Is there a better way to report all of my damage and get reimbursed?

[Justin215]

A group of ten Catholic high school teachers stayed in my house for the weekend to see a football game. They were family of one of my friends, and I knew they weren't wealthy, so I gave them a discount of two hundred dollars! They repaid me by bringing me a bottle of Canadian whiskey and totally trashing my house. I'm trying to go through the request money process, but I don't know how to give the replacement or repair value of many of these things, and who has time to do all of this?! I didn't see an option for a cleaning service reimbursement either.

Items damaged, broken or missing:

Kitchen cabinet door

Bathroom closet door

Garbage disposal

Bathroom sink drain plug

Ceramic pan

Teflon pan

Dish towel

Leather recliner

Bathroom wainscoting

Cleanliness:

Trash on the floor, nightstands, and sinks in nearly every room

Food on the kitchen floor

Various stains on kitchen table, dining room table, kitchen sink, coffee tables

Dirty clothing left behind including dirty underwear, socks, an old pair of shoes, a jersey, a windbreaker, a towel

Dozens of pebbles left in my clothes dryer, which was apparently used without permission to dry all their shoes

Various other jerk moves:

Lights were left on

TV was left on

Several windows were left open in the 30 degree weather with my heater set to 75 degrees

I found my fine crystal, used for God knows what, in the upstairs bathroom

Seemingly every cabinet in my house was rummaged through, from the bathroom closet (which they broke), the cupboards in my den which were left ajar, my kitchen cupboards from which they removed random things like my 10 pound bag of whey protein…

Various other kitchen items were left around the house and in the garage

My garage door mechanism was unhooked so that I had to park on the street, and try to figure out why my garage door wasn’t opening in the middle of the night. I couldn’t sort it out until the next day.

Since they broke things like my kitchen cabinet, and then tried to conceal it by propping it in place, and my dish cloth was simply thrown away in the garbage, I have no idea what else might be missing which I have not been told. I have been finding more damaged, broken, or missing items since I returned a few days ago.

What should I do? How do I give an estimate for something like one broken kitchen cabinet? Some of this stuff I might be able to fix myself, but do I then bill for my own time? I've never had this happen before and I'm totally overwhelmed.

[Fred13]

"..but I don't know how to give the replacement or repair value of many of these things, and who has time to do all of this?"

Unfortunately, neither does Airbnb.

[Justin215]

Can you elaborate?

[Fred13]

Meaning Airbnb will need some parameters. Follow @Branka-and-Silvia0's fine plan they posted below.

[Justin215]

The fine plan they gave is the standard AirBnB claim. That I not helpful. I cannot submit receipts of things I don't have receipts for, and estimates of things I can only pull out of thin air... Where do I find a replacement 10 year old recliner that I can bill, or a single kitchen cabinet matched to my 1990s cabinetry for an estimate? This is what I need help with.

[Kelly149]

@Justin215 All hosts should have a handyman on retainer specifically for creating invoices in order to quickly create the necessary paper trail for claims. Amazon is useful for creating verification of replacement cost for household items. Obviously it is all a guess since you’re putting it together quickly which means you’re submitting before the work is all done. Most people deal with this by estimating at least a little high in order to deal with the unexpected and with the depreciated value that abb will likely approve. 

And yes, by all means review this groups in such a way that their next host is aware of what they’re signing up for. 

[David126]

Discount, ouch.

Not sure how much that all ads up to, well the damage items anyway, jerk and cleaning I am putting to one side.

Maybe equivalent to the discount.

One of the reasons I would not put a seperate listing on AirBnB, I would want a security deposit.

Have you spoken to them, how likey are they willing to pay?

[Justin215]

I'm choosing to attribute this all to gross imcompetance rather than maliciousness. I'm hopefuly they're going to cooperate. On the one hand they left me around $60 cash on my table for the recliner they broke with a note, but on the other they attempted to conceil that they broke my kitchen cabinet and did all the other things above.

Should I try to message these people first? I worry if I initiate the reimbursement process they'll leave a bad review.

Any tips about how I can give a value for things like a single broken kitchen cabinet, and a 10 year old recliner would be much appreciated...

[Fred13]

Can not hurt to try to contact them first, as long as it is done tackfully, they are teachers that helps. Considering they are a string of smaller things, that may be the best approach. I would start out: "Say, after your get together I could see I will have a string of repairs,  I wonder if you all would be so kind to collectively contribute paying for them. Glad you had a great time...etc etc.".

