Hosts Beware: The Empty Promise of a Host Guarantee

[Aleksandra13]

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.

[Lisa342]

I was told that there is never any compensation offered on bedding and towels.  The host is expected to absorb replacing them as a normal cost of doing business.  Also if you find guests have accidently melted a plastic cutting board in your oven, unless the guest agrees to compensate OR you have a specific price for excess cleaning of the oven in the house rules, you cannot claim for that either.  Each excess cleaning fee is supposed to be itemized with a specific price noted beside it or you cannot claim for it as the guest has to have fair warning of these possible fees.  That is what I was told last year by the Resolution Centre.  This could go into an infinity of whatifs that you will not be covered for.

While being compensated 10 cents on the dollar is not great, the bigger problem is that guests are getting away with damages and not being held accountable.  Airbnb is letting the hosts be seen as an easy target for unscrupulous guests or even regular guests who just feel like having the host pick up the tab because they can.  This is the bigger issue here.  Do you think for one minute that if the host had an actual credit card number or a real security deposit or any real power to make a claim that guests would carry on like this?  If there is no support with recuperating from the security deposit then things will likely get worse before they get any better...

[David126]

@Lisa342

I agree, there are many many holes in the system that somebody unscrupulous could exploit.

My assumption is that as time passes and AirBnB expands these will become more and more obvious, will be interesting to see how AirBnB respond.

I see the issue as twofold, many peoiple listing properties not seemingly realising the business they are in and the methodology of the platform. The Community aspect may be fine for some, but there are many situations where it simply does not apply.

[Ange2]

@Aleksandra13    I came across this post on the same subject. 

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Hosts/FORGET-FILING-A-DAMAGE-CLAIM-YOU-WILL-NOT-BE-COMPENSATED/td-p/...

A host named Laz apparently had stellar results by being extremely persistent,  sending daily emails to his area host leader for Airbnb trust and safety (I had no idea there was such a thing as an Area Host Leader!), and to  the founders, Brian and Joe.

[Huma0]

Just wondering if this lack of compensation under the host guarantee has always been the case. Although I only started hosting in my house recently, a few years ago (2012), I briefly put my apartment where I was no longer living and in the process of selling, on Airbnb. I put on the maximum security deposit, which wasn't much considering the value of the furnishings, let alone any other damage that could have occured.

Interestingly, I got a call from an Airbnb rep very soon after I listed, asking me why I set my deposit so high. I explained. He then told me I don't have to worry about a thing because Airbnb will cover me to the tune of £100,000 should anything happen, and that I should remove the deposit altogher as it would put off guests. I didn't (I might have reduced it, but I honestly don't remember now).

Luckily, apart from some soiled bed linens, nothing was damaged, so I never had to try to claim anything from the deposit and didn't have a reason to test the rep's honesty. However, I was wondering if anyone else had a similar experience lately, i.e. an Airbnb rep telling them they were completely covered for all damages?

[David126]

Initially you said the SD was the same as the Guarantee, which may be the case.

Then you mnetion completely covered, I doubt anybody would say that ot would last long at ABB if they did.

[Huma0]

@David126, sorry not sure what you mean. What I meant to say was that I put on a security deposit, but Airbnb told me to remove it because everything was totally covered by the Host Guarantee and therefore I didn't need the deposit.

So, when I started hosting again recently, I assumed that was still the case, until I started reading these forums and realised that many hosts have real problems claiming for damages - whether via the deposit or host guarantee - even when the guest totally trashes the place!

[David126]

Suggesting you are totally covered is horribly misleading.

[Rosemary19]

Hi @Aleksandra13, 

That sounds like a terrible situation for you! I was also in a position where I had assumed I would be eligible for the Host Guarantee, but when I started to look into it I was surprised to learn that there were a number of hurdles to jump before I could make my claim. I experienced my first situation where a guest caused damage (broke the lock on the front door) which I had assumed was exactly the sort of thing the Host Guarantee would cover. It turned out that in fact, in the first instance I need to request the money from the guest. If the guest declines to pay for any reason, then I would need to esculate the dispute via the Resolution Centre. The Host Guarantee will only apply if the Resolution Centre finds in my favour, and the guest still declines to make payment. I was surprised that I needed to go through such a confrontational process - ie: it feels like me against my guest. In my case the guest did not cause the damage deliberately; he had panicked about missing his flight and called a locksmith who snapped off a lockpick in the lock. As far as I can tell, Air BnB needs to deem the guest to be the guilty party, in order for me to receive a payout via the Host Guarantee. I was also quite disappointed with how vaguely this information is communicated on the AirBnB website; I had wrongly assumed I could log my request online in the first instance, but in fact the links just go around in circles, and the process (1. Request money from guest, 2. lodge dispute in Resolution Centre) is not clearly articulated anywhere. This might have been glaringly obvious to everyone else on here, but I thought I'd share it anyway, as it was news to me. 

[Cherie17]

I followed Airbnb process requesting money from guest, waited 72 hrs then went to the Airbnb host guarantee process which was a complete joke.  I had original receipts, pictures, quotes all to no avail.  My countertops where only 3 yrs old. Totally disgusted that Airbnb leaves me thousands of dollars out on guest damage to my property .

