Security for hosts that dosnt require AirBNB

[Lynette57]

I have 10 units on my property and only have one listed on ABNB, When I have guests check in they are required to give a current credit card detail , This gives me security and guests sign an authorisation to allow deductions should any major damage occure during their stay. I guess this is an advantage to actually being registered as a business. Im just wondering if any other host has ever thought about doing a similar thing with their own property. 

I also notify guest that this is a requirement prior to check in even if they are with AirBNB.

How do others feel about this.

[Robin4]

@Lynette57

Something of a risky move on your part Lynette!

It is one of the rules of the platform that all financial aspects of the hosting be declared to the guest in the listing description. You do not do that, although you do state you set a security deposit you do not mention you also need a credit card authorisation prior to the stay.

Airbnb do not condone or allow private financial transactions, the reason being if the guest is unwilling to contribute to any 'private' settlement Airbnb cannot be drawn into a resolution for something they were not involved in.

You may want to re-think this one Lynette, if a booked guest is suddenly confronted with an undisclosed additional impost they have every right to cancel the reservation, and Airbnb will stand behind the guest on this one.

Cheers.....Rob

[Lynette57]

Hi Rob, I have no security deposit set at all, Maybe AirBNB has something that they take but from what I have read they dont take a deposit for security. I have also read in many forums that there is no recourse if something goes wrong as Air BNB dosnt actually take this deposit. If I am wrong then I apologise. In my statement I also said that the credit card requirement relate to my other properties, and was just asking thoughts on wether this would be a good security idea for hosts to use

[Robin4]

@Lynette57 Hi Lynette, sorry maybe I jumped to conclusions but this is a screenshot of your listing page and that gives the impression that you have set a security deposit through Airbnb for an amount of up to $130.....

That is how I would read it and probably most other people!

You are right in that Airbnb do not actually take the security deposit at the time a guest books, it is merely a statement that funds up to a predetermined limit will be made available in case the host makes a claim against a guest.

Your comment that there is no recourse where the security deposit is concerned is also not totally accurate Lynette. I have worked for Airbnb support in the past and I can tell you that more than 90% of security deposit claims are met and authorised by Airbnb. The problem is you only hear about the ones that are not met for one reason or another.

You have to understand the scale of Airbnb!

On August 15th 2017 Airbnb passed the 4.5 million listings worldwide.

On the night of August 10th 2017 2.5 million guests stayed in an Airbnb Listing.

On any given night Airbnb holds 84 Million dollars in trust for paid reservations!

Airbnb are now larger than the 5 largest hotel chains in the world combined!!!

The daily business transacted by Airbnb is staggering Lynette, more than you and I can comprehend and 98% of that business takes place on a daily basis without a hitch....but bad news travels, good news doesn't!!

I do not set a security deposit with my listing Lynette, I don't expect trouble, and I don't get it.

Lynette you need to be really upfront. There is nothing to stop you saying you want to make some form of monetary charge on a guest but you have to spell it out in your listing description and let the guest consider if that request is acceptable or not. You can't spring it on them after they have booked!

Cheers......Rob

[Lynette57]

Rob you are still reading the wrong listing to which my origional comment refered.  AND I at no time spring any one with additional monetory charges.  My other listing has no security deposit.

I realise how big ABNB is that is why there are so many things swept under the rug when it comes to damages and recharges in relation to guests that do the wrong thing. Unfortunatly there is more forgotten than there are dealt with.

[Silvia-and-Matt0]

Perhaps after all that money flow, AirBnb can come up with a resolution system that allows a host to contact their case manager and submit evidence all in the same thread separate from general message thread instead of scatering evidence through email and messaging. I am a new host and had been wrongly advised on timelines to file a damage case (called from the property after I discovered the damage and was told I had 14 days from discovery to file a claim and specifically was told I don't have to do it before next guest moves in). I allowed next guest to move in prior to opening a damage claim. They didn't even consider the phone calls and wrong advise they gave me and denied claim based on not following proper timelines. You can imagine how I felt in that case, had receipts, pictures, proof and everything. It's not few bad stories, it's many of them that go tossed to the cost of doing business.

[Emiel1]

hello @Lynette57 ,

It is not allowed to ask for (extra) security deposit if booked via Airbnb:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/458/can-a-security-deposit-be-collected-outside-of-the-airbnb-we.... It is also not stated in your listing, allthough you mention "I also notify guest that this is a requirement prior to check". You state being registered as a business, but this not reflected in the listing(s).

So IMHO there are violations of Airbnb terms here.

[Lynette57]

 I do not at any time ask for security deposits, I do ask for credit card details, as security,. There is no money or transaction  incurred unless there is major damage, additional guests etc. These are the things that ABNB do not honestly deal with. This is how my business works and was just wondering if it could be an alternative security thing for AIRBNB hosts.

[Fred13]

@Lynette57 Question for you - you said you only have 1/10 listings with Airbnb, and it sounds like you do have a good security setup for those other 9 non-Airbnb listings. How do you get your guests? Sounds like you do not need any listed with Airbnb. Did I understand your setup correctly?

[Lynette57]

I have an advertising Billboard on a major highway close to our lodge, and I am very close to a very popular Lake for fishing, holiday areas and advertising in country wide magazines and word of mouth is a very good one as well.

I have tried one with ABNB just to see what additional interest there might be if any at all. I have only had two guests through this platform and I havnt asked them for CC details ,  It was just a thought for security reasons, 

[Fred13]

Got cha. Thought it was for experimental reasons. I am up to 40% now outside Airbnb, so fine with that, though who knows what the future holds. Good hosting...

[David126]

@Lynette57

From a business point of view I am absolutley with you as AirBnb effectively offer no protection.

As long as you realise that if a guest coplains to AirBnB that you wanted to do this then they would cancel the booking and give them a full refund and I presume would tell you to stop doing it or be delisted.

As ABB are not essential to your Business sounds like you can take the risk. Gives you a bit more marketing.

[Christine1927]

I am in complete agreement with other posts that the Host-required security deposit provides no more than an illusion. I have had a few claims where I followed procedure exactly and did receive some compensation, but only according to Airbnb’s Host Guarantee.  Whether I had a security deposit or not (I do have one set at $500) I would have received the same outcome.  There is no ability to “tap into” the security deposit that you think you have.  Airbnb evaluates whether they want to pay out an item and it’s according to their Host Guarantee program. The security deposit should be precisely for the items the Host Guarantee does not cover, such as breaking house rules on smoking or pets, having extra people stay who are not on the booking, cost of removing unwarranted debris left by the guest, etc, etc.  There are plenty of things the Host Guarantee does not cover, that incur costs to the Host in both time and money, and that should be the reason for the security deposit. The other major hosting site has a completely opposite mindset. The Host is covered by the security deposit for anything they can prove.  That is fair to both Guest and Host.  Airbnb… time to stop being lopsided in favor of guests.