$1,500 in damages but the host guarantee won't cover it

[Gigi69]

Hello all!

I'm hoping someone can guide me here. It is my first time handling damages that totalled more than $400-$500, you know the usual, broken plates, towels, bed linens, etc.

This guest broke my range oven which cost more than $3,200 and had to buy a replacement for half the cost while dancing on top of it. They texted me early morning to let me know an accident had happened but their reservation wasn't yet complete, 2 more nights ahead of them.

 I immediately call Airbnb for guidance, I was advice to submit a request with a receipt of purchase and to host them since I would be covered. I did, I requested the amount that totaled the oven and involved airbnb after 72 hrs.  Now, the guest left, had not accept the charges and airbnb wants to pay less than 50% of our damages ($649).  I have guests landing today, I can't afford to loose that money in damages made by the guest. I have decline the payout and requested the case manager to advice for the next steps.

 Please if anyone knows, or have been through this I would highly appreciate any help or guidance with this host guarantee program and what to do with my upcoming guest. 

Thank you! 

[Mike1034]

@Ana1136 I agree with you. I have had a couple of damages done by guests which I claimed through resolution center. What I got were the depreciated values of the replacements.

@Gigi69 It is very hard to fight with Airbnb to get the amount you wanted. Sometimes it is even not worth to spend the time to beg them. But you can try to twitter to Airbnb if it could not be resolved by the case manager.

[Gigi69]

@Mike1034 Thank you for your insight. I wasn't aware of any depreciation  table at the time of claim. Would I knew that before I would've submitted the original cost and time of purchase. The case manager reached out again, stating this is the final offer. She also shed light to how she gather that amount, she depreciated the new oven, which is half of the original the broke, and used the new amount and depreciated  X5 years  for 12.5% per year. This is in the case you need this math in the future. 

@Ana1136 I know how hard is to win against airbnb specially since is all in their sole discretion and there are no clear rules, nothing is black or white, since it's based on whoever gets your case. They either side with you or not.

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 - You and I think the same way and have the same line of thought.  I'm so dissapointed at all of this. I most likely won't pursue legal or keep pushing. I'm not sure what they can do to my profile. I will return the oven and the owner already decided to sell the house so I ultimately lost more in the situtation. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Gigi69 

She also shed light to how she gather that amount, she depreciated the new oven, which is half of the original the broke, and used the new amount and depreciated  X5 years  for 12.5% per year. This is in the case you need this math in the future. 

Thats wrong.

They cant depreciate an assets based on its new current market value. It can only be depreciated on its initial purchase value. Applying a depreciation value to a new item is impossible.

In your case a $3200 Range depreciated at 12.5% for 5 years is $1641. Thats what your claim is.

Any insurance company would simply replace your Range with no account of devaluation and you would get a straight forward replacement. This depreciation model is just deceitful.

Thanks for the information though. If its a game ABB want to play then your experience has provided the framework in which hosts need to play.

[Billy106]

@Ana1136 Sounds like she is a CS rep for airbnb

[Ana1136]

@Billy106 yes, I am undercover here to make you all stop claiming any money from Airbnb. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Ana1136 yes, I am undercover here to make you all stop claiming any money from Airbnb. 

Thought so ! 😉

[Anonymous]

@Gigi69  Thank you for sharing the numbers behind the claims process. This thread will be a valuable reference for other hosts trying to get their heads around the "Host Guarantee."

Sadly, the owner of the property you manage was right to unlist from Airbnb. This platform is fantastic for onsite hosts and well-insured owners of budget vacation properties. But there's a lot of things it's not advisable for: event locations, remote properties, and homes with $3200 appliances. The terms of our agreement with Airbnb give the company a wide latitude to make independent and seemingly arbitrary choices about damage compensation, which supercede the contract between guest and host. If you're going to have strangers left unattended with high-value contents that aren't fully insured for short-term rentals (Unicorn Insurance, basically), you need to have far more control over the security deposit than Airbnb provides. 

If Airbnb has it on record that a grown-up adult guest caused thousands of dollars in damage by dancing atop an appliance and refused to pay for it, and that guest has not been banned from the service, that should be a clear sign to all hosts of what they can expect from Airbnb.