Airbnb ignoring my request for insurance claim on guest damage

[Victoria63]

I've filled several times over months a request for payment for damages from a guest. Airbnb has done nothing to resolve this. Can someone please point me in the right direction? Am I doing something wrong? The "host guarantee"  as found here (https://www.airbnb.ca/guarantee) claims, "The Host Guarantee provides protection for up to $1,000,000 CAD in damages around the world. " I submitted through the resolution center and tried contacting them directly Airbnb has done a stellar job of making it nearly impossible to call someone. 😞  I love airbnb but with this kind of service I'm losing hope. Help!

[Raffaele-and-Astrid0]

Hi @Victoria63

have you follow this steps?

https://www.airbnb.com.au/help/article/361/how-do-i-submit-a-host-guarantee-payment-request

cheers Raf

[Robin4]

@Victoria63

I am sorry to have to say this Victoria but from seeing over 1,000 posts of a similar nature over the past 18 months, you are very much on your own here and I would not seriously expect any compensation from Airbnb.

I did see one post two months where the host said they were totally happy with the resolution they got to their problem so.....maybe fairies do still exist at the bottom of the garden!!

But realistically the host protection scheme is simply a marketing tool. There may have been instances where a host has managed to 'fluke' some sort of offer through the scheme but most claims will be rejected and those that are accepted rarely run to more than 10c in the dollar for the value of the claim. Here is a typical post and a typical Aibnb response....don't wade through the 98 replies but this is what hosts can expect...https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Hosts/FORGET-FILING-A-DAMAGE-CLAIM-YOU-WILL-NOT-BE-COMPENSATED/m-p/2...

Put it in the past and move on Victoria! 

The issue that really concerns me here is, you, Jeannie and possibly up to half a million hosts are under the impression that Airbnb are protecting them when this is patently not true. Statements like "We don’t just say that we value our hosts, we back it up to the tune of $1,000,000. That’s an unmatched level of protection in the travel industry. You’re part of the Airbnb family, and we stand by our family, sleep easy." are sooner or later going to become the subject of legal action because it will be sucessfully argued as 'misrepresentation'!

It is actually encouraging hosts not to seek proper insurance representation, and I think that is absolutely unforgivable!

Sorry Victoria, I would love to think that you are going to be that shining light that we can all look to as a positive beacon......but I don't think so.....move on!

Cheers.....Rob 

[Raffaele-and-Astrid0]

hi @Victoria63

I was trying to arrive at this point gradually, for understand if you have or have not follow the procedure at least.  ... but Robin is always straight to the point. 😄

So yeah, most probably you won't see a penny, but hey! hope is last to die! 🙂 ...try to  give a call to airbnb and see what happens.

Goodluck

Cheers Raf

[Robin4]

@Raffaele-and-Astrid0

Sorry Raff....last thing I wanted to do was steal your literary thunder mate! But there is a post around at the moment about what a wonderful caring lot the hierachy of Airbnb are, and how they value their hosting community.

It's the old story, the bigger they get the more they become divorced from the realities of what they do.

As you say Raff, by all means try but, at some point @Victoria63 will have to realise that, you can only chase 'that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow' for so long!

And now for something completely different, My eldest daughter is the deputy at the Bondi Beach Public School on Campbell Parade and she lives in North Bondi. I can't tell how many times I have done that boardwalk from Bondi through Clovelley cemetery, Bronti and down to Coogee....bloody good walk!!!

Cheers....Rob

[Victoria63]

Thank you for the response. This is discouraging news. So my only recourse seems to be the damage deposit option? So if I collect $1000 damage deposit via the eemairbnb damage deposit option, is that money that I am also unlikely to get access to or do I have access to it if needed? Is there a different process for getting access to it? I  have $4200 in damage to my floor and ceilings, and I just can't let this client get away with it. 😞

[Karen-and-Brian0]

Hi @Victoria63 I am so sorry this happened to you! How was the damage caused? Did the guest have a party/broke a House Rule?Assuming you have a House Rule against whatever it was that caused the damage, Airbnb *might* pay you up to the amount of your security deposit. Was the damage willful or was it caused by a malfunction of something in your property which the guests failed to report?  If a malfunction of an appliance caused the damage, Airbnb is unlikely to agree that the guest willfully caused it. Or was it something else?

If you have a security deposit for your listing, you can claim up to that amount through the Resolution Centre. If Airbnb sees it your way, the money will be deposited the same way your booking payouts are. You are very unlikely to receive more than the amount of your security deposit through that means. You will have to provide photos of the damage as well as receipts or estimates for the repair. Be as thorough as you can be. You will have to claim for the remainder of the damage through your home insurance policy - which, hopefully you have had tailored to ensure that short term rental damage coverage is included. 

The Airbnb Host Guarantee actually doesn't translate into being much help to hosts. It's vital that hosts have their own insurance and for Airbnb hosts in Canada, that means a business insurance policy specifically for short term rentals. I think there have been rare cases where the entire house has been trashed, media coverage was involved and Airbnb did pay for the damage - but that is not the norm. Best of luck with this! Karen

[Priya13]

I am disheartened to read this. I am an artist and I have artwork which has been sold awaiting client to pick it up and has been deliberately damaged by the guest out of anger and vindictiveness. A Nikon camera stolen and my apartment walls damaged because of throwing dishes at the wall in rage . The police were called to remove this guest from the premises for my safety. Airbnb has compensated the guest $200 for being asked to leave and I have been penalized. Furthermore, my safety continues to be threatened, I continue to be harassed by text and phone calls by the guest and I am told by Airbnb to allow him to back into my home to get the rest of their belongings..which are simply food items. He lied saying he needed forgotten medication so he could come back at midnight last night. There is no meditation here, I fear he just want more opportunity to attack me. I am trying to speak with a person from the safety department before I go back to the police so I can press formal charges.

