Need help on damaged property

Kimberly670
Level 2
Tres Rios, Costa Rica

Need help on damaged property

Hi there, I'm a new host to Airbnb , my house was built in February and I started hosting in July, so far I've had over 10 guests, I have  5 star rating and 10 very positive reviews. Friday I had a family check in (allowed them to do early check in), they were staying 3 nights.

Weather in the area has been bad and Friday night there were 2 occurrences:  (1) House breaker went off because of the thunderstorm (2) water started filtering via 1 of the windows due to the heavy weather. Spoke to the guest and because it was not an important amount of water and given the time at  night, we both agreed to have someone early next morning come and fixing the issue which was basically adding silicone to the frame of the window. I also, decided that I would reimburse the guest for that one night given the inconvenience which I did early the following morning.

On night #2, I had a call from the host indicating that 1 of the glass sliding doors to the shower shattered into pieces when opening the shower door, he immediately indicated that they were not responsible and that the door just shattered into pieces when it was opened. I immediately asked if anyone was hurt, which there wasn't, and sent the cleaning lady to pick up all pieces and take pictures, she then proceeded to close with key the restroom and left only 1 restroom open for usage. I also asked the guest that given the circumstance I would need to get the bathroom repaired, and gave him the option to either stay the remaining night or leave the following day to which we both agreed it would be best that he left. 

I am not sure how much the repair will cost but I assume it would be somewhere around the lines of $300-$500, and given that this is not an overnight fix, I had to cancel the next 2 upcoming reservations as the home would not be ready for my next guests on time.

The guest already indicated he is not the one to blame and will off course decline the payment request for which I will have to go thru the  Resolution Center; I've  read a few blogs online and most indicates that when it comes to the Resolution Center odds are generally against the host as I would need to prove that they indeed did the damage and most likely because of the situation with the filtering water and the breaker the host could even state that the home is not properly maintained (keep in mind this is a brand new property)

I guess my question is, are odds really against me? is it worth the while to submit the claim and go thru the process? I honestly dont know what to do here

6 Replies 6
Elaine701
Level 10
Balearic Islands, Spain

@Kimberly670 

 

If the guest disagrees, then it's unlikely you'll get anything.

 

But... We're talking about $300-$500? Plus the loss of income from next 2 guests? Normally, I'd be concerned about a retaliatory review in addition to having reimbursement declined. Insult + injury. 

 

You're already on the downslope.. 2 cancellations, one unhappy guest whose review won't likely be positive... And it's not big money, so airbnb might not decline... So you may as well take a shot at it. Nothing to lose, really. 

 

Good luck. 

Thanks for you input and guidance

Brian1613
Level 10
West Palm Beach, FL

Damage is going to occur. When you price your property, you build, into your rate, money for potential damages not covered by insurance. You also double up on things other than shower doors, or major furniture (Bedding, towels, floor mats, cheap rugs, couch covers) so you can put a clean room together, and still focus on the stains, or damage.  If you put a $2,000 set aside for significant damage repairs, and your rent your place 70% of the year, then add $7.82/day to your rate, and you build your reserve. If you don’t end up using it, you pocket the difference, or use it to bulk up on the next year’s financial pad.

Brian Ross

This is a great advice  will follow it going forward

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@Kimberly670 

 

I doubt that your new shower door “broke by itself,” but this is the kind of thing we came to expect when we allowed people to bring their children to our properties.

 

If it is possible to break something they will do it and try to blame you for it.

 

We no longer accept children. It’s just not worth it.

 

 I doubt that it would be worth your time or frustration trying to get reimbursement for this.

 

 I would probably get someone to glue a sheet of acrylic into the shower door frame. This would probably cost about $100 and it wouldn’t break again no matter how many times someone slams it.

I agree with you, the time and frustration would not be worth it and in order to be covered in situations like these in the future, I will follow the suggestion on adding an additional fee as a reserve