In nearly 3 years of hosting, we never had a bad experience with our guests, until a couple of weeks ago. This group of college girls stayed for one night and left our home trashed, and also destroyed our shower door. It was pretty bad.
Following procedures set forth by Airbnb, I first tried requesting $400 from the guest to cover damages. Of course, she waited until the last possible day to answer, stating that she had no idea what I was talking about and that our shower door was already damaged. In other words, she lied about the mess and then lied about the shower door in order to avoid paying.
So, following procedure, I escalated the claim to Airbnb and filed a claim with my insurance policy (even though my policy doesn't cover liability claims). After a day or two, I received an email from a representative using the name "Mercy" with a list of requests:
A complete list of items claimed and the value of each
2. For damage to any item or structure:
- Detailed overview/full length photos showing entire size of the shower and the tub with the damage
- Detailed overview/full length photos showing brand/model of the shower and the tub
- Official repair estimate, invoice, or online link showing replacement cost for the shower and the tub
- Professional incident report describing the cause of damage to shower and why your guest is liable
*Note: We advocate for the lesser cost of repair or replacement in all instances.
- A plumber's invoice with an incident report describing how the issue arose and why the guest is liable
- Details about your home insurance; have you made a claim and, if so, what has been the outcome?
- Whether you provided instructions to your guests during check-in regarding your plumbing
I was given 7 days to comply with all the demands on the list. Although it was difficult, and the damage had nothing to do with plumbing, I was able to comply with everything on the list within the time period requested. I tried asking for an extra day to get more than one quote (contractors are hard to convince to come out for a free quote), but "Mercy" would show no mercy and insisted that I comply with the 7 day deadline.
It's been nearly 6 days as of this writing, and I have not heard a single word from "Mercy" or anyone else at Airbnb, despite requests for any kind of response or acknowledment that the items requested had been received. Nothing, not even a "we're working on it" reply.
Has something happened at Airbnb HQ that we should be worried about?