Problem with Airbnb Host Guarantee: hosts beware!!

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Valentina32
Level 9
London, United Kingdom

Problem with Airbnb Host Guarantee: hosts beware!!

Dear Hosts,

 

I have been a host for many years and recently found myself in a situation where a group of guests caused considerable damage to my property.

 

I submitted my request to Airbnb on time and according to guidelines and after two weeks of back and forth where Airbnb asked me to provide a sizeable amount of documents to prove the damage, I was told that my Host Guarantee payment request had been declined as it was not possible to determine the guest's liability for the damages.

 

This is more than disappointing  as it means that unless you can prove your guest was directly responsible for the damage (by taking a picture of the damage while it is happening? by installing CCTVs in your property?) Airbnb will not cover you. When I raised this point I was told that they are sorry but Airbnb reserves the right to make the final determination with regard to these disputes.

 

What this tells me is that the Airbnb Host Guarantee is not exactly what they lead us to believe and the deposit they hold for you (which should be held on your behalf exactly for situations like this one) is little more than a joke.

 

I do not feel as safe leaving my house in the hands of strangers which could damage it without consequences.

 

Please be careful and assume that Airbnb will not cover for your damages and take extra precautions to protect your property.

 

If anyone else had similar experiences please share!

 

Valentina

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Stephanie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

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219 Replies 219

Hi, did this get resolved?

 

Jennifer464
Level 4
Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica

The new Host Guarentee doesn't allow a class action lawsuit. That's actually why I'm in the discussion board today. I wanted to see if anyone summarized the recent changes. 

Where is the Host Guarentee that says class action lawsuits are not allowed?

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

@Valentina32

 

Sadly this is a common story, hardly a day goes past without seeing something similar.

 

The Guarantee sic does have an Arbitration Clause, used to be a free option for Hosts, now you need to pay which probably tells you all you need to know.

David

If I were still in USA I'd file a class action lawsuit myself. 

Stacy3
Level 5
Honeoye, NY

I am in the exact same predicament myself. It's been hell and just going on 2 weeks for me too. I'm extremely disappointed in the woman I've been working with (Sonyah) from the Trust & Safety Department - she takes days to answer and then replies with clearly not having read my email. The worst part was when today, after 2 weeks of this nonsense, she said, so have you found a resolution or do you still need our mediation... I was floored. Of course I still need airbnb's help, nothing has been resolved!

 

 

For future, we have decided to raise our prices in the event of damage again. It's unfortunate that other wonderful potential guests will miss out if it is out of their price range, but I feel it is the only real "insurance" we have. 

 

I'm sorry to hear you've been having the same issues. It's really a shame & strongly deters my interest in hosting with airbnb.

When I had guests thru local adds I asked people for deposit and got it.

If more than a week people should be ready to pay damages deposit

of at least 1/3 of total money for stay. And I returned deposit in full .

I shall ask anyone on first reservation contact for it-

if they are not ready to place down their money

as a guarantee they will respect my space- I will not have them.

For 4 weeks  usually 200 E damages deposit will suffice. I never had a problem.

Good luck to all.

The problem Olivia with Airbnb is that I do not think they actually get the deposit paid. I had damage done by the guest to my property. Fortunately just a door, the guest first accepted my offer for $300 (their full security deposit). But Airbnb never paid it. When I called them they said there was a problem with the payment. I am now going back and forth with Airbnb and sounds like a lot like the comments on this site. Imagine if they burned the house done? Do you want to go back and forth with them?

 

The only solution is to realize that Airbnb guarantee program is a crock of **bleep**. Best to insure yourself. I am trying Slice insurance (insures by the day). I have not filed a claim yet but seems like real insurance.

 

If you can not afford insurance, I recommend do not worth renting your valuable property.  It is simply not worth it. Raise the asking price to cover the insurance. 

 

I do think what airbnb is doing is illegal and they could be subject to a class action law suit.

 

I’m in same situation right . Guest refused to pay and I asked Airbnb host guarantee to pay . It’s $370 around that much . Airbnb hasn’t got back to me in 3 days . 

Agreed Stacy, I thought I might have to do the same: increase prices and potentially lose some wonderful guests but at least factor in potential future damages which Airbnb will not take responsibility for.

Does anyone ask for deposits in cash instead of going through Airbnb or will this deter clients?

@Valentina32 You absolutely may not ask for cash deposits. That is against abb terms & will get you suspended. As @marzena said other platforms give hosts more control over security deposits. My HomeAway reservations actually collect real $ and I decide that it is cleared to be released back to guests. 

Full disclosure: I just had my fifth RC claim 100% paid so it is possible to be reimbursed by abb

 

Why did abb say that damage could not be attributed to the guest??

Apparently there was no proof it was the guest's fault... very difficult to prove that honestly.

Hi, can you tell in more detail what happened? And did you have any signs that guests will be uncareful of the place? Is it something which can be evaluated in advance? Also, did you put a safety deposit (optionable in price settings)?

Take a video or pictures of your total property between guests and date the actual file somehow.

That will be rather dificult if you have a popular property or one with large area, for example I rent out a cabin with 3 buildings in total and a lot of equipement.