[Cherie17]

I also had similar horrible experience with Airbnb in host burned my countertop and a few other items.  30 emails with Airbnb and $125.00 is all I received and it's costing me thousands.  Extremely dissatisfied 

[Robin4]

@Cherie17.....And I bet the Resolution Centre called it 'wear and tear'!!!!

This is the third identical situation I have seen on this forum with regard to a kitchen benchtop and the result has been the same in each instance.

Unless police are required to attend or there is violence involved I am afraid you are wasting your time trying to get any form of compensation for what can be thousands of dollars in damage.

Cherie, I host in other areas apart from ABB and although I have not had any damage that Airbnb guests have been responsible for (other than a couple of four legged tractors who rampaged through my garden a few months ago) I do host for the International Education Service and a student put a frypan straight off the hotplate down on the countertop in the hosting cottage and disappeared into the bathroom. The subsequent scorching was enough to set the smoke alarm off!!

Being handy I re-laminated it cheaply, but now Cherie, I put benchtop protectors on the laminated surface and it has prevented anything like that happening again. It is readily available here in Australia so, I am sure it would be available in the US. It comes in a roll, is 600mm wide and is made of some sort of thin but tough resin! It is flexible, but when laid out on a benchtop gives a highly durable surface which stands knife cuts well and does give some protection from what you have experienced by all but the completely stupid! Most people will realise they have made a mistake and quickly remove the hot object before the heat works it's way through to the benchtop.

The other solution once damage has been done is to take the opportunity to replace the benchtop with granite or composite stone....and there is nothing you can do that will damage that!

Cheers....Rob

[Huma0]

Hi @Robin4, I've never heard of this stuff you're talking about. I will have a look into it, but can I ask, does it look nice or does it spoil the appearance of the worktops a bit?

RE granite, I don't have it now, but used to have it in my last place. Beautiful as it was (and maybe more heat resistant than my current work tops) I did find that it stained easily as granite is quite porous. Just something to bear in mind when you have guests that are a bit sloppy with the red wine!

[David126]

Somebody a few weeks back had a chipped granite top and was refused. Seem to remember a stained top was turned down last year.

[Robin4]

@David126 @Huma0 @Cherie....Yes I remember that post David, she was trying to claim for a chipped bench top and ABB refused the claim because she could not conclusively prove which guest damaged it.

When we bought this old house, it was derelict, hadn't been lived in for 12 years! The termites had eaten the roof structure to the point where the roof had fallen in. But It was constructed of these nice thick stone walls and I felt it was worth having a crack at and renovating......

This shot is of the current kitchen which is where the laundry and toilet used to be in the original design. As I had to put a new roof on the place I took the opportunity to totally change the layout inside the place and removed or moved just about every wall.

In the kitchen I opted for black granite benchtops and it is the best thing I ever did..You can't mark them and all though I did put a small chip in one spot by a cast Aluminium pressure cooker falling out of an overhead cupboard, I just filled it with a bit of fibreglass resin and nobody would ever see it unless you specifically pointed it out to them.

@Huma0 nothing stains this surface in any way and if there is a small downside, plates and glasses do chip easier on such a hard surface.

As far as the bench protector is concerned, it has a slightly textured finish and when put on a light coloured benchtop shows virtually no wear. The protector in this shot has taken amost two years of cutting and chopping without the use of any further protection. Why would you use a cutting board, when this gets too damaged just cut some more off the roll, and you are back to square one again! In these shots I am putting the protector from the cottage bench onto our black granite in the house because the black background shows the wear and tear to the protector much more than the pine bench in the cottage does.

The first shot is the granite top without the protector...

And the second shot is with the bench protector in place.......

As I said, the damage looks much worse here because of the black background, but this is the result of two years of use and the cost of this protector is $65au for a 4 metre by 60 cm roll. It sits flat and I can't recommend it highly enough.

$50us is a small price to pay to have your benches stay in pristine condition for two plus years.

Cheers.....Rob

[Huma0]

@Robin4 thanks for the info. You have certainly done a lovely job in your kitchen!

Re the protector, it sounds very useful but I have to admit, your worktop looks much nicer without it. I am afraid I am one of those people who tends to choose style over practicality!

My house was also a major renovation project. By the time I had paid for my handpainted kitchen, oak parquet floor, fancy fridge and range cooker, I was out of budget for granite or other stone worktops. I really wanted one and looked at every option, but just could not afford it.

In the end, I found a laminate worktop which was really inexpensive. I never thought I'd go for laminate in my dream kitchen, but it looks like crackle glass and people constantly complement me on it (not sure how well you can see it in the photos). It has now been 7.5 years and it still looks almost pristine. Someone made one very tiny chip right in the beginning but I haven't had any more chips or scratches. I'd say this is a really good option if you can't afford stone. However, I was told it was not heat resistant. So far, no one has heat damaged it, but I guess it's just a matter of time before a careless guest puts a hot pan on it. I had a guest almost blow up the microwave the other day by putting metal foil in it!

When I bought my former apartment, the kitchen was brand new, so I didn't change it all at, but the only thing I liked in the design was the lovely granite worktops. However, unlike yours, they did stain easily but they were light grey, so I guess a darker granite is a better option...