Damage and Security Deposit recovery

[Cara19]

My house was absolutely trashed over the 4th of July weekend by my Airbnb renters. They immediately send the security deposit amount I requested back on July 4th and now, 7 WEEKS LATER, Airbnb has not released the money to my account. I have called over 9 times and each time get an apology and thats it. Apparently the customer experience team has absolutely no communication with the admin team and my case is stuck in a queue and theres NO ONE to help resolve this extremely easy issue. I am so upset and disappointed with the way airbnb has handled this issue that I not only will never rent my house on this website again but will discourage anyone I know from ever hosting. I had to pay out of pocket for all the damages that were done to my home and just have to sit around waiting for ANYONE, literally ANYONE, to release my money. If anyone at all has any idea how to fix this extremely simple ask it would be hugely appreciated

[Ildiko0]

Hi Cara,

We had a similar issue, our house was damaged over a day rental (was used for a large party and this was our first time to claim a damage) and Airbnb is not responding, not releasing the funds. The supervisor was arrogant, an issue we keep encountaring. Over three years of rentals (3 listings) the majority of guests were very respectful but a few times we had to call in for different issues, lately every time we called in supervisors have been arrogant and refused to escalte the issues. Two weeks later after the incident we are still waiting to get the funds for the damage.   

I cannot recommend Airbnb to anyone anymore. 

[Cara19]

Hi Ildiko - I am sorry to hear about your similar experience. I took other's advice and created a twitter and @ mentioned airbnb and they resolved my security deposit issue within a few hours yesterday....it's sad that the PR team has more authority to help then the customer service team but I would recommend taking your issue to Twitter.

[Ildiko0]

Thank you Cara, I'm so glad your issue is resolved, I really felt your pain! Thank you for your suggestion, will do and also post it on Facebook.

Best of luck to you! 

p.s. I have never used Twitter. If it's not too much to ask, could I call you to get the info? My number is [personal information hidden for safety reasons] Thanks so much!

[Lilian20]

Have you tried talking about it on twitter - that could makethings move

[Cara19]

I did that and it got resolved. Wish I knew to take it to twitter all along! Thanks for your help

[Ildiko0]

Just about, but I've never used it. Any help is greatly apreciated.

[Kelly149]

@Cara19 you hopefully can take a moment to read a bit about how damage claims work on abb. There isn't a deposit to "release" to you, this isn't how abb handles damage issues. Hopefully you can still go in and correctly utilize the resolution center

[Zoe34]

@Cara19 I would strongly recommend Direct Messaging the @airbnbsupport on Twitter.  Any issue I've ever had on Airbnb, I've DM'd them on Twitter and gotten super quick responses & help.

[Cara19]

I tried that yesterday and it worked!! Thanks for the advice

[Pat101]

were you able to get the whole security deposit??? sorry to hear about your house. 

our house was trashed a few months ago - broken furniture, shattered glass at the pool, towel racks ripped of the bathroom walls. we calcluated the damages plus house and pool cleaning to be over $2,000. our security deposit was only $500 so we took it to the airbnb resolution center. after weeks of back and forth they determined that we were owed $13 for a wooded Ikea cutting board the "guests" burned on the BBQ. Yes $13 - total. they considered the rest of the damages to be "wear and tear". 

my theory : airbnb has enough hosts making money from renting their homes through their site and now they want to collect as many guest as possible to corner the market. they care nothing for the hosts.

although we were in communcation with airbnb, after all the frustration, anxiety, email, calls, reciept finding, etc. in the end we gave up and just moved on. called it a learning experience...because thats about all you'll get. sorry to say. 

[Helen3]

Hello @Pat101

This is outrageous. In your situation I would approach your local media.

Explain that your guests trashed your house (sure you have photos/video's of the damage) and that Airbnb defined broken furniture, damage to property and glass in the pool as 'wear and tear' and refused to refund you.

I bet when they receive a call from your local TV statio or daily newspaper they will have a miraculous 'change of mind'.

[Ildiko0]

I'm so sorry to hear that!!! I agree completly, their market became recruiting guests not hosts. 

We still don't have a resolution, I've been posting on Facebook, my next step is to post pictures, contact the CEO, bring it to the media and file a claim against Airbnb.