HOSTS, SUPER HOSTS, BEWARE!! AIRBNB WILL NOT HAVE YOUR BACK IF A GUEST DESTROYS YOUR HOME!!!!

Samuel145
Level 4
Fort Lauderdale, FL

HOSTS, SUPER HOSTS, BEWARE!! AIRBNB WILL NOT HAVE YOUR BACK IF A GUEST DESTROYS YOUR HOME!!!!

Hey guys, I am getting on here (the community forums) to warn all of my fellow hosts NOT to depend on AirBnB every paying you, or getting your guest to pay you, for ANY damage they cause, or losses you incur as a result of hosting someone. I recently had an absolute NIGHTMARE experince with a guest, which was the second worst experience I've had since I started hosting a year ago, but second only to the way in which AirBnB has handled the situation. I followed ALL of the procedures and rules, submitted the receipts and estimates for the damaged items and furnishings, and although AirBnB was in constant communication with me throughout the process, as soon as I submitted the documentation for payment, THEY'VE COMPLETELY DISAPPEARED ON ME!! I mean I can't even get them to answer an email about my situation! It's terrible. And I'm a SUPER HOST!!! I have literally never received a review that was less than 5 stars, in ANY category, EVER!! And continue to perform at that level for this ungrateful company, who btw was supposed to and has always assured me that my homes, the homes that i've invested tens of thousands of dollars in renovating and maintaining just to make AirBnB look so good, would be insured against exactly such an event. THINK AGAIN HOSTS!! AIRBNB DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU WHATSOEVER!! They've completely turned their backs on me. I've made countless attempts, after submitting the receipts and invoices, to contact them by phone at the number provided to super hosts, and they either tell me "someone will reach back out to you from the resolutions department within the next 24 hours", OR, "sorry, that's a differnt department that cannot be reached by phone so you need to send them an email". AGAIN!! And as I've mentioned, I've sent no less than 20 by now. ALL OF WHICH HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY IGNORED! Mind you i'm not talking about a few hundred dollars in damage here either. Not that I wouldn't want that paid for just the same. But the damage caused by this guest was so severe, the general contractors alone have quoted me anywhere from $6,000 to $10,000 to make the necessary repairs! Money I already spent to have all of this work done to the unit when I did the original renovations. It is also worth noting that I documented everything very carefully with pictures, detailed emails, messages to and from the guests (using the AirBnB messaging system, very important for you hosts to know, ALWAYS document your dialog with guests thru the app or website messenger) both during and after the guest's stay, but none of that seems to matter anymore. As soon as I submitted the required evidence of damage, and  more importantly the costs necessary to remedy the issue, AirBnB completely deserted me. It's absolutely abhorent that a company this large, who I've made so much money for in just the past year, not to mention surely helped grow their customer base given my stellar reviews (literally 100% 5 star reviews across the board for all of my listings, feel free to check), would outright ignore a host and essentially flip the bird to me when I've incurred thousands of dollars in losses as a result of one of THEIR guests they sent to stay in my home. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE ABOUT THIS! 

51 Replies 51

i really tried to follow your logic here but I'm lost please speak in layman terms

@Samuel145Your places are spectacular. How horrible to think they were damaged. You're right, hosts and accomomodations like these are the backbone of Airbnb. Hope I can stil find you when I"m can treat myself to a warm getaway!

Thank you Cathy. I do appreciate the flattering kind words about my properties, and the support. Sadly I think this experience, and what it looks like it will ultimately cost me, will be the final nail in this Super Host's Airbnb coffin. But apparently there are other options for advertising my homes and connecting with guests which I am currently exploring. So def look for me on there when you're ready! Cheers!

did you find other options for listing your home?

