Beware: Superhost not reimbursed for extensive damages to home.

[Tamara707]

Here's what we are told: What’s covered (from Airbnb website):

Host damage protection covers you for:

• Damage to your place or belongings caused by a guest (or others)
• Unexpected cleaning costs you incur due to the behavior of a guest (or others) during an Airbnb stay

However, after a year of hosting with impeccable reviews, a guest trashed my house causing extensive damage, including smoke damage. After nearly a month of repairs and a TON of documentation, Airbnb offered me $1600 for over $10,000 in damages. 

YOU ARE NOT PROTECTED. It is a hoax, a farce, a scam. I opened my home and made Airbnb a lot of money, and this is the result.  I am going to do an interview with local media. Please let me know if you have had a similar experience! Tamara Berg, Super host

[Enri1804]

@Tamara707 I'm always worried about this and cannot believe this still goes on. This is not acceptable of Airbnb. I would love to hear and see what happens with your local media. I think that is the way to go. Airbnb just can't seem to tell the truth about much. Every channel that plays the Airbnb spots should know what it can be like for hosts (us, the product, the partner, the pawn), they all have news programs. I'd pitch the writer(s)/producers who covered the party shootings, maybe they want to do a followup story on how Airbnb is really taking care of things. Airbnb can do better. We know it. @Fred13 I have done the way you suggested, it's a good tip, but I still get extras showing up. Its work, risk, etc. I just want Airbnb to be honest with hosts and have legitimate knowledgable, trained, accountable staff to help us.

[Fred13]

Nothing can replace host diligence over their own places. The 'we have your back' false insurance nonsense is giving many a perfect excuse not to do their part and expect being saved by an outside force in which we all pay for. 

[Fred13]

Moreover, many of these places are side-investment rentals, so the Air Cover of Airbnb is being looked upon as no more than 'free' insurance. 

[Fred13]

@Tamara707 Your case is identical to one I have read here hundreds of times.

A fine home, allowing 10 guests for a total of $289 USD a night which comes out to = $28. 90 per night, per person. This is Motel 6 prices. The whole scene is like a bomb waiting to detonate. And you expect every guest to all be super careful and be appreciative of your nice place despite the fact they eventually some will not even have a clue how to act in such a place since they have never been able to individually afford one like it?

Everything is wrong here, starting with the Host Guarantee, Air Cover, Air Supply, etc, etc. which lead to the delusion, and which sooner or later Airbnb will drop and stop having every other host pay for this crazy practice.

Then every host will have to take full responsibility for the risk of their too-good-to-be-true offers of allowing gangs of people for such little money.

There is another way: Charge for first 2 and then exponentially for added guests; i.e.  base $250 (first 2), then at least $25 extra per extra person. If 10 comes that $500 a night. At that price you will start to get a different clientele, which may suit you.

Good luck.

[Inna22]

@Tamara707 I am sure this is frustrating and I do not want to turn it into victim blaming however this is your home and you should carry your own insurance. This way they can send an appraiser and there are not surprises after you spent the money. If you get a little extra from Airbnb to cover your deductible, it is a great little extra.

Also, five months is not what airbnb is usually for. If you are renting your place for five months, you should have your own contract, your renters should have their own renters insurance. You should do a background check. In other words, it is a long term rental and you should treat it as such. 

Lets say this was a long term rental outside of Airbnb. Would have you taken a security deposit? Would have you gone after the guests directly since this damage is probably higher than any deposit? If the answer is yes, you should go after the guests just the same. if the answer is no, than it does not matter how these people got to you- airbnb, craigslit- it is a cost of doing business. 

I have had both short term and long term guests trash my properties and took various actions over the years. At the end of the day I have to look at how profitable the overall enterprise is, not each individual rental/reservation.

[Jennifer2670]

I honestly wouldn't be frustrated to hear this if it weren't for all the rules they throw at the hosts just to leave them high & dry. It's unfortunate there aren't other protected platforms (I only airbnb & vrbo because I want to have a say in who rents)

[Robin4]

@Tamara707 

Tamara, Aircover....Host Protection Scheme, what ever you want to call it is just a marketing tool, it is not insurance, you don't pay a premium for it and there is not a defined level of coverage. You don't get a policy document or a policy disclosure statement.....it's just words designed to attract hosts to the platform! It may under certain circumstances pay out something .....but that level of 'something' will never take the place of proper insurance!

It's unfortunate that Airbnb offers it because it lulls hosts into a false sense of security! Hosts take Airbnb at their word when they hear statements like "Host with confidence Airbnb has your back covered" Tamara, they don't, but neither do other hosting platforms.

