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 ... 

[George470]

Thanks

[Robin4]

@Ute42 

Now Ute, it is not as simple as you have shown above. Lets look at that......  IX. Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability in entirety, break it down and see what that clause  means......

A/....... This is for major damage claims and is not subject to any limitations regarding payments to the user but requires a high level proof including Police reports and certified damage assessments.

B/....... This is the section you were refering to, and deals with minor claims where the host requests compensation through the Resolution Centre and the guest refuses to accept the claim. If on adjudication Airbnb accepts your claim, they will pay on that basis if they are unable to gain funds from the delinquent guest.

C/....... This sections covers your rights to compensation under civil law and may affect the involvement of Airbnb in any settlement!

You are partially right Ute, but you can't just blanket all damage claims under that part of the clause....you really will start to panic users

@Sandra126  @Branka-and-Silvia0  @George470 

Cheers.........Rob 

[George470]

Thanks

[Brianna87]

Thanks Rob. This is greatly appreciated. Do you anyone that has damage claim higher than payout and success stories? 

@Robin4 

[Susan17]

@Robin4 

You wrote,

"...but the Host Protection scheme is not an insurance policy.."

Just to clarify for other hosts reading this thread, so there's no confusion here.. the Host Guarantee program, and the Host Protection program, are two entirely different things, and Host Protection most certainly is  an insurance policy.

The Host Guarantee Program provides (allegedly) "property damage protection of up to $1 million, for every host at every listing", with the tagline, "If a guest is unable or unwilling to pay, our Host Guarantee is intended to help." We all know how those claims usually pan out - maybe a 10%-20% payout of damage costs on the vast majority of claims over a couple of hundred €/£/$. That's if the unfortunate host has the time, energy and tenacity to jump through the endless series of farcical hoops required of them to even file their claim, in accordance with Airbnb's whims. .

  "The Host Guarantee is not an insurance policy. To the extent you desire protection beyond the Host Guarantee, Airbnb strongly encourages you to purchase insurance that will cover you and your property for losses caused by guests in the event your loss is not within the terms of the Host Guarantee"

The Host Protection Insurance Program (“HPI Program”) - underwritten by Lloyd's of London, Zurich Insurance plc and Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc - covers hosts, in certain countries, if they have legal liability for bodily injury or property damage to guests, or others, as a result of an event that happens during a guest’s stay at a covered accommodation. The HPI Program does not provide coverage for damage or loss to the Host’s own property or accommodation.

"Coverage under the HPI program provides primary liability coverage of up to $1 million USD per occurrence in the event of third-party claims of bodily injury or property damage (subject to a laundry list of exclusions, of course)

[Robin4]

@Susan17 

Yeah terminology Susan...still stand by what I said, we were talking about hosts property damage, not bullet holes in people!

Cheers.....Rob

[George470]

Bullet holes in people can ruin hosts' life. 

[Fred13]

Just happened to swing by the forum and this subject caught my eye. I trust all are doing well.

On the subject at hand. The host has  - "... house is a custom build house and is not like apartment complex that contractors build at large scale. This means all the materials are selected at the best quality. Who would have thought the guests become violent, set aside shooting!! ...

Yes, imagine that. However, my immediate questions are - What type of people renting a $131 or $225 (host has two listings, can't tell which one had the 'OK Corral' affair),  carry guns in the first place? To go further, how did 55 arrive (some with guns also!) and get to enter the place in the first place, and at 1am decided to have a gun battle.

What was this - a meeting of young local wiseguys which had too much to drink? Or a 'reunion' between the 'Hoods & the Cribs'? which by some strange coincidence decided to rent this place, of all places?

Jeesh, when the 'X' excessive person arrived, the owner of the property should have already had a methodology in place to be warned and go into immediate "Houston we got a problem." mode. An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of 'cure'. Who leaves the welfare of one's property or safety to the goodwill of total strangers, exactly what guests via any booking agency are.

And now we enter the realm of the old subject of Airbnb's Host Guarantee Program....

Needless to say, is it a hustle and its 'costs' (monetary & bad publicity) must be worth more than the hassles it brings Airbnb - otherwise why have it in the first place? Every time I have brought this up when being part of one of Airbnb's advisory  panels I hit radio silence, it is like a secret weapon that shouldn't be discussed. I would drop it in a heartbeat for two reasons: the host should be responsible for the protection of their own place and secondly, it is an invitation for host abuse, which in the grand scheme of things we all pay for (see rising host fees). 

For those that know me from the past, I am always on the side of personal responsibility with no excuses - such emphasis is how we develop our individual survival instincts. The more 'guarantees' we are afforded (or are allowed to  be imagined) - the less we personally evolve.

/My 2 cents on the subject, and greetings from Central America 😄

[George470]

Thanks for your 2 cents. 

[George470]

Interestingly, the guy who provide 2 cents doesn’t have understanding that a listing that needs repair is not listed anymore and looks at the current listing! Haha. Sometimes 2 cents really worth 2 cents ... 

[Lan1]

I am having similar situation. Guests flooded my bathroom and bedroom. ( no broken pipes, no clogged toilet, not sure how did happen unless they just showed on the floor. Bathroom became a pond). Airbnb hires “Crawford “ property adjuster to inspect the damages, I presented all the documentations . it passed few weeks now, still no decision made. I believe the most important thing is DOCUMENTATION. As long as you present properly, Airbnb shouldn’t have any reason to deny it.

I also believe Lawyers should be the last option...

[George470]

@Lan1 oh I’m sorry to hear that. I’ll let the reporters know about your situation 

would be great to have a TV episode about everyone who is in the Bay Area. 

[Brianna87]

I'm in a similar situation now. Do you have an update on the resolution?

[George470]

UPDATE: 

mentioned that Airbnb sent the initial estimate back to Crawford for a more accurate estimate. I had a lengthy discussion with Crawford about next step to be fair and transparent ... but ... 

Someone called me and said he is from a consulting company and wanted to write an estimate. I have asked them a few questions. Here are the answers: 

1) They are consultant -> they don't do the actual repair and they may just write something which is way different from current supply and demand of contractors in the bay area. 

2) They are using Xactimate -> which is a software owned by insurance companies and it is built to low ball the insurance customers 

3) They are paid by Crawford to do the job -> They are biased to write a low estimate to get more business from Crawford 

4) They don't share the results with us -> They share the estimate with Crawford first and as we spoke you share the estimate with Airbnb and they also haven't shared any estimate with us. 

For four above mentioned reasons, we have rejected the request based on obvious conflict of interest, hiding, and bias. As we spoke over the phone with Crawford, the process should be completely transparent and fair. We don't accept the estimate of someone who is paid by Airbnb or Crawford to write a low ball estimate, we don't accept using Xactimate which is an unfair software, we don't accept adjuster/consultant estimate since they can't do or guarantee that the job can be done at their estimate, and we don't accept confidential bidding! All estimates should be transparent, fair, and confirmed by Our contractor as an expert in this domain with 30 years of experience! This is a case that Crawford or Airbnb can't low ball the customer. Let's figure out a fair process without bias!! 

Why don’t crawford work directly with my contractor to come up with an agreeable estimate??!!

[Mike1034]

@George470 It is very common in auto or home insurance industry that they provide an estimate instead of an estimate by a contractor hired by the customer. Insurance company sends the adjustor to do the estimate or you can get an estimate from their designated company. In your case, hopefully you can succeed with an estimate provided by your contractor instead of Airbnb's contractor. Thanks for the update.