AirCover - What's the point?

[Ryan368]

Short story...

We have a relatively new listing in our account. We have several older listings, we are superhosts, I have been hosting for about 10 years. 

The new listing is a cabin. We purchased it and furnished it with new stuff last summer.

I had a reservation on 2/22/25.

Guest checked out the next day.

1: The guest showed up with additional unregistered guests.

2: This required them using the pullout couch.

3: They left around 11am on 2/23.

4: At 1pm on 2/23, I filed a damage claim that the (almost brand new) couch we bought now had a 4" by 4" burn hole in it.

5: I notified the guest and sent AirBnB photos of the damage, the original receipt, and photos of the past two cleaning which did not show any damages.

6: The guest said they didn't do it (of course).

7: I said, my cleaners reported it to me and I reported it in the damage claim. It was never seen prior to their stay.

8: They provided a photo of the damages and said they were already there.

9: I asked why they would take a photo of that and only that and never send it to anyone until after they checked out and a damage claim was filed. There are a few other small damaged spots inthe rental, nothing major, but they didn't take any pictures of those.

10. They couldn't answer for why? 

The claim was for $1300 because the couch was basically new and it is in the middle of nowhere. There is no one around who does remote repair services and I can't haul this couch to the nearest city. 

Naturally, AirBnB found in favor of the guest and denied my claim. They said my timeline was off. I asked how my timeline could have been any better. The guest checked out and within 2 hours I submitted a damage report with photographic evidence of the damages and historical photos of past cleanings without the damages. They simply stopped responding and haven't answered anything about what more I could have provided or what timeline they were expecting.

Paying them a service fee to fail at covering simple damage claims is unacceptable. I've hosted thousands of reservations and I might have 10 damage claims in 10 years. They never once accounted for my history on their platform or my performance hosting in regards to my damage claim. They just decided the guest (who had 4 total reviews and had already broken the house rules) was right and so I'm out $1300. 

Way to go, AirBnB. You're slowly pushing me towards other platforms.

[Frances3408]

@Ryan368. I'm sure you've already asked this but did Airbnb say what the time stamp date of the guest photo was? Perhaps it has been falsified? For a one night stay you would think the photos evidence isnt out of sequence? Can you line up with actual guest check in check out exact times evidence?

Here we have things called Statutory Declarations which you can go to a Justice of the Peace (free) to witness a statement you wish to make that can be legally binding. I was wondering if you and the cleaners made such statements it could be used in not only the claim, but any civil proceedings against Airbnb and the guests.

[Ryan368]

Yeah, and they asked what time the guest checked in and verified that the damage photo was after their check in. 

They wouldn't give me the guests timestamp info but he had to have taken it after he checked in so I am not even sure how they could claim it was "impossible" for the guest to have caused the damages. 

How could a guest possibly take a photo of damage prior to entering the property?

The whole thing is ridiculous. If there was even a moderately intelligent investigation, it would be impossible to dispute the damage. But, since AirBnB doesn't want to challenge the guest and knows that I have no other recourse once they have made their decision, I'm just getting stuck with the bill. 

They ruined by relatively expensive couch and neither AirBnB nor the guest want to take responsibility for it. The property is only used as an AirBnB, so, even if they said this guest didn't do it, then another guest did and why wouldn't it be covered?

The whole thing is infuriating and disappointing and leaves me with the belief that they really could care less and I'm paying for damage coverage that doesn't really exist.

[Joan2709]

@Ryan368 

What you say about Aircover is basically the situation:

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@Ryan368 wrote:

The whole thing is infuriating and disappointing and leaves me with the belief that they really could care less and I'm paying for damage coverage that doesn't really exist.

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This is why I suggest my Host clients purchase their own short term rental insurance (Airbnb even says to do this). Aircover is NOT insurance (except in Washington state in the US) and Airbnb is notorious for denying claims or making the required documentation impossible to obtain so they can deny the claim. The exclusions and limitations are not clearly outlined for New Hosts.

