my entire condo smells of smoke, there is excessive damage that has been done and I have contacted the guest to let them know and I have heard nothing back. Is there a hotline / Air BNB call centre - where i can actually chat to someone on this. I would like to report this indivdual so that they cannot ruin someone else' home. This guest also tried to pay outside of Air BNB which leads me to believe they knew that damage could be an issue. I am completely heartbroken, as this is my first home and the damages are execssive. Pls help!? 

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Lee118

Not a nice experience for you to go throught - here are a few thoughts and suggestions for going forward.

You don't have a security deposit, which is a big mistake. Even if difficult to claim against, it sends a message that there will be consequences in the event of damage. Add one immediately - it will only put off those intent on partying - and remember guests do not pay it up front in any case.

Without a security deposit, you are then really at the mercy of the guest as to whether or not they will reimburse you. 

You also accepted a booking from a guest who was trying to pay outside the system - this should really have been a red flag.

You talk about excessive damage, but only mention the flat smelling of smoke. You need to at least get professional quotes for deep cleaning of the flat and repair of the excessive damage, Without knowing what the excessive damage was it is hard to know if you will be covered by one of AIrBnB's insurance policies. You should also ensure you have your own comprehensive insruance in place. Get in touch with AirBnB and make sure you have photos, quotes for repairs, etc...to have any chance of success.

Finally - review your guest, but keep it short and professional, along the lines of: I cannot recommend this guest and his/her party as they caused significant damange to my property while holding a party.

Good luck and remember it is a rare occurence - not that this helps when it happens to you.

[Lee118]

Thank you so much for the feedback below, I really appreciate it. I will add a security deposit at once. Great suggestion. 

I have taken photos of all the damages, which included, ash and stains all over the carpet, cigarettes put out in Anthropology candles, broken decorative pottery dishes and a smashed gallery photo that was recently purchased at an auction for $900.00, I still have the reciept and price tag on the back of it   - and have taken photos of all the damage. 

The guest could not get the AirBNB system to work and it kept erroring out, I could see it on my end, it was causing a heap of back and forth and frustration, so she offered to send me money via PayPal, which I refused immediatly. Still, to your point - RED FLAG. 

Do you know how to get a hold of Air Bnb? Like to chat to  someone over the phone? 

Again, thank you so much for your kind suggestions below, I am completly gutted. 😞 

[Louisa15]

Hi @Lee118. It can be difficult reaching Airbnb by phone but you will get a pretty quick response via twitter.

It would be worth opening a twitter account - when you tweet (@airbnbhelp) I have heard from other hosts that you get a response (and solution) within a couple of hours. For some reason - facebook and twitter work whereas the telephone and email don't.

If you don't have a twitter account, then try contacting them through this site via https://www.airbnb.com/help/contact_us

But often the fastest way to get information and feedback is through other hosts, in fact sometimes the information from hosts is even more helpful than what Airbnb is allowed to share.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Lee118 don't forget you have just 48 hours or before next guest check in (whatever is sooner) to claim for damage (through resolution center) from your guest . If your guest doesn't respond or refuse to pay for damage then you have to involve Airbnb. 

ps

I am not sure if it is still just 48 hours or Abb changed it to 14 days.. you should check it out