$8,300 in Damages But AirBnB Host Guarantee Only Pay $250 ???

Ben105
Level 3
New York, NY

$8,300 in Damages But AirBnB Host Guarantee Only Pay $250 ???

Unfortunately, a guest caused a damage estimated @ $8,300 to the floor and AirBnB only agreed to pay $250. What should I do?

 

https://www.airbnb.com/guarantee

 

 

 

41 Replies 41
Cynthia-and-Chris1
Level 10
Vancouver, WA

If you read the terms & conditions of the "Host Guarantee" you will see there are A LOT of exceptions.  Hosts should NOT rely on this protection to cover all (or even most) of damage caused to your rental.  It is always recommended hosts obtain their own insurance in order to cover damages.

 

Lesson learned the hard way - bummer. 😞

Then what is the protection good for? I find it very deceiving.

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Ben105  You do not provide much detail for other hosts to consider but I wonder if you have considered small claims court unless the guest is not local enough for you to do that.

Thanks @Linda108. I thought about small claims court and this is why I didn't sue the guest.

 

  1. The guest isn't legaly responsible to pay for damages, just like if you go to a hotel and make the whole hotel goes on fire. The hotel has an insurance and when you pay for your room, that include the insurance from the hotel.
  2. The guest can always claim that he had no business with me, only with AirBnB (which is true)
  3. The guest is from out of the country
  4. Winning in small claims court is the easy part, the harder part is collecting the money and collection fees aren't added to the claim amount so if I need to hire a lawyer, collection agency, etc'... I need to pay for it out of pocket
  5. Small claims court maximum claim amount is $5,000
  6. Small claims court takes time and money to start a claim
  7. Need to serve court papers to the defendant (the guest) in order for the claim to activate, not an easy thing to do when the guest is traveling the world and doesn't have a US address

Hi Ben, I find all these points very helpful as I am experiencing something similar. Where did you find this information so I can site it? Thank you so much !

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

@Ben105 you haven't given us any information which would enable us to provide you with any meaningful advice.

 

What damage did the guests do to your property? Did you report it within 48 hours to BNB?

 

Why are BNB only allowing 250 USD of the claim?

Karyo0
Level 4
Manchester, United Kingdom

I suspect the 250 is the deposit you charge? The host guarentee is only for criminal damage . You would have to proove the amage to your floor wascriminal and provide photos and police crime numbers to even start an airbnb investigation. If the damage was accidental then the deposit you charge your guests is there to cover-! over 8000 sounds a lot though - do you have more information ?

@Karyo0 I think the deposit amount was $500 and not $250. Where in the Host Guarantee do you see that it's only for criminal damage? I provided photos, I was in contact with AirBnB and they didn't ask for a police report number. I know it may sound a lot but all the estimates I got from all the flooring contractors I contacted (about 5 different ones) were pretty much the same. I did add the estimates to my claim with AirBnB but they ignored them and decided they should only pay $250 and not what it actually cost to repair the damage. I gave them the option to send their own contractors to repair but they refused.

Vasily1
Level 1
Toronto, Canada

Hi, My name is Vlad, I am from Canada. I am interested, the floor damage happened due to water flood?Or something else caused the damage? Just I am looking for insurance protection in condo, as high expensive liability can be arised in case of water leaking or fire. What is the best way to get the insurance? Does Host Guarantee not help in this case? Thank you in advance for information

@Vasily1 The floor damage didn't happen due to water or flood. I'm not a lawyer or insurance consultant so I suggest that you consult with a professional. From my experience and from reading, AirBnB host guarantee, AirBnB is legaly liable for these types of damages however in reality, they only paid me 3% of the cost to repair the damage. I'm still still not sure what to do. Any advice?

How was the floor damaged?

 

As others have pointed out and to be fair AirBnB state the Guarantee is not a replacement for your own insurance and this damge sounds very extensive.

 

AirBnB are not legally liable for damage caused by a guest. They are booking service and the Guarantee is a bit of a bonus.

 

Without knowing more I am not sure what else to say.

David

A bonus?  That’s crazy.  If the guarantee was printed on paper it wouldn’t be worth wiping your ass with.

 

Hosts need to stop defending airbnb’s unethical behavior. This Superhost is shutting down his listing over this.   

A bonus? to whom? the host gaurentee seems to be anything but. fraud is a better word for it .

Yes ... take it on its head this time. Learn by your mistake of accepting guests that may not treat your place with respect. This may mean that you have to decline quite a few bookings.