I also suggest that Hosts list on other platforms and consider a Direct Booking website of their own. 

[Julee0]

And this sucks.

[Julee0]

agreed.

[Rose422]

Hi there Ryan, 

I would always suggest to have a dedicated person or yourself to peek into the listing before guests arrive to make sure there are no issues. There may be a possibility it was not the guests that caused the issue. What if cleaners messed up and you never know? 

Rose. 

[Joan2709]

@Rose422 

That is a great idea! I wish more Hosts would do this. Always good to have someone double check what the cleaners have done and see if anything was missed. Some Hosts do this themselves, but remote Hosts generally have to pay someone to do this. I think paying someone $25 or so to do an inspection would be worth it. Not sure what the going rate is to do inspections, but could be a whole other business for someone who can help remote Hosts. Sorta like those who get paid to take the trash bins to the curb and then bring back after the trash is picked up. 😊

[Rose422]

I'll share a little story, so it makes sense. 

I had a single innocent looking pregnant female stay solo on my boat for a few nights to get away. She was in awe of everything, studying everything carefully and she seems like a peaceful self-sufficient guest. As I live near my airbnb, I noticed she was having random people enter the boat. This did not look right, so I reminded her of my 'no unregistered guest' policy. Her reply was "Rose, I feel so lonely, I want to make friends". Turns out she was walking to the nearest 7/11 and talking to drug dealers, doing drugs and having complete strangers in my listing. Someone even smoked and dipped a cigarette in my brand new marine sink, creating a hole. She didn't do it. Others did it. Does it make sense? She couldn't remember much most of the time, but the next day she messaged me "Rose, my wallet is stolen, I don't know what to do!". I felt so compassionate. She then shared a picture of a guy that was in my boat with her. She said "Rose, I think this guy did it". I pulled out the picture, it was my Neighbor! The next day, as I saw him around, I said "Hey have you been on my boat last night?". None of my neighbors have ever been on my boat at all, I never invite people. He said "Rose, there was a naked woman on your boat, she was completely naked, on the deck, I passed by and she asked me to go onboard and make her company". He then said she was completely drunk, threw up while he was there, told him her wallet got stolen and was sick. He tried to help her, she then said she was feeling ok, fell asleep and he left. 

My neighbor didn't steal the wallet, my guest did not dip her cigarette in my sink, other people did. Does this make sense? 

It didn't to me. I ended up closing my listing, never filed a claim, never bothered this guest, she was gone, airbnb closed her account I think and I didn't host for a while cleaning out some trash. 

My house rules got very fancy after this incident and absolutely no unregistered guests ever since then. I see anyone on camera or I notice anything suspicious, I take things seriously. I had not idea people, and women especially those pregnant can drink, smoke or do drugs. Turns out anything is possible. 

Hope this helps and wish you patience. Forget about your claim because chances are, your guests didn't do it and you can either check on your place, or have cameras and monitor "guests of guests" strictly because chances are, airbnb will not cover if your guests did not do it. 

Rose. 

[Julee0]

I am so sorry to hear this!  Airbnb - has been oh so disappointing on a lot of levels. And you are a Superhost.  So much for Aircover.  That sucks.

[Farlene0]

We had a similar experience with our brand new hot tub. They just kept closing my case. I would reopen and they would close it again. When a month had passed and about 20 cases closed on me, I was told I can’t file a case after 30 days. They never paid out and I was just out the money. Very disappointed. Now dealing with a crazy lady they won’t help with because they are simply a “third party” and don’t want to look bad to the guest. I too am a super host and have multiple listings. I have very few claims made and I am getting very upset at the lack of care for me as a host. Thinking I need to find a new way to get more rentals without them. They are not longer taking care of host like they once did and we are very much at risk. It’s disappointing because I really liked them before.

[Rose422]

Here is one option to repair your couch nearly for free, https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1BhmuCpDHC/ just came across randomly and thought to share.