Host Guarentee Nightmare

Fritz20
Level 2
Waterloo, Canada

Host Guarentee Nightmare

Back in September, I hosted a challenging guest who managed to leave a pile of towels covered with feces, broke a window and stole a remote control. 

 

I submitted my claims the same day the damages were discovered.  The Host Guarentee Team denied my claim on the soiled towels because they insisted I needed to take individual pictures of each towels soiled with feces in order to get a refund.  I think that basic common sense and health and safety consideration would prevail, but that was not the case, a Team Guarentee agent and a supervisor both agreed that the proper course of action is for a host to, during a pandemic, handle feces covered towels in order to submit a claim. 

 

My question is as follows:

 

What are the AirBnB escalation process to address such issues? Who can I escalate this to in order to get a fair hearing. 

 

I have to say that such non-sensical request from the Host Guarentee Team does little to instill confidence that I am protected from damage as a host.  This is not even about the $ amount, it is about the principle and the fairness or lack of thereof in dealing with legitimate claims from a host.  Who know what would happen to the other claims related to the window and the remote....       

11 Replies 11
Clara116
Level 10
Pensacola, FL

@Fritz20  so sorry this guest was a real pig! Thank you for writing a fair and honest review.... unfortunately the reviews are no longer in correct order so I had to search but was glad I did. Good for you! Honest for other hosts so we don't get this guest. 

@ Catherine-Powell hopefully will be able to review this because it makes no sense that you were not treated fairly with claims regarding towels with body waste and asking u to handle and take seperater pics. WOW. Hope our community center leaders will pass this on PLEASE! @Lizzie 

All the best and hoping for much better quality guests in the days ahead. Warm greetings, Clara

Thank you Clara for your kind words.  I was starting to doubt my sanity.  

@Fritz20   I'd never recommend including towels or linens in a damage claim, as they're the items most subject to the "normal wear and tear" clause due to the need to frequently sanitize them between guests. While I wouldn't call it "normal" for guests to leave them soiled with feces, and I can't blame you for not wanting to handle it, you have to ask yourself if that pile of poopy towels is the hill you want to die on.

 

The "stolen remote" usually gets found in some forgotten crevice of the sofa; it would be an odd thing for a guest to decide to take home. I suspect your claim would have been more successful if it focused entirely on the broken window, as the other elements weakened the overall case.

 

Still, you are right to abandon your confidence in the Host Guarantee; in practice, Airbnb does far less to "protect" hosts than the marketing might lead one to believe. 

@Anonymous,  Thank you for your comment, I would have dropped this issue if it wasn't for the poor way that the claim was handled, delayed responses...lack of empathy, lack of understanding.  I requested a call to explain my position and only got the opportunity two months later. I feel that part of our role at AirBnB as host is to keep all parties honest in dealing with issues and we can only do this by sharing our experiences.  I have been a SuperHost for many years and now because of a single review from an out of control guest, I no longer am... "Evil wins when decent folks stay silent".... I will not stay silent anymore.      

Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

@Anonymous 

 

Yes, there's a big difference between "messy and disorderly" and "damage". 

 

In any claim, you must only refer to irrefutable demonstrable damages. Broken windows, damage to walls, floors, etc.

 

If the guest was messy or left the house in a disorderly condition, there's little you can do about it. Towels and sheets irreparably stained? Ripped? Technically, yes, it's "damage", but any insurance provider will claim that to be normal " wear and tear".

 

This is the stuff that all hosts need to live with. 

Robert5505
Level 2
London, Canada

Anyone who has a similar story please email me **. I have a media outlet that is going to pick this up. 

 

**[Personal information hidden]

**[Personal information hidden]

Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

@Robert5505 

 

This isn't new or unusual. Just read through this forum and you'll find more than enough to fill any essay on the topic. 

 

Bear in mind that normally, the topics that receive media attention are when hosts deceive guests. But the vast majority of confrontations are when guests cause problems for hosts. Yet, there's precious little publicity about this. 

 

Hosts are required to meet a much higher standard than guests. And hosts bear a vastly larger burden from poor guest behaviours. This needs to be publicised. 

 

Good luck. 

Robert ** wrote:

Thanks Elaine, but the issues that I am referring to have less to do with guest behaviour and more to do with Airbnb fraudulently advertising a “host guarantee” and/or an insurance policy for damages. There seems to be a recent reoccurrence of Airbnb purposely causing delays to deliberately surpass their “30 day window of opportunity” this causing the host to forfeit their insurance or “guarantee” altogether.

 

These tactics are unlawful but more importantly an abuse of power. Airbnb has decidedly attempted to market an image of trust that simply doesn’t appear to be there. There is no recourse for the host or ombudsman to appeal to.

Airbnb’s policy to continually reply with the same canned response is unfair to both the host and their frontline customer service representatives who’s only option is to refer to an Airbnb “Ambassador” who can only be reached by email…

 

**[Personal information hidden]

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

I hope you continue to press the issue.

 

I understand that it is very difficult to collect damages from a guest and it always has been that way. I have never been able to get anything even when the damages were purely intentional and malicious.

 

I also suggest that any guest who defecates on the linens and makes no attempt to clean up should be banned and their phony reviews stricken from the record.

 

I am becoming very nervous about what happens if a guest injures himself or someone else and tries to blame me for it. 

I agree Robert.  That is exactly what my experience has been and the repair (damages to windows, and replacement of linens, extra cleaning and everything else) has resulted in my closing two of my Airbnb properties, the risks outweighs the benefits especially with newer guests. 

 

I also believe that the Airbnb is negligent in adequately addressing new guest education.  It is essential that guests, especially new ones, be adequately educated especially around hygiene, and damages to host property. 

 

I would note that in this particular incident, Airbnb has refused to pay for anything except for the replacement of a remote control. No acknowledgement of my two years as a super host, no way to appeal, no independent review in the event of a disagreement.

 

Hosts just need be aware that in the event of a damage to your place, there is absolutely no host guarantee except for the goodwill of the particular agent handling your case.