FORGET FILING A DAMAGE CLAIM. YOU WILL NOT BE COMPENSATED.

[Jeannie19]

         BE AWARE!!!

So you think Airbnb has your back when damage is done to your place?

It does not!

I have been part of Airbnb since 2012. I have been a Superhost for years. I have had little things break, but have never put in a claim.

Earlier this month, I had a person who (somehow?) broke a six light track lighting system that will cost about $250 to replace. I tried a number of times to deal directly with this person to no avail.

I contacted Airbnb within it's time frame parameters, to help me recover the replacement cost and so I put in for a $160.00 claim.

I sent all documentation complete with pictures, explaination and went to the store itself, to show the actual amount to replace this fixture. I was willing to absorb the upcost for the light and the price of an electrician to replace it.

Finally after 3 WEEKS of sending and resending all of the same info, I finally got their resolution.

Last evening Airbnb decided $25.00 was all I was entitled to. 

***HERE IS WHAT I SO NAIVELY BELIEVED*****

$1,000,000 Host Guarantee

The Host Guarantee protects your home and your stuff from accidental damage. Every host with a listing on Airbnb is eligible for coverage at no additional cost. You don’t have to do anything to sign up.

Host Protection Insurance

Host Protection Insurance is designed to protect you from liability in case your guests get hurt or cause property damage. It’s automatically included as part of your Airbnb account.

So again, Be aware of how this company treats their life blood.

[Robin4]

@Jeannie19 Hi Jeannie, you are simply the last in a long line who have experienced exactly the same outcome!

The resolution centre make work in some instances, in fact we occasionally see a post from a host who said the system worked well for them....and it may also be that we only see the ones that go 'off the rails' ! Many of the succesfull claims may go unreported on this forum.

But from the number of posts we have seen refering to host damage and the resolution centre outcome, it would be folly in the extreme to regard the Host Protection Insurance as a viable option to designated hosting insurance through a mainstream insurer.

Cheers....Rob

[David126]

This has been discussed on here many times and it does seem many people think they have more protection than they do.

[Elaine701]

@David126 

Airbnb makes this claim of host insurance, but does everything to avoid paying out, even when all evidence is irrefutable, everything is done exactly per the book, and even if the guest admits it. 

Not that I'd ever want to validate this bait and switch scheme, but you won't get any better service from anywhere else. Vrbo days the same thing, but also will avoid paying out no matter what. 

You're on your own. I've cimevto the conclusion that prevention is the best cure. I've started to scare them away by writing in severe penalties in our house rules and the "things guests must know before they book" Text. 

It's all rather unenforceable, but irresponsible characters of guests aren't likely to know that. So, they either don't book it out of fear, or know that if they violate the terms, we'll be there with a big bill. 

[Ephraim0]

you could pursue airbnb in small claims court. As others have said it does seem that airbnb insurance isn't worth the paper its written on. But it does SOUND good until the day comes when its time for them to pay.

[Sabine42]

have you told the guests that damaged the light? why not hold them accountable? i've had guests damage some stuff and i requested the amount owed from them which came promptly, case settled. just a thought..

[Fabs0]

I had a substantial damage claim and they took care of everything

[Robin4]

@Fabs0 Hey, that is great to hear. We do not generally get to hear about successful outcomes with the Resolution Centre so it would be wonderful if you could take the time to tell us what the claim was, and how Airbnb handled it.

The Community Centre is not Airbnb! It is a collection of people who, in one way or another, deal with Airbnb and we give infomation based on our own experiences, and those of others. By doing this we can all help each other to be better at what we do.

Your post, although lovely to read, gave us no information that could be helpfull to other hosts and a little bit more detail on your claim, and how it was handled would be appreciated....cheers......Rob

[Fabs0]

1 of my homes was rented to what turned out to be a group of thieves that used fake info to make the rental for 1 night they ramsaced the house for valuables stole several items destroyed furniture damages walls a complete disaster airbnb process does take longer than one wants it took about 2 weeks my suggestion would be to email daily that would included your area host leader for Airbnb trust and safety and both Brian and Joe the founders of airbnb this keeps everyone in the loop. Without going into amounts all I can say that airbnb made use whole and I know that they have our backs as host

[Ivette1]

Hi there,

I had a guest stay recently....they staged a robbery and ransacked my home.  I phoned to report the incident (which includes the guest calling the police and filing a report).  I called it in Wednesday November 15th....would you beleive I still have not heard from Airbnb.....I have phoned 3 times asking what the hold up is. I'm glad they have your back because they do not have mine.

I usually pay for damages out of pocket....the resolution center is way to convoluted.

I'm sure by the time they get around to assigning someone from the Trust department ...they wll inform me its too late to claim.

Honestly, I'm a bit shocked that Airbnb has not paid attention to this situation...I thought more of Airbnb than this.

[Fabs0]

@Ivette1 email the founders of the company they do see the emails also message them on facebook they see the messages  also thier best people work on the twitter team twitt them the people that work in that department are able to make determinations that the staff at the call center just does not have the power to do if you do this am sure they will be right on top of the situation

[Jude7]

Hi @Fabs0!

 You seem to have had some real successes with your proactive attitude.  Congratulations! 

 I would love to email the Airbnb founders to communicate some thoughtful comments about some recent changes that have been made.  What email addresses did you used to contact them?

Jude

[Sergio-and-Nicole0]

@Jude7 what are the Airbnb founders email addresses? 

[Fabs0]

@Sergio-and-Nicole0 @Ivette1  brians airbnb email is in this link it's an old artical about this same problem go to the end of the aritical its thier in red

http://blog.airbnb.com/our-commitment-to-trust-and-safety/

[Sergio-and-Nicole0]

@Fabs0 Thank you!