So, from my understanding, I will not get help from Airbnb? The guests have all the rights and we as hosts have no real protection? I guess I should consider myself lucky the guest did not physically hurt me. Yet!

Thank you for this information... most truly disappointed.

Peace and light,
Priya

[Robin4]

@Victoria63

Victoria, I started another thread centred around lack of support for hosts and I did use you as an current example of how hosts are being treated. I hope you do not mind me quoting you and taking your problem to another thread. I did it with the best of motives and I hope you see it that way!

Here is the link .....https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Hosts/Lack-of-Host-Support/m-p/303484#M70131

Cheers.....Rob

[Monica4]

@Victoria120  It appears that only the hosts who have made the damages public (newspaper, tv) have received the host protection insurance. Making it public makes Airbnb look bad. Hate to say this, but inform your newspaper and your local tv station. I hope you didn't fix anything yet in order for the reporters to film the damage.

[Priya13]

Looks like I will be posting on social media and Toronto newspapers... if this is not resolved fairly and prompty. Thank you. 

Peace and light, 

priya

[Adam-And-Betty0]

Hi Rob, we're from Adelaide too and had a guest cause significant damage and the so called 'resolution centre' is only willing to compensate half and we have to pay for the rest. Why should we have to pay for the guest's damages, they booked through Airbnb we didn't book them in. We're withdrawing our property from the website following this as we cannot trust anymore of their guests destroying what we worked so hard to renovate and own. Host guarantee is such a misrepresentation to hosts who graciously open their homes to people they don't know on trust, and we're suppost to 'trust' the company who refers them to us. Not in Airbnb's case unfortunately 🙂 

[Robin4]

@Adam-And-Betty0.....Look l am so sorry for you guys, none of us want the guest from hell, but I guess sonner or later we are all going to strike one!

The thing you need to keep in mind is, Airbnb are a booking agency! They are not a general insurer....they make certain statements, but as far as protection coverage is concerned their record is good. We in the CC, or in support roles, never see the multitude of successful claims that Airbnb cover and process....we only see the disasters, those that have been rejected.

I cannot tell you why cliam A was accepted and claim B was rejected....I do not have that local knowledge.

I can tell you however that I don't rely on Airbnb's protection umbrella! For the past two years I have put a component of every listing in to a seperate account and this account has built up to a couple of thousand dollars. If a guests, through choice, or just plain 'didn't realise' creates damage l just make it better before the next guest arrives....I am the one making money out of Airbnb.

Every now and then something will happen, but I am not going to 'bounce' Airbnb!

I am a host and I accept that these things will happen and just get on with the bussines of hosting! 

Cheers.....Rob

[Adam-And-Betty0]

Hi Robin, thanks for responding. They may be a booking agency but they claim they have a host guarantee in place. It's misleading. I don't see wotif or booking.com have state they have a booking guarantee and they are a booking site as well. We work hard and laid new flooboards a year and a half ago and they're all scratched and damaged by a guest bringing up a portable bed because the other two bedrooms were locked.  Scratched a TV cabinet from Wohlers too that cost us $1600. The damage is around $4,000 to repair the floorboards and TV cabinet. We've only been with the company since April and this is the second problem we've had and it's getting too difficult. Thank you have a great day 🙂 x

[Brett3]

Hey Keiowna,

I wanted to let you know you are not alone. 

I had an issue with really dirty guests who left dirty tampons on the floor, used condoms, dirty tissues etc and all sorts of rubbish on the floor in my apartment. I was pretty new to Airbnb and pretty horrified. 

Airbnb advised that I should include cleaning requirements and any fees in my "House Rules". I did this this and thought all would be okay.

At the end of April Doni booked my apartment at a super cheap price. He then pushed for a late check out saying in written messages "if you give me a late check out I will give you a good review". When he arrived he told me in person if I would not give a late check out (he wanted after lunch) he might be unhappy and give me a bad review. I usually have guests staying nearly every night so need to clean.

I let him check out at 11am and he still gave me a 1 star review. Doni also left dirty tampons and used condoms in the bathroom bin and tea towels with bood all over the in the kithchen bin. 

My House Rules state clearly the following:

"Please clean up after yourself and throw out any rubbish when you leave. (including the small bins in the bathrooms where the yucky stuff ends up) If you don't have time to clean up and leave dirty plates, glasses, cutlery, cookware or your rubbish, a fee of $80 will be charged."

I tried to includethe link to my listing but it was blocked.

I thought this was pretty straight forward.

After about 7 calls to Airbnb I am now informed that the House Rules are only a guide.

My claim has been dealt with by Martina and no one from Airbnb will cofirm for me if the "House Rules" are actually worth anything.

I am literally in tears because I am now wondering if the 2 apartments I have on Airbnb are actually protected.

Here is the response from Martina regarding my claim which shows pretty clearly Airbnb don't give a **bleep** about whatever House Rules you have listed.

Hi Brett,

Thanks for your response.

We've carefully reviewed the documentation you submitted for your reservation with Doni. Unfortunately, we are unable to issue a security deposit payout for damages that occur during this reservation.

As you may know, Doni sent you 40$ to cover the cost of removing dirty tampons, condoms, dirty tea towels from bath and kitchen bin. Please note that Doni was charged 20$ for cleaning fee as you required at the reservation time. Brett, we believe that 50$ is a fair amount to cover this cleaning issues.

You may review our Terms of Service here: https://www.airbnb.com/terms.

I want to reiterate that this decision was made after careful review of all documentation and communication from both parties, and is in alignment with our policies and procedures.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out by responding directly to this message.

We know you will go on to have more positive experiences using Airbnb in the future.

All the best,

Martina
www.airbnb.com/help