Guest broke an handle how to proceed?

[Francesco110]

Hi All, 

    the guest that is in my place just now broke a handle that give access to the terrace. Do you have experice with these cases? How did you handle the situation? 

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Francesco110

All depends on the situation...was it an old door/handle - was it just due to wear and tear? Very hard to claim for anything that looks like wear and tear (unless your guest feels bad and agrees to pay). Remember wear and tear happens all the time.

Was it clearly a stupid act and definitely not just wear and tear - then, you should approach the guest via the platform and open a discussion about replacing it. If you have a security deposit in place then it is marginally easier to get a positive outcome, but only marginally. The burden of proof is on you to prove it was not wear and tear, to get a professional estimate for replacement and also to get the guest to agree that they did the damage!

[Ilan1]

You can look for a refund through the Resolution Center.

In my case, I decided not to report minor broken things nor reinforce the security deposit on many occasions.

You have a couple days to report situations to the Resolution Center, generally before the guest has written a review. I prefer guests to leae a positive review, especially knowing that they have broken something and that I am forgiving it and absorbing the damage. I am talking about damages that are minor, like broken glasses, stained towel, etc. I consider these part of the risk of hosting, part of the cost.

Once, there was a problem with the bathroom lock and it needed replacement. It was reported by the guest, who told me it had broken when he closed the door. It was probably result of wear and tear.

Intentional damage or expensive replacements... that is a different story.