Perhaps the first lesson here is: beware of 'parties', whether in actuality of just by sheer allowed high numbers which tend to facilitate them.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Justin215

I am sorry to hear this, it is a nightmare for every host 😞

If you want to be reimbursed you have to contact your guest before your next guest arrives or in a certain time frame (browse Airbnb how much time you have)  and ask them to pay for the damage . I hope you have security deposit included at your listings.

Before you do that you should figure out how much cost the damage they done, at least some estimate.

If they don't answer or don't want to pay you should involve Airbnb after 72 hours and ask them to mediate.

In your claim You should include:

1. Recepies/bills for every item purchased and damaged and the cost of the new one for replacement
2. Make time stamped photos of every item, the best is if you can make a video too.
3. Get estimates for all repairs and cleaning. It has to be from legit company
4. When yo open a claim at Airbnb I think you will not be able to open another claim so be sure you include all damage at once.
5. Check your messages and emails regulary and contact Airbnb regulary while your claim is resolved.
6. Good luck 

[David126]

I agree with @Fred13, what other option do you have?

[Francesca62]

Justin,

You have my sympathies. I agree with all the hosts who posted- sometimes we learn dearly through experience.  I had a similar situation years ago, and I now am super careful who I accept, probably err on the side of caution, and will never, ever, accept large groups. I hope I can add two things: regarding your fear of negative review retaliation - don't let that deter you. IF they leave a poor review, you can respond publically by saying that you were very disappointed in this experience due to the immense damage that was created, and felt their review was retaliatory. You can stress this to all your future guests, and they can look to your other (if you have them) positive reviews. Second, consider getting cameras for the outdoor spaces. Then you will have a record of it. I wish you the best, and please keep us tuned. 

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@Justin215 First, get an Ecobee thermostat so you can’t remotely control the AC and the heat. I control all of that remotely and I have saved about $300 a month in electric bills with it. I also put a password on the thermostat so the guest can’t adjust anything, I just set the temperature range and leave it alone. I had a guest ask me to turn the AC to 65 degrees and I just said ‘the system won’t go below 73’. It won’t go below 73 because I set it that way. 

Second, you are going to have to eat the lazy boy recliner. The $60 you got for the chair is way more than you would get from Airbnb. I’d take that $60 and Craig’s list the heck out of a new recliner and a couch. 

3. Your business is not a charity or homeless shelter. Maybe they don’t have a lot of money, relatively speaking but if you hav3 money for a road trip, football tickets, alcohol and ribeye steaks, does that mean @Branka-and-Silvia0 the host has to fill in the gaps where you come up short as a guest? My point is, if you have money to go see The Fighting Irish, you have money to pay my rates. So what makes you feel worse now? That they trashed your house or they beat you for a discount? 

I have gone after damage payments just three times and all three I got what I was asking for in the claim. You absolutely will have to provide records of purchase or repair and most likely they will ask for them twice. The trivial items like lost dish towel and stains from a vomit comet streaking across the bathroom are part of doing business. 

Hold guest accountable, pressing the ‘friend’ who recommended the group is good, contact the headmaster at their school and advise them and social media shame them in IG and Facebook post with their school hashtag, that way, everyone knows Mr Finkleton vomits when he drinks(light weight). Of course I’d ask for $150 first through resolution and just pay to have it cleaned. 

Lastly, what planet do you come from where you don’t think a guest is going through every single cabinet, box, cubbard or Tupperware container? If you have valuables or fragile items, lock them in the basement. This ‘Well gosh Andy, I never thought they’d trash our home in Mayberry’. You don’t know these people from ‘Adam’ and the person that actually does know them is silent on the damage after you hooked up his buddies with a discount? WOW! Well at least ND is playing Michigan in 2018 and 2019 so you’ll have a great next fall rental season. Good Luck!

’You know it’s hard out here for a Host’

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Rene-and-Zac0 

I don't understand why you mentioned my name in this context ... I only explained the procedure for a damage claim 🙂

[Rene-and-Zac0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 I should explain it better. Why should you, as a host have to subsidize a guest trip? Just as a for instance. Not really pointed to you as a host, just an example of you as a hard working host that shouldn’t be expected to discount a guest trip. If a guest has the money to travel, they have money to pay for the room. If they can’t pay? Don’t travel? Very simple. I was including you in the exchange posted here because I enjoy reading your responses, not trying to insult you at all.