Really...If I contacted USAA they will work with Airbnb for my claim?  What ever happened to the $1,000,000 Airbnb policy they advertise everywhere for Hosts piece of mind...Your right they totally went MIA... I came back to my home and it looked like Motley Crue had partied at my house,,This was my first bad experience...I sent in tons of pictures over 120 beer bottles in the kitchen, 40 empty packs of cigarettes, plates with white powderdy substance and tightly rolled up $1 bills to snort drugs..They were so stupid they left a full little baggy.  They blew up the microwave--you are not supposed to cook chicken nuggests for 20 mimutes--it smelled like a meth lab!! I have called then at least 20 times no help!!!

Took me over 4 months just to get a response. Good luck. 

Olive7
Level 1
Manila, Philippines

Oh no! I was just considering listing my vacant house on airbnb, and this scares me. If you're in the US and can't claim for damages, what more for someone like me who's in another country?

In many ways it is simpler than in the U.S., because people are less 'armed' with a zillion individual rights (real and imagined), in which half of them are in conflict with each other. I had 7 businesses in the U.S. over a span of 42 years, the 8th (in Belize) is the less stressful of them all, by far.

Colleen47
Level 10
Frisco, CO

@Samuel145 we have been very well cared for by Airbnb. There has generally been easy communication via the support call line or new messaging tool. I'm curious to know what damage a guest would do to your home worthy of $10000 in repairs. Maybe they knocked down a wall? Ripped out plumbing? Must be bad. Often we hage damage done to our home, but we designed it to age well, be easy to repair, and take some abuse. Good luck with your reimbursement. 

I was just wondering about that too, CURIOUS!!!

Wow that’s an amazing talent Coleen! You’re actually able to design your home to “age well”?? How long have you been working for AirBnB? Lol. Please. What joke. I have proof of ALL of my claims. Including but not limited to the damages caused, AND especially the communication, or lack thereof, from and by the AirBnb support staff. Perhaps you have a phone number I don’t to reach the resolutions team? Because I’ve been told they can’t be contacted by phone. And they certainly haven’t responded to any one of my 6 or 7 emails to them. AFTER they were responding, until of course I sent them the receipts and invoice from the contractor. As far as the damage caused, it ranged from cracked kitchen tiles, cracked quartz kitchen countertops, cracked bedroom television, hole in the wall, scratched original  irreplaceable wooden floors,  burn holes in the sheets duvet cover and down comforter, and the list goes on and on and on. So though I’m glad you had a positive experience when you experienced damages and losses to your property, you might want to check around here. There’s about 99% more folks discussing a LACK of communication and a FAILURE to receive reimbursement by AirBnB then there are people claiming they have. 

Colleen, you must have been very lucky. When I called the support line that told me they DO NOT HANDLE the DAMAGE REIMBURSEMENT.

They told me the department that manages damage reimbursement IS NOT REACHABLE via phone and only reachable via email. But NOBODY RESPONDS to my emails once I provided all the supporting documents!

I have been trying to reach Airbnb Damage Reimbursement team for over a month! Nobody responds to my emails!

I am frustrated!

Coleen is obviously a shill for Airbnb guys. Ignore her meaningless posts please. It’s clear her story is total BS. 

@Samuel145 - was just checking out your listings - gorgeous.  So did you complete a review for this guest?  He may not have completed one for you since I don't see one and the 14 days may not have expired yet.  If not, make sure you read about all the ways to write a review so that it will STAY on his profile and not be pulled down if Airbnb doesn't ban him outright.  It would be great to see a profile of a crappy guest looked like before you accepted his reservation so that we might be able to avoid him too.  Remember to read the content policy and some threads here for advice.  

Hey guys, yes I did complete a review for this guest. Obviously not a very good one. And it woils have stayed on his profile. However when I followed up with AirBnB they actually said the guest completely deleted his profile after this event, I suspect so that he could create another one under a false or different name. Nobody would ever rent to him again after the review I left. He too tried leaving a one star review for me, but that was only after threatening me in text messages to leave such a review if I didn’t stop pursuing him for his deposit. And as you know that  is a clear violation of the Airbnb review policy. So the one thing AirBnB did do correctly was removed his review from my listings.