Hosts Beware: The Empty Promise of a Host Guarantee

Aleksandra13
Level 2
Chicago, IL

Hosts Beware: The Empty Promise of a Host Guarantee

A guest contacted me for accommodations for her grandparents, and instead, used my place as a party venue. The place was trashed, I spend hundreds on emergency cleaning, had to throw away all my linens which were covered in vomit and food, reaked of cigarettes and marijuana, and my sofa and bed linens are burned. On top of it, THE GUEST ADMITTED TO IT! Airbnb determined the damage was "normal wear and tear" and not covered under the host guarantee, therefore it would be "unfair to charge the guest."

 

My question to Airbnb and the hosting community in general: ON WHAT PLANET ARE BURN HOLES AND VOMIT STAINS CHARACTERIZED AS NORMAL WEAR AND TEAR? On what planet is this fair? 

 

Hosts beware of the empty illusion of a Host Guarantee. There's no such thing as a Host Guarantee. They won't even cover intentional destruction of property. Time to start using another third party rental site for my listing.

79 Replies 79

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience.  Other hosts have complained when things did not go their way when claiming against the Host Guarantee.  Did you follow all of the procedures required to claim for damages under their policy?  You may have invalidated this simply by allowing a third party booking in the first place.  

 

https://www.airbnb.com/guarantee

https://www.airbnb.com/terms/host_guarantee

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

That's such a horrible experience. If you reported it within 48 hours, had photos and bills and the guests admitted it. I can't understand why BNB wouldn't honour their guarantee.

 

Have you tried to take it up with them via social media.

 

You might also want to approach your local daily paper. A phone call to them from the media, can do wonders 🙂

 

Best of luck

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Aleksandra13  You have a beautiful entire apartment and obviously you are popular.  Lots of activity through Air BNB but it is disheartening that your place was trashed.  Was the booking guest at the party? If the booking guest is local, I would recommend you sue in small claims court, especially if you have correspondence in which they admitted the damage.  Also, do you have your Air BNB business covered under your own home owner's policy?  Your point about the Host Protection is a good one, however.  

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

Did you make a claim under the security deposit?

David
Penny38
Level 2
Las Vegas, NV

It's amazing that Airbnb has even responded to the problem. My apartment keys were given away to two crackheads that were smoking meth in my apartment. The place was trashed,disgusting and torn apart and Airbnb still hasn't emailed or called. 

@Aleksandra13   I have seen a few posts where the host has been denied payment, Airbnb considered it "normal wear and tear"  such as brand new chairs being broken beyond repair etc.  I looked at their article and nowhere does it define "normal wear and tear" , I would have thought it were not so relative a term that absolutely anything goes.

@Ange2

 

The word is the normal phrase in insurance policies and the Host Guarantee follows the wording of an insurance contract.

 

The do not call it Insurance and I could guess why.

 

My supposition is that they brought this in faor a variety of reasons and presumably made some assumptions as to how much it would cost. Quite how you could calculate the cost I have no idea, most likely those costs have been far exceeded.

 

The usual way to avoid expensive to handle and annoying small issues is to have a deductible/excess. Or even a franchise.

 

 

David
Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Aleksandra13 We are seeing things like this happen on a daily basis and I am afraid Aleksandra the response you got from Airbnb appears to be now a typical one! From what you have said it seems just about every house rule was broken!

I cannot believe that in every report of events like this the host did not follow correct proceedure. There is a pattern of deliberate avoidance on the part of Airbnb and, as a host, this is extremely worrying.

All I can suggest Aleksandra is that you set a relatively high security deposit and to increase your letting amount minimally and put a portion of each payment aside into a fund that will cover more major damage from the occasional event like like this.

 

Additionally, don't ever let to locals! People who want to party are not going to travel large distances to do it.

 

Although it may not be in your best interests if you want to continue hosting but, a full documented report of this event and the outcome you received from Airbnb  would be of interest to your Mayor, Rahm Emanuel. He is very anti short term rental, in particular Airbnb, hence the introduction of an 'Airbnb tax' in your area. It may be that pressure from a source like that may go some way towards making Airbnb clean up their act.

So sorry for you Aleksandra, I would love to be seen as something that Airbnb isn't, and offer some positive help but you are experienced and I am sure will bounce back from this.

Cheers....Rob

 

I agree with Rob.  Local people are renting another person's house for a particular reason.  I have no sound solutions, and I have had a nightmare experience that Airbnb initially DID express their support of.  In the end, because we were brand new to Airbnb, we decided not to pursue it, just in case somehow others could find out we had filed a claim against our 2nd Guest as Hosts.  If Airbnb is going to grow and grow, and not protect the Hosts, then where are we?

@Lois-and-Darryl0

I am annoyed that Airbnb choose to heavily promote a form of protection that in reality does not exist!

I am annoyed because countless thousands of hosts around the world do not adequately protect themselves, because they are led to believe by Airbnb that they don't have to!

What is even worse is that Airbnb users in a multi dwelling development not only void their own insurance, they void the insurance for the entire development by short term renting! They alter the scope of the insurance risk!