As hosts we take the risk when we invite strangers into our properties and we need to make sure we  are properly covered for any eventuality.

Set yourself a level of damage you are prepared to cover in your listing amount and insure with an STR insurer for any damage above that amount, and forget about Aircover or whatever it happens to be called from year to year....that way there will be no shocks coming when things go off the rails!

In reality I think you have come out of this fairly well, if you general insurer picked up $4,500 of your $5,500 window and Airbnb picked up the deductible and gave you $600 towards a paint job, I don't think you can expect a lot more out of them than that! They offer an adjudicated decision, not one based on your receipts! That might not seem fair to you but I have worked in support and have seen the other side of the coin where a host claims  $2,500 for something he paid a couple hundred for! It's hard for Airbnb to 'get it right'!

I would strongly advise you to take your insurance coverage seriously, this is after all your property and your business and don't expect to fall back on a safety net that has enough holes in it to pour the Pacific Ocean through!

Cheers........Rob

[Tamara707]

I'm done with Airbnb, and appreciate your advice. They did request that I submit original receipts and tons of photos for everything. We went back and forth for weeks with them asking me for more and more documentation. I spent literally 10+ hours finding these things and submitting them over the course of a few weeks. And they covered none of it. Why have me jump through all those hoops? 

[Tamara707]

Airbnb had me upload a ton of evidence and receipts to document over $10,000 in damage and offered $1600. I think half would have been fair. 

[Mark116]

@Tamara707 What reason did they give you for approving such a small amount ?  Although having to paint the entire house because someone smoked in one bathroom seems a little excessive, how long was the group's reservation?

[Tamara707]

They asked me to submit a bunch of receipts and evidence and then send a lot of fine print for why those things were not covered. It would have been better not to have me put all that work in! They smoked in a bathroom, but it permeated the main floor, furniture smelled awful. It still smells like an ashtray in that bathroom even after painting! They were there 5 months. The children colored all over the walls, and scraped and gouged many of them. I had a ton of photos of the damage. 

[Kia272]

@Tamara707  I'm sorry this happened and I understand your frustration. What I would like to mention is that AirBnB works best as a SHORT term rental platform. 

A five month rental is long-term, and isn't ideal to do through AirBnB. With a normal long-term rental, you'd have a lease agreement and a security deposit, and a better position from which to pursue the guests (tenants) for compensation for damages. 

I know it's doesn't help to hear this now, and I agree that AirBnB gives the impression that they stand behind you when they actually don't. Most hosts feel it best to limit stays to just under the threshold at which guests become tenants- usually under 30 days, it varies in different jurisdictions. There are a number of issues with AirBnB when longer term rentals are involved, including payment collection and lack of security deposit. 

Best case scenario is to take into account the amount of money you earned while the guest stayed, add that to the compensation you got from insurance and AirBnB, and hopefully you are not as out of pocket as you think. Yes- it may zero out the profit you made, but hopefully makes up for some of the damage costs. 

Perhaps you can consider limiting the length of stays you allow, and still have a successful and profitable STR. Good luck, Kia

[Annie1372]

@Tamara707 

I hope you gave your guest a terrible, yet factual ´bad’ review.

I only get long term stay. I always tell them that I will come every few weeks to check in the plants and other stuff and most of the time I manage to come once in a while.

I guess you could not claim your own home insurance since there was no specific major incident??

[Tamara707]

My home owners insurance covered $4500 of the $5500 window they broke and airbnb covered the $1000 deductible. Despite documenting all kinds of damage, Airbnb only covered an additional $600 for painting. I was going to sell this home and buy a downtown condo to airbnb, but I will not be hosting any longer. 

[Z-2]

To me, it’s seem okay. What part of the damage Airbnb refused to pay? Airbnb certainly won’t pay for painting the whole home.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tamara707 Aircover is not a new for old concept so you will only ever get a depreciated  amount back. Can you not claim from your own insurance?

[Tamara707]

Here's what we are told: What’s covered (from Airbnb website):

Host damage protection covers you for:

• Damage to your place or belongings caused by a guest (or others)
• Unexpected cleaning costs you incur due to the behavior of a guest (or others) during an Airbnb stay

[Kelly149]

@Mike-And-Jane0 @Tamara707 Or sue the guest. If abb paid out 10k for every bad guest, this platform would go under quick. 

[Tamara707]

I hosted for over a year with no issues. Just profit for Airbnb. The damage was extensive. Airbnb carries insurance. 

[Tamara707]

The deceptive practice is that they say they protect hosts, but when something goes wrong they don’t.