Basic question: How does Airbnb collect damage reimbursement from the guest?

Barbara542
Level 2
Greensboro, NC

Basic question: How does Airbnb collect damage reimbursement from the guest?

We have $150 deposit policy. Does Airbnb hold on to that amount after they have checked out for a period of time? Or, is it automatically returned, even when a claim is entered? Also, if the approved reimbursement is over the deposit, how is that collected? Our approved reimbursement from Airbnb was over $300 and deposited to our account. I'm just curious as to where it came from? I could not find an explanation in FAQ. Thank you.

8 Replies 8
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Barbara542 

A deposti set by the host is not actually charged (so also not returned)

More:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/140/how-does-airbnb-handle-security-deposits

I guess your reimbursement was handled by Airbnb (no agree from the guest), so Airbnb will charge the money from the guest. Or if not possible it is maybe facilitated by their Hosts Guarantee policy.

 

best regards,

Emiel

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

a) abb doesn't "collect" a deposit

 

b) if abb agrees to charge a guest for damage, then somehow they either magically charge that guest's ccard or pay for it themselves, none of us will ever know which

Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

Answer: they don't. 

not sure what you mean. The link @Emiel1  posted says they do charge the guest. But I'm still not sure how that works since the guest can refute the charges. Seems that there would be a clause in the booking agreement that would cover that legally.

They don't charge the guest at all.  If something happens, they will contact the guest and ask for it, but they still need approval.  I don't consider it a security deposit... 

That just doesn't seem fair at all. There should be a legal clause in the booking agreement, and a "hold" on the funds until the 14 days after checkout. I'm not in charge, but this woman should not get away with what she did here.

 

@Barbara542  the deposit is not ever collected unless the guest agrees to pay it.  It is not charged at booking. Hosts do not have it in an escrow account somewhere and return it if all is well. Airbnb does not do this either. All it is, if its anything, is a possible deterrent to guests who might want to throw a party or do some other heinous thing to your space. They may believe that they will owe up to the amount you list. But in reality? If the guest doesn't 'fess up and agree to pay, well, you are own your own. I suppose Airbnb *could* side with you and take the guest's money, but I think I have read that they need express permission to debit a guest's account. Maybe all they need is enough proof? I dunno. I have gotten different stories from different CSRs.

 

Many hosts here have a story about damage that the guest refused to pay for. We are often left holding the bag. Unfair? Yep. But that is the pond you are swimming in. 

 

From the TOU:

Host-required security deposits are different from Airbnb-required security deposits in that no authorization hold will be placed. Guests will only be charged if a host requests to collect on their security deposit. Depending on what was damaged, the amount the host requests may or may not be the same as the security deposit.

 

 If there’s an issue during your stay, for either Airbnb-required or host-required deposits, the claims process will work the same. A host can report an incident and submit a request for some or all of the security deposit within 14 days of check-out or before a new guest checks in—whichever is earlier.

 

And in the claims process, the guest can agree or disagree. Airbnb could theoretically side with a host, but in my experience, it does not happen very often. 

As it turned out, Airbnb sent me the full amount. So wherever it came from (and it certainly was not the guest), it was appreciated.