 

As to those nightmare experiences here are a few things that you need to be aware of before accepting a booking.

"My parents and I want to have a nice night to celebrtate my graduation!" A jukebox and 50 teenage tearaways later this listing has holes in the walls, vomit everywhere, a scorch mark in the kitchen benchtop, and a few windows broken!

Hey we have heard it before but I have to mention it again.....this 'lovely young thing' who made the booking wouldn't by any chance have been a local would she???

There are two golden rules which catch so many up here! You never, but never take bookings from locals. People who want to party do not stray far from home to do it......and when the boss wants a 'bit on the side' he is not going to travel across state borders to get it. I have seen enough posts here on this forum to suggest that local bookings represent an un-acceptable risk. All the instances of major damage and major theft have come from letting to local 'guests'!!

The other rule which can catch a host out...." I took a late booking from what seemed like a nice woman needed just one night, she informed me her partner would come and collect keys mid afternoon"!

Was this a short notice 'Instant book' ?? People who just pop up out of the woodwork with no specific schedule or plans in mind and book 'for the next night just on a whim' will with 100% certainty cause you some major issue....and this mostly comes about through Instant Book.

It is better to turn off instant book, refresh your page once a week to keep it up the order and suffer a slight drop in bookings than have to pick up the pieces when thousands of dollars worth of damage has been done to your lovely listing.

That lovely young girl....that dapper looking boss..... do not give a **bleep** about what they leave behind...and neither will Airbnb! It's all about them, not about you!!!

The third enormous red flag is that enquirer who wants to haggle over some aspect of your listing! They may want a better price, they may want to see it before booking,...they may want a guaranteed parking space....they may want a room on the east side of the house so they don't get the afternoon.....boing!!! The instant someone want to book with conditions decline their enquiry. They are not like a fine wine....they do not get better with time. They will become more and more demanding until you will give them their money back just to get them out of your life.

And lastly, document well every aspect of your listing preparation prior to the guest arriving. I have a comprehensive checklist which I tick, date and photograph which, in part, is to make sure I don't forget to do something, but also to let the guest know, this will not be the listing to try out for a freeble with some concocted complaint. We are seeing more and more of this lately! The guest will say, the Wifi was broken, the aircon didn't work, there was a mess in the kitchen sink, they slipped over on a banana skin left by the bed! And to Airbnb's damnation, they go along with these concocted complaints and refund the guests money.....so you know what is going to happen the next time that 'guest' wants to travel don't you?.......Document everything!!!

After a while you spot these signs very quickly and although it does you no favours by repeatedly declining, it's far better to loose a booking or two than have to go through the heartbreak of putting your lovely property back together again, or having to refund some 'turkeys' money that you never wanted to host in the first place!

Lois and Darryl, love yr work...keep it going!!

Cheers.....Rob

@Lois-and-Darryl0@Robin4 

All good advice, but the flipside is:

my first abnb booking was alocal for her father for a month of recuperation from surgery. They broke one glass which they informed me of.

 

In December, I got two last minute bookings. Both middle aged customers, one

of whom was a wealth management  head for a major bank (I googled him later). And both were more than fine.

 

I think some people like to fly by the seat of their pants....actually, I do....and traveling cross country are not sure how far they will get on a given day.  

 

If you are not resident close to your property, you need to take precautions.  There are very cheap cameras which can bet mounted to the exterios of the house to monitor who enters both in real time and saved in the cloud.    Once you have name, Google the person.  Request names of all guests and screen shots of their ID before they arrive...Google them.

Always greet guests so you know who is there to begin with.

Clearly, Abnb is opening a can of worms with their growth and poor client services, but their are things you can do prophlactically.  If that is a word

Linda295
Level 2
North Carolina, United States

In my case - almost $300.00 worth of damages and missing items from a recent guest. AirBnB agreed and stated """I'm pleased to inform you that after reviewing the information you submitted regarding this incident, we've determined that your request is reasonable and that you should be issued a payout for your losses.""""".  I provided photos of the damaged items and labels showing manufacturer of items, photos of other items that were exact duplicates of items that were missing, and screenshots of the same items retail costs to replace.....

 

They offered $30.00.....  

 

Stated that their decision was final, and I had 48 hours to accept or my case would go into a trash bin.  

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Outrageous. It seems their guarantee isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Linda295
Level 2
North Carolina, United States

It apparently is NOT worth the paper its printed on.

 

Well, I take that back.  It's worth it to AirBnB - it allows them to escape from any claims or losses as a result of the behavior of guests.  

 

Hosts, especially 'occassional hosts' (not professional full-time commercial endeavours), need to be aware that although they can and do make money hosting, that amount, sooner or later, is going to be negated by costs related to damages and theft.

 

 

I put a video surveillance system in my own bedroom to use when I'm away, and the very next guest that I hosted was recorded entering my room several times, even going into my closet and bathroom.  

 

We have to ask ourselves (especially us 'occassional hosts') - is it worth it?