Guest broke the entrance door!

[Dunja1]

Dear all,

I just got notified by my guest that they broke my entrance door!!!

The door is glass with a protective metal net over it. The hallway has ceramic tiles.

They left it open during rain and some water came inside and one of them slipped, I think he grabbed the door when falling and a big piece of glass broke across the middle.

(They sent me photos and wrote that they left it open so I have proof of that).

The guest got scratched on the leg (I have a photo of that too), but nothing serious, he is ok.

Now they are trying to pull off that the glass isnt thick enough and that the whole thing is an accident waiting to happen!

We have never had any trouble or issues with the door, this is our 8th year of renting the apartment.

Prior to that we had regular guests that would come every year (period of approx 10 years), again no issues whatsoever. 

We ve had numerous guests over these years, the door was never nearly an issue.

Clearly it was a significant amount of force, although they claim that it wasnt....

I am covered with a security deposit of up to 300 eur which is more than enough for this kind of damage. 

Can they go after me for this??? Clearly it was a significant amount of force, although they claim that it wasnt and that the door is dangerous....

Any advice how to handle this as painlessly as possible?

I am work now so I will see them later in about 4 hours.

Thanks for the help!

Dunja

[Linda108]

You should be very careful about your communication with the guests.  No matter that this is the first time such an accident has happened, you as a home owner are liable.  Check with your insurance before speaking with the guest.  Keep a record of the communication through the Air BNB platform, even summing up any verbal exchanges.  Sorry to sound so dire, but when someone is injured in your home it is serious.

[Dunja1]

Thanks Linda.

It is just a scratch on his right leg, nothing serious, luckily no broken bones, head injuires etc.

They contacted me about this through phone messaging, not airbnb, I have those as proof.

I also have in writing that they left the entrance door open while it was raining - does this change things?

I mean if the door was closed properly, this wouldnt have happened.

Any further advice?

[Stephanie6]

Hi @Dunja1, Aside from the injury/liability issues, you need to decide if you will try to claim the security deposit (via the resolution center) or just pay for the repair yourself.  It was good of the guest to let you know about the damage, but they may be unwilling to pay for the damage.  In this situation, I would pay for the repair myself and not charge the guest.  I would also be very neutral, not blaming the guest or apologizing for his injury.  Just let him know you will have it repaired ASAP, to minimize his inconvenience.

[Dunja1]

Thanks @Stephanie6 for your advice.

The damage is not big, we asked for an estimate and it is only about 40 eur for the glass. I dont want any trouble and negative reviews over 40 eur so we will cover the cost. 

The guests are out at the moment so we secured the glass as much as we could. We live in a small town on an island so replacing the glass on the same day is not possible.

Luckily they are leaving tomorrow morning.