Airbnb rejected to pay $220,000 in damage for a SHOOTING case under Host Guarantee Program

[George470]

In April, I rented one of my properties on Airbnb to 3 guests. Aparantly, the guests planned a party and invited 55 guests. At around 1 am, the party became violent and two groups started to shoot at each other from inside and outside the house. Our camera footage shows 42 bullets came out of the guns and hit the house!!! I got a call at 3 am from police telling me about the situation and I had to drive to the property because the door was totally shattered. Thankfully, no one was injured!! But it has been a NIGHTMARE with Airbnb back and forth about this claim. 

Long story short, Airbnb sent the case to another firm named Crawford (which is an adjuster company) to write an estimate of damage which is a clear conflict of interest and I flagged this in my first email. Basically, Airbnb pays a company to write a low estimate on the repair which is a fraud!!! I also hired a 5 star general contractor to meet with the adjuster and they agree on the estimate. Crawford asked my contractor to send his estimate which was a detailed estimate with some sub-contractors and came up to $220,000. After several weeks of receiving my contractor estimate and probably 50 phone calls, Crawford asked many questions and sent the final report to Airbnb! After 2.5 months, Airbnb came up with an offer which is ridicolously low and doesn't even cover the painting of the affected areas!! I have cc'ed the CEO of Airbnb on the email and told them about the fraud that is happening at Airbnb. 

If you are a new host, you should know that $1,000,000 "Host Guarantee Program" is a lie by Airbnb to just bring more hosts to sign up. Many homeowner insurances will deny your claim if they know the house is listed for Airbnb. Also, Airbnb will reject your claim when something catastrophic happens. Just know the amount of risks you are taking by listing your properties on Airbnb! 

What Airbnb didn't know is that they picked the wrong battle in this case!! I am finalizing my attorney choice and will hold them accountable! Just wanted to see who had similar experience as a host and if they suggest any other attorney to consider? Any host would like to join the class action lawsuit? So far, I have identified around 100 hosts who have had similar horrible experience with Airbnb Host Guarantee Program. Anyone in the media who would like to cover similar stories, many hosts would like to talk with you! The Airbnb IPO is coming. Good timing for publishing horror stories of hosts for potential investors ... 

[Quincy]

Hello @George470, This case has been escalated immediately for a case manager to review. For future reference or immediate assistance, please contact our support team at +1-415-800-5959 or +1-855-424-7262 (toll-free) or by visiting the contact page here: www.airbnb.com/contact as this is not a dedicated Airbnb help channel. The Community Center is a forum for hosts to connect with other hosts or travellers to ask and share advice.

[Inna22]

@Quincy 

@George470  knows that very well and has clearly gone through the correct channels. I am sure the amazing bullet hole pictures and the story are an embarrassment to Airbnb and you feel you needed to respond but your response is insulting to be honest.

[George470]

@Inna22  an amazing reporter also suggested to reach out to Airbnb on my behalf to ask about the gap between the promises and the way they handle the claim.  

[Beverly21]

REALLY?  Have you read many of these comments and distressful occurrences from HUNDREDS OF HOSTS ON THIS SITE?  

     DOES THAT MAKE YOU WONDER IF AIRBNB CAN CONTINUE IN THE FACE OF SUCH OVERWHELMING DISSATISFACTION?

WE'LL SEE HOW WELL THEY FARE IN THEIR IPO - after all this horrible publicity.

ABB better wake up and smell the coffee.  Killing the goose that lays the golden eggs is totally STUPID AND SHORTSIGHTED.

Bevg

  REMEMBER HOSTS - YOU CAN ALWAYS DE-LIST YOUR PROPERTY!!!!  WHAT IS ABB W/O HOSTS????

[Mike1034]

How scary those pictures show! Never ever allow a party or event to be held in your listing no matter how much money you can earn! There are something more important and valuable than money in the world!

[George470]

Lesson learned! 

[Ann489]

@George470  most of us hosts have realized by now that this so-called "$1,000,000 host guarantee" is nothing but a scam, designed to falsely put potential hosts/hosts minds at ease.    I sincerely hope you win your case against Airbnb and are able to hold them accountable.  Best of luck to you and please keep the rest of us hosts here posted!

[George470]

Many hosts get peace of mind by that and think they are covered under Airbnb and also their insurance policy. When there is a substantial damage, Airbnb and insurance both deny or low ball the hosts. 

Airbnb picked the battle with a wrong person. I have access to the best lawyers in the world and also media. Lots of them would like to see the footage of 42 bullets. This will scare many people not to put their homes on Airbnb. I have notified them about AAA arbitration and also have a few news outlet that want to cover the story. Stay tuned ... 

[Richard1353]

this is seriously scary because I was a case in my home that happened because there are no cameras I can only assume what happened but there was blood all over my walls in the home and Airbnb fumbled my case all around until they tried to make me forget about it and never charged the guest for the damages!

[Ryan-and-Bethany0]

I think it was genuine at first by airbnb with the host guarantee but the more they grow every year the less they are concerned about the hosts and the reimbursements as there are huge amount of hosts now and they are now more focuesed on the guests and guests only. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@George470 

OMG  😞 scary! This is every host's nightmare!

I hope Airbnb will cover your damages and it will be more careful with new guests verification and faster to ban bad guests.

[George470]

I have sent probably over 100 emails back and forth to Airbnb about this case. I have even cc’d Airbnb CEO, Brian Chesky on the email and waiting for his response as well.

One time I had a dispute with Amazon and cc’es Jeff Bezos on the email. The problem is solved in a few hours!!! 

[Ann489]

@George470    I had something similar happen several years ago.  My Macbook Pro had a well-known issue and Apple refused to fix it.  One email to Tim Cook, and I received a phone call from him personally two days later(he was in China at the time).   My Macbook got overnighted to a repair facility and returned to me the very next day at no charge.  The squeaky wheel gets the grease, as they say!  😉

[George470]

@Ann489 Good deal. A phone call from Tim Cook.

I really thought Airbnb is different with all humanitarian efforts they do! But how can you claim you do good and treat your hosts this way? Those are the people who made your business possible! They don’t understand this simply until it is too late and there are many stories out and involving in several lawsuites and lose billions of dollars in valuation of their business!