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 ... 

[Jennifer1421]

Holy cow! What a nightmare for you @George470 !

I have to have a surly laugh though - I sent an enquiry about whether ABB would share a guest's name with my insurer in the event of a catastophic loss, and received the following reply:

"My name is XXX, and I am a specialist here at Airbnb. I want to apologize for the delay in helping you. I took the time to look into your listing. You have done the correct things in your listing to mitigate your concerns. You have required that only guests that pass through our most strict authentication processes can book your listing. They will all be verified.

Damage to a host's property is extremely rare, but we do understand that accidents happen. Should you need to make a claim against the host guarantee, we will take care of you ("bold"ing mine).

When it becomes necessary, the best way to ensure your protection is by making claims through the Resolution Center or the Host Guarantee("Bold"ing mine). We have the ability to enforce decisions through the Resolution Center."

It was just such a situation I had in mind when sending my enquiry - except I was wondering what would happen if the guest's name on the profile was not their legal name...

I hope you find a resolution here that makes you whole. Please keep us all up to date.

[George470]

It is a nightmare. But we have had excellent progress so far with experienced lawyers. Also, California has the best protections for these kinds of cases. Learning more every day! Stay tuned ... 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Jennifer1421  I said it before and will say it again ALWAYS ASK ALL OF YOUR GUESTS FOR PHOTO ID AT ARRIVAL

[George470]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 That's a good idea. I should do the same. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@George470 

just remember, to be allowed to do it you have to have it in writing in your house rules.

[George470]

Great advice, @Branka-and-Silvia0 . Thank you! 

[Mark116]

The problem I have w/airbnb is they want it both ways.  They want to be hotels.com where the guest books without any hassle, total anonymity, and no fee...and yet they want the branding of the home stay, live like the locals, community and trust.  I wouldn't even mind that airbnb's guarantees are mostly worthless if they hadn't systematically removed and continue to remove all host tools that allow you to control who goes onto your property.

[George470]

The business cannot come at the cost of owners loss! If you write the following terms, stand by it!! People trust your words and put their houses and assets on the line based on your promise!! 

Airbnb’s Host Guarantee

Property damage protection of up to $1 million USD for every host and every listing—at no additional cost.

https://www.airbnb.com/guarantee

[Mark116]

@George470  One thing that will change when they finally go public is their financials will be available, so we will be able to see # of claims, $$ payouts, lawsuits if any....all of that will  have to be available and I hope that will force the company to be not only more transparent but more consistent in how it executes its own policies.  

[George470]

Investors and hosts want to see these kind of stories: 

https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/House-Fire-Prompts-1-Million-Dispute-With-Airbnb-511533442.html

[Beverly21]

George, you sound like the sort of guy who knows how to get this information to the right party.  I'm hoping you'll be able to follow thru.  Would love to see their IPO sink!

bevg

DISGUSTED WITH ABB POOR TREATMENT OF HOSTS?

                         DE-LIST YOUR PROPERTY ASAP!

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Mark116  hotels have security, doorman, a crew of cleaners, receptionist, etc... and all of them take care of the property and guests 24/7. Hotels do ID check at arrival. Hotels cleaners check all the rooms daily. They have security cameras in the hallways.

In-home hosts give the keys of their own homes where they live with their families and keep personal possesions.

Off-site hosts are not present during the guest's stay... often not even during check-in.

IT IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT and what happend to George is the result it those 3 categories are treated the same.

[George470]

Yeah, hotel business invest so much capital in their building and take risks. Airbnb doesn't invest any capital on the building and move the risks completely to the hosts by denying the claim and make lots of money without even giving any Airbnb share to the hosts!! 

[Beth391]

As I sit here preparing for my first guest check in, it’s been enough for me to want to cancel the reservation at the last minute. It scares me to think I could lose my house so quickly & my home owner’s won’t cover any of it. How do I cancel without being penalized based upon my fear now?

[Sarah977]

@Beth391  These cases are the exception, not the norm. It's like being afraid to get in your car and drive to the store, because you just read about a terrible car accident somewhere.

Of course you need to take precautions, vet guests well, keep an eye on things without intruding on the guest's privacy. 

But I looked at your listing- you are renting a private room in your home. The worst you'll probably experience as a host is guests who might be messy or dirty, or expect you to pick up after them like their mommy, or be socially inept, or maybe slightly "odd". Or expect you to sit and chat over coffee with them all day because they're lonely. Or talk loudly on the phone and wake you up. Guest's don't book private rooms in people's homes to throw giant thrash-out parties- they look for entire places with off-site hosts. 

You could cancel without penalty if you had a reason to feel uncomfortable about hosting a specific guest, but they're not going to let you cancel without penalty because you read a story about them not paying out on the host guarantee.

Beth- your first guests will hopefully be lovely. Relax and try